L I V E M U S I C
Orchestra's size reflects musical style
An orchestra much smaller than a
standard symphony orchestra, the group
of 30 or so professional musicians and
community members known as the
Mozart Players is dedicated to perform
ing not only the works of the Mozart,
their 18th century namesake, but those
of other composers from that period and
periods since.
The Players will present the second
concert of their 1984-85 season Sunday,
at 8:30 p.m., in Soreng Theatre.
The group, comprised of many
University faculty members and
graduates, began playing in churches
when it was formed by a University
music graduate student in March 1982.
“It’s almost like a family,” says Robert
Hurwitz, the Players’ music director and
music professor at the University.
The name was adopted for the group
because the small size of their orchestra
was common in Mozart’s day. Most of
the compostitions the Mozart Players
perform were written for a group of that
particular size.
“It’s a truer approximation of the kind
of orchestra available in Mozart’s and
Haydn’s time,” says Caitriona Bolster,
general manager of the orchestra.
Performing in a chamber orchestra
poses more of a challenge to musicians,
according to Bolster.
“They’re much more exposed,” she
says. "The playing has to be incredibly
precise and clear. They can’t cover up
anything.”
The group also differs from many large
orchestras because of its cooperative
makeup. The players, the majority of
whom are also members of the Eugene
Symphony Orchestra, decide on all
musical aspects concerning the group,
including what pieces to play, the
number and place of concerts and w’hat
musicians to allow as members.
A conductor is hired only by vote of
the players. The musicians also form half
of the orchestra’s board of directors, with
the other seats taken up by community
members.
“It’s an unusual situation to have pro
fessional performers on the board,” Hur
witz says. “Most (orchestras) are not
organized like this. There’s more say
about decisions usually made by other
people.”
Sunday’s concert will feature several
selections and a solo performance, as do
most of the chamber group’s perfor
mances. The orchestra will open the pro
gram with Mozart’s Eine kleine
Nachtmusik. K.525, and A Musical Joke,
a composition which “pokes fun at what
one can do wrong in a piece,” Hurwitz
says.
Leslie Sawyer, concertmaster of the
Eugene Symphony Orchestra, will be the
featured soloist in Mendelssohn’s Violin
Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 during the
second half of Sunday’s performance.
Marianne Chin
X
0
Pholo Hv Michael Clapp
Leslie Sawyer will join the Oregon
Mozart Players Sunday.
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