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LYCOMING COLLEGE 2015 SPRING MAGAZINE
Many know what it’s like to trade in an electric
guitar for a minivan or an art studio for an office. The artistic
urge lingers, asleep, sometimes for many years, before being
jarred by an alarm of inspiration.
This was the case for Holly Dusza, who hadn’t played the
cello in 43 years. Her “alarm” was the call of the Lycoming
College Community Orchestra (LCCO), a new ensemble
founded in 2013 by William Ciabattari, Ph.D., associate
professor of music. The group was created, according to
Ciabattari, at least in part, to provide “an opportunity for
musicians to keep playing after their school years.”
It gave Dusza a chance to dust off her instrument and
perform for the public, something she, at the age of 60, never
thought she’d do again. “Needless to say I had (and still have) a
lot of catching up to do,” she said. “But I find playing the cello is
a renewed way to feed my soul.”
The LCCO was created with the help of a $15,000 grant from
the Williamsport-Lycoming Community Fund and performed
its first concert in November 2013. Since then, the ensemble
has only continued to grow and improve, with the community
being thankful for the opportunity. “Everyone I talk to seems
grateful to get a chance to make music with a large group of
people,” Ciabattari said. “The audiences are mostly friends of
the players, so I think that they are also glad to see their friends
pursuing this activity that they love.”
Lycoming Baroque Choir and Orchestra
Choir alumni, your voices have been heard. To everyone who
has, at the sight of choir director Chris Jackson, exclaimed, “I
loved being in the choir!”, “It was my favorite experience at the
college!” and “I miss it so much!”, now is your time to make
singing at Lyco more than a fond memory.
With the creation of the Lycoming Baroque Choir and
Orchestra (LBCO), Jackson and Fiona Gillespie, instructor of
music, have fashioned an ensemble for long-distance alumni.
Like the LCCO, the LBCO is open to the Williamsport
community, but its rehearsal schedule is also specifically
designed so that alumni can fly in for a long weekend and
perform for the college community after only a few days of
practicing together.
The first concert, which was held in November, was an
experimental triumph, showing that the setup could produce
more than adequate results. “If I might say, as a conductor, it
is always a bit nerve-wracking to go into a rehearsal where
all the members are singing together for the first time. So
many things can go wrong!” Jackson said. “But nothing
did! In fact, it was quite the opposite. I was shocked by how
successful it was.”
The next LBCO concert will be held in the spring of
2015. Alumni interested in performing with the ensemble should
to arrange an audition.
•
Another
chance to
play
New ensembles
invite community
and alumni
to perform again
By Matthew Parrish ’06
No matter how
strong a passion is,
sometimes life gets
in the way.
F E AT U R E S