University of Virginia Library

Orchestra's Success

In one way, last Friday's performance by
the University of Virginia Orchestra was a
minor event on the cultural calendar of the
University. We are blessed with, if not a
superabundance, at least an adequate number
of professional efforts each year, and one
might have thought that these would totally
overshadow the efforts of a group of
amateurs, no matter how dedicated.

Not so at all. The small crowd who
attended Friday's performance walked away
pleasantly surprised with the calibre reached
by this year's Orchestra. It is a small group
and it lacks strings. The members, about 40 in
all, can only get together for practice once or
twice a week. So, to a purist, it might have
seemed that the orchestra's tone was at times
weak and its execution occasionally spotty.
Defects such as these, however, pale in
contrast to its accomplishment.

The University community can take pride
in the mere fact that it is capable of producing
a concert orchestra; moreover it has produced
one that plays well. A great deal of the credit
should go to Mr. Joel Lazar, the conductor,
who came to the Department of Music this
year as an assistant professor and applied his
organizational and musical talents to the
orchestra with great effect. The program was
well-balanced and well-executed. Our thanks
and congratulations go to Mr. Lazar and the
members of the orchestra for providing it.