On Tuesday, Sept. 20, the Concert Hall at the Moody Music Building opened its door for a delightful concert by the Huxford Symphony Orchestra.  

The concert was directed by Joseph Lee, the interim Director of Orchestral Studies at The University of Alabama. The program included three songs from the renowned composers Antonio Vivaldi, Ludwig van Beethoven and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  

The Concert Hall was filled with a diverse audience. Parents, college students, senior adults and young children were seen enjoying the pieces played by the UA music students.

Mariah Martin, a senior majoring in music education, is part of the University’s Wind Ensemble but attended the concert in support of her friends and to listen to the orchestra’s challenging repertoire. 

“The concert was phenomenal; Huxford is always great,” Martin said. 

The Huxford Symphony Orchestra is composed of talented musicians, who don’t necessarily have to be music majors. The orchestra is open to students majoring or minoring in music in addition to students from other disciplines across the University.  

Antonio Vivaldi’s “Concerto for Four Violins” featured four violinists, a cello and the unconventional harpsichord — a keyboard-like instrument the strings of which vibrate when they are plucked.  

The group strayed from the traditional structure of a half-circle and organized the members with the harpsichord in the middle, surrounded by the rest of the string instruments.  

Daniel Torres, a doctoral student from Colombia studying musical arts, was one of the featured violinists in this composition. He has been playing violin from a young age, and this is his first semester playing with the Huxford Symphony Orchestra. 

“I’m really happy, the level is really high, and everyone is really kind,” Torres said. “I have never experienced this southern charm, and I feel like it is absolutely different doing music with people from the south. You can feel it.”  

Unlike “Concerto for Four Violins,” “Symphony No. 7” by Beethoven and “Romeo and Juliet Overture — Fantasy” by Tchaikovsky were played by full-size orchestras. The string instruments shared the space with a variety of wind instruments, such as flutes, oboes, bassoons and trumpets, percussionists, and more.  

As well, “Romeo and Juliet Overture — Fantasy,” included an amplified harp, adding to the magic of the moment.  

The Huxford Symphony Orchestra will have its next concert on Nov. 15. The School of Music has many upcoming events, including the Symphonic Band concert on Oct. 3 and the Faculty Recital Series: Woodwind on Oct. 10.  

For more information about these and upcoming events, visit their website.