Because of the 9.4 million dollar deficit SIU’s Carbondale campus is running on, the School of Music faces massive challenges. However, the students and staff continue to work hard to create, and one of the leading examples of this is the SIU String Orchestra.
Under the direction of Rossana Cauti, an assistant professor of practice at SIU, the SIU String Orchestra performs many different types of string works.
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The two works they played in concert on Oct. 15 were “String Serenade, Op. 4” by Tchaikovsky and “Serenade for Strings” by Wolf Ferrari.
Cauti said that she chose these masterpieces because she wants to equip her musicians with the tools they may need in their professional career.
“I chose pieces that challenge them,” Cauti said. “Technically, I choose masterpieces that they should have in their repertoire together with masterpieces that broaden their knowledge.”
The music is not the only challenge for the students. School of Music faculty members and students have been impacted by the budget cuts.
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Vincent Jones, a freshman at SIU, is a bass player in the orchestra.
“I don’t have a bass teacher because of the budget cuts,” Jones said. “I have to pay for private lessons.”
SIU junior Maya Bennett, who plays viola in the orchestra, has noticed the impact the cuts have had on her classmates.
“A couple of my friends lost their jobs last semester,” Bennett said. “It’s been really hard.”
When a crisis like these budget cuts are happening, the most helpful thing for those impacted, besides financial support, is community support. The SIU community can support the orchestra and the School of Music by going to events held by the school.
“I think it’s really inspiring for them to watch other students’ excellence in their field,” Cauti said. “I think it’s really, it makes you want to be better in what you do, no matter if you’re a musician or not.”
Cauti says the concerts are also a learning opportunity for the audience.
“It also makes you experience something that it’s out of your day-to-day,” Cauti said. “The concert also involves some interaction with the audience.”
“The School of Music puts a lot of really cool stuff on,” viola player Cohen Poe, a sophomore at SIU and a senator for the Undergraduate Student Government, said. “There’s a lot of stuff we do, and generally it has someone the audience may know in it.”
Poe, along with many other students in the orchestra and Dr. Cauti, invite readers to watch them play.
“If you go, no matter what, you’re going to enjoy yourself,” Poe said. “It’s free and you’re supporting a friend or family member.”
Any questions or comments regarding the SIU String Orchestra can be directed to Dr. Rossana Cauti at [email protected].
Reporter Mylee Walker can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Instagram @myleewalkerwrites. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook and on X @dailyegyptian
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