Not in Cincinnati

Yesterday morning as I was reaching "home" from my early morning run to USC and workout at the Lyon Recreation Center, I spotted a couple of school boys on top of a wall surrounding the yard of a nearby house. Their friends on the sidewalk were catching oranges which the boys were stealing from a tree that spread above the wall. Do orange trees grow in Cincinnati and bear fruit in November? Would I have been running in shorts?

Last night I performed with the USC Concert Orchestra, a campus community orchestra made up of non-music majors, faculty, staff, and a few music majors for extra support. The fun piece on the concert was Dvorak's New World Symphony. Elizabeth Pitcairn, violin soloist, played Zigeunerweisen. I was surprised at the size and strength of the orchestra. There must have been 30 violins! UC tried to start such an orchestra back in the '70's but it flopped. I noticed recently a sign on the board in Baldwin Hall seeking players to try again. In a university the size of UC it should be possible, but the infrastructure needs to be there. USC's infrastructure features a conductor who teaches conducting and works well with the students, access to rehearsal rooms and concert halls complete with stands and other equipment, 1 semester credit for students who participate, access to music faculty who sometimes do sectionals , and a student manager (TA perhaps?). Sharon Lavey started 7 years ago with a handful of players. Now there must be at least 80 if not more.