OSU: “America’s Orchestra” by Austie Robinson</ti= tle>  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue vlink=3Dpurple style=3D'tab-interval:.5in'> <div class=3DSection1> OSU: “America’s Orchestra”&nb= sp; by Austie Robinson<o:p></o:p> The Orchestra of Southern Utah… Coined “America’s Orchestra” by one devoted listener, the orchestra has been an integral and wonderful part of = our community in its current iteration since 1996. It has an amazingly diverse = and willing body of musicians, from those who hold Doctorates in music to high school students. The orchestra caters to a world-wide audience. <o:p></o:p>= From its humble beginnings in 1870, the orchestra has evolved into an extraordinary conglomeration of fine musicians. Currently under the direction of Maestro = Xun Sun, the orchestra is continuing to grow and present itself to an ever-wide= ning patronage. <o:p></o:p> Just three years= ago, OSU’s media specialist Ken Hedgecock began podcasting the orchestra’s performances. What started as a few dozen subscribers gre= w to a few hundred, then a few thousand, and now the orchestra’s podcast h= as over 3.4 million subscribers (though some only listen to hear the melodic v= oice of Sandy Hedgecock, Ken’s wife and podcast hostess). The orchestra has received an amazing assortment of listeners from all walks of life and all = over the world; especially in Europe, Japan, and China. Additionally, Composer J= ohn Williams and recording artists Sarah Brightman and Carrie Underwood have be= en among the millions to listen in. The orchestra recently received its first subscribers from Vietnam and Nigeria. Not bad for a blip on the map like Ce= dar!<o:p></o:p> A short while ag= o the orchestra garnered even more attention as it unveiled a brand-new piece com= missioned by the orchestra from the outstandingly talented Utah composers Marshall McDonald and Steven Nelson. That piece was Africa, a striking song that flows through the cycle of life with a dance-like beat= and moving motive.<o:p></o:p> Having a chance = to be a part of such an exceptional group, that is so popular around the world, has been an amazing experience. While it has taken work, it has been well worth= the effort. As OSU President (and former Cedar City Mayor) Harold Shirley said, “We have one of the finest community orchestras for any city in the country with less than 100,000 residents. With a budget of $60,000, we comp= ete favorably with orchestras which have literally millions in their budgets. Almost all of our people are volunteers who are willing to attend practice = 2-3 hours each week to aid in our four regular concerts plus our children's festival each year. We have community members, college people, and high sch= ool personnel in our group. We have all our concerts on podcasts, and our conce= rt on Africa this past year had over 100,000 hit in a week. Our conductor, Xun Sun, a prodi= gy from China, has taken the orchestra to new heights. We hope to get to Carne= gie Hall in 2010 to play Africa and Spanish Trails Suite, two pieces commission= ed and written for the Orchestra of Southern Utah.”<o:p></o:p> However, we coul= d use some help getting there. It would be simply amazing to give the orchestra a chance to show just what Cedar City can do at Carnegie Hall… but, whi= le we have the opportunity and are more than willing, we do not have the fundi= ng. Nearly $25,000 has already been raised… but that still leaves us arou= nd $215,000 short of our goal. If you would like to contribute, you can go to www.orchestraofsouthernutah.org/donati= ons for more information. The money will help pay for the use of Carnegie Hall,= as well as the expenses inherent in transporting a full orchestra plus equipme= nt across the country.<o:p></o:p> Austie Robinson just finished his sophomore year at Cedar High School, where he is a member of the Symphonic Band and Redmen Jazz Ensemble. He is also a member of the Orchestra of Southern Utah and the Col= or Country Winds.<o:p></o:p> <o:p=

MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Location: file:///C:/438B9132/The_Orchestra_of_Southern_Utah2.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" OSU: “America’s Orchestra” by Austie Robinson</ti= tle>  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue vlink=3Dpurple style=3D'tab-interval:.5in'> <div class=3DSection1> OSU: “America’s Orchestra”&nb= sp; by Austie Robinson<o:p></o:p> The Orchestra of Southern Utah… Coined “America’s Orchestra” by one devoted listener, the orchestra has been an integral and wonderful part of = our community in its current iteration since 1996. It has an amazingly diverse = and willing body of musicians, from those who hold Doctorates in music to high school students. The orchestra caters to a world-wide audience. <o:p></o:p>= From its humble beginnings in 1870, the orchestra has evolved into an extraordinary conglomeration of fine musicians. Currently under the direction of Maestro = Xun Sun, the orchestra is continuing to grow and present itself to an ever-wide= ning patronage. <o:p></o:p> Just three years= ago, OSU’s media specialist Ken Hedgecock began podcasting the orchestra’s performances. What started as a few dozen subscribers gre= w to a few hundred, then a few thousand, and now the orchestra’s podcast h= as over 3.4 million subscribers (though some only listen to hear the melodic v= oice of Sandy Hedgecock, Ken’s wife and podcast hostess). The orchestra has received an amazing assortment of listeners from all walks of life and all = over the world; especially in Europe, Japan, and China. Additionally, Composer J= ohn Williams and recording artists Sarah Brightman and Carrie Underwood have be= en among the millions to listen in. The orchestra recently received its first subscribers from Vietnam and Nigeria. Not bad for a blip on the map like Ce= dar!<o:p></o:p> A short while ag= o the orchestra garnered even more attention as it unveiled a brand-new piece com= missioned by the orchestra from the outstandingly talented Utah composers Marshall McDonald and Steven Nelson. That piece was Africa, a striking song that flows through the cycle of life with a dance-like beat= and moving motive.<o:p></o:p> Having a chance = to be a part of such an exceptional group, that is so popular around the world, has been an amazing experience. While it has taken work, it has been well worth= the effort. As OSU President (and former Cedar City Mayor) Harold Shirley said, “We have one of the finest community orchestras for any city in the country with less than 100,000 residents. With a budget of $60,000, we comp= ete favorably with orchestras which have literally millions in their budgets. Almost all of our people are volunteers who are willing to attend practice = 2-3 hours each week to aid in our four regular concerts plus our children's festival each year. We have community members, college people, and high sch= ool personnel in our group. We have all our concerts on podcasts, and our conce= rt on Africa this past year had over 100,000 hit in a week. Our conductor, Xun Sun, a prodi= gy from China, has taken the orchestra to new heights. We hope to get to Carne= gie Hall in 2010 to play Africa and Spanish Trails Suite, two pieces commission= ed and written for the Orchestra of Southern Utah.”<o:p></o:p> However, we coul= d use some help getting there. It would be simply amazing to give the orchestra a chance to show just what Cedar City can do at Carnegie Hall… but, whi= le we have the opportunity and are more than willing, we do not have the fundi= ng. Nearly $25,000 has already been raised… but that still leaves us arou= nd $215,000 short of our goal. If you would like to contribute, you can go to www.orchestraofsouthernutah.org/donati= ons for more information. The money will help pay for the use of Carnegie Hall,= as well as the expenses inherent in transporting a full orchestra plus equipme= nt across the country.<o:p></o:p> Austie Robinson just finished his sophomore year at Cedar High School, where he is a member of the Symphonic Band and Redmen Jazz Ensemble. He is also a member of the Orchestra of Southern Utah and the Col= or Country Winds.<o:p></o:p> <o:p= > </o:p> </div> </body> </html>