Preview: UNC Symphony Orchestra to perform variety of concertos

On Monday, Feb. 24, Memorial Hall will host the UNC Symphony Orchestra’s Student Showcase. The concert will include three concertos, featuring solos performed by the annual UNC Symphony Orchestra Concerto and Aria Competition Winners. 

The soloists began learning their pieces over the summer of 2024 in preparation for Symphony Orchestra Concerto and Aria Competition auditions that took place in November. The winners were announced immediately after auditions, giving soloists another three months to further prepare for Monday’s showcase. 

“It’s been maybe nine months now that we’ve been playing this, and the evolution of learning this piece, from just learning how to play the notes, to learning how to express it, to creating my own interpretation of this piece, has been very exciting,” clarinetist Jake Juliano said.

Violist Natalie Druffner, who will be playing a double concerto with Juliano, said that Monday’s concert is particularly special because there are very few large-scale events that feature multiple soloists. 

In years past, the competition selected a combination of string, wind, vocalist and other instrumentalists as its winners. This year, however, three of the four featured soloists are string players.

Even so, Druffner is confident that there will be variety in Monday’s performances. She said she expects the audience to hear a wide range of repertoire and different styles of compositions written for strings. 

“All the pieces span a wide range of genres,” she said. “Our piece was written in the German Romantic era, but my friend Lauren — she’s the other violist — her piece is very contemporary, and the violinist is playing a Sibelius concerto, so that’s also a little bit more modern.” 

Violist Lauren Southwell said that she does not often perform as a soloist, but the event gave her the opportunity to step out of her comfort zone. 

Southwell said that preparing her piece has challenged her as an artist and allowed her to develop and grow as a violist. She said the problem solving skills she learned during this process have a very tangible payoff. 

Violinist Anant Malpani described a similar experience. As concertmaster of the UNC Symphony, Malpani, like Southwell, has historically played as a part of an ensemble, rather than as a soloist. 

“It’s been a good lesson in expressivity,” he said. “Making sure that I’m really finding my voice and expressing what I want to say instead of wanting to be a part of a unit.” 

While Monday’s performance will certainly appeal to those who frequent orchestra performances, Juliano said that the concert will interest a wide range of audiences. 

He encouraged students and community members to attend the concert to hear their peers express themselves through their craft. 

“I’m sure everyone has seen a dance performance, or music in general, but there’s a different type of storytelling, different type of emotion,” Juliano said. “The human experience just feels different with instrumental classical music.” 

Tickets for the UNC Symphony Orchestra Student Showcase Concert can be found on the UNC Music website and are available for both in person attendance and the official livestream. 

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