Philharmonic Orchestra

This is a full-sized symphony orchestra, which gives two concerts each academic year, one with the University Choir and one purely orchestral concert.

There are auditioned places for all standard orchestral instrumentalists (Strings, Woodwind, Brass, Percussion). More information on when and how to audition to follow.

Recent repertoire includes;

• Nelson Mass (Haydn)
• Symphony no.5 (Tchaikovsky)
• Symphony no.5 (Shostakovich)
• Dream of Gerontius (Elgar)

For the Autumn term, the Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing as part of the Bramall Music Festival, a musical celebration to open the new music building on campus. They will be performing Symphony no.2 by Edward Elgar, who was the first professor of music at the University of Birmingham, as well as selected works by Mahler.

Please see below for further information on this ensemble including rehearsal details:

Andrew Kirkman studied at the universities of Durham, London (King’s College) and Princeton, and has worked at the universities of Manchester, Wales, Oxford and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. He is currently Professor of Music in the Music Department at Birmingham. He has directed a wide range of ensembles, including choirs, orchestras and various period-instrument ensembles. He founded The Binchois Consort in 1995, since when it has made nine recordings. Kirkman’s research centres on sacred music of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, and he has published and lectured widely on English and continental music of the period. His books include The Cultural Life of the Early Polyphonic Mass: Medieval Context to Modern Revival (Cambridge, 2010) and Binchois Studies, edited jointly with Dennis Slavin (Oxford, 2000). Forthcoming publications include Contemplating Shostakovich: Life, Music and Film, edited jointly with Alexander Ivashkin (Ashgate).

Additional information: Please note, you will be required to pay a deposit of £20 at the first rehearsal for your music (cheques made payable to UMS). If your parts are not returned by the end of term then your deposit will not be returned.