GC Symphony Orchestra
February 22, 2024
A review: 64th annual Concerto-Aria
A hush fell over the crowd in Sauder Concert Hall, which just minutes before had been raucous and boisterous. With the tuning of the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra fading away, the door on the right side of the stage opened. As Brian Mast, the orchestra’s conductor, walked out to begin the 64th annual Concerto-Aria concert, the audience exploded with raucous applause. The orchestra began the night with a triumphant Mozart overture, the entrance to his opera “Die Zauberflöte” (The Magic Flute), giving the audience a feeling of brightness and excitement. The piece introduced the following one, “Wie, Wie, Wie?” from...
September 8, 2023
GC welcomes new GCSO director
This year at Sauder Concert Hall, audience members can expect to see a new face take the stage with the symphonic orchestra: Director Richard Brunson. Brunson is a teacher, conductor, hornist and Tolkien enthusiast who was hired earlier this year at Goshen College to fill the roles of symphony orchestra director and associate professor of music. Brunson has a doctoral degree in instrumental conducting from the University of Nevada (Las Vegas), and has taught and conducted for many different ensembles — most recently at the University of Wisconsin (Marshfield), where he has served as conductor for the band, orchestra and...
January 26, 2023
Petrak picks up interim director role
For the first time, the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra (GCSO) is directed by a female conductor: Victoria “Tori” Petrak. After Brian Mast transitioned from orchestra director to director of facilities across the GC campus, the GCSO leadership shifted to interim director Petrak, a graduate of Baldwin Wallace University and Kent State University. Petrak, who has been working with the Youth Honors Orchestra within Goshen College’s Community School of the Arts for three years, explained that Mast and Matthew Hill, chair of GC’s music department, approached her in August about filling the position. Although previous commitments did not allow her to...
October 13, 2022
Homecoming Gala hosts students, faculty and alumni
Sauder Concert Hall was full of music of the past and present to celebrate Homecoming Weekend on Saturday. Alumni of all ages, backgrounds and identities gathered to watch students and faculty perform music with themes of love and joy at the annual Homecoming Gala. The concert opened with the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra performing the overture from the Broadway musical “West Side Story.” Brian Mast, conductor, led the orchestra in this dynamic opener. “It was better than expected,” said Francisco Behan Morillo, a first-year in orchestra, Vox Profundi and Chamber Choir. “I was just excited to be performing!” Vox Profundi...