PrincetonUniversity
 

Orchestra reaches high notes under Michael Pratt's baton

by Ruth Stevens
On a late afternoon earlier this spring, the cacophony of musicians warming up filled Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall. The man on the podium clapped his hands three times, and the sound stopped almost immediately. "Good afternoon, everybody," he said, and a rehearsal of the Princeton University Orchestra began.

For the next 105 minutes, the conductor commanded the attention of the nearly 100 student musicians. But the session was less like a commander leading his troops than a teacher enlightening his class.

"All conductors are teachers of a sort -- you have a certain something to say about the repertoire," said Michael Pratt, who this year celebrates his 25th season as the orchestra's conductor. But the way Pratt guides the musicians goes much beyond sharing his views on Verdi, according to the students with whom he has worked over the last quarter-century.

Pratt is credited with bringing the orchestra a long way during his tenure. The group has nearly doubled in size, the skill level of the musicians has improved significantly and the repertoire has become more ambitious, according to colleagues and students. The 96 undergraduate and graduate student musicians in the orchestra, all of whom are volunteers, represent a broad spectrum of academic departments. They perform eight to 10 concerts on campus each year and go on tours abroad every other year. Due to graduation, about 20 percent of the roster turns over annually.

"Michael has transformed it from a good university orchestra with some promise to something that is just extraordinary," said Peter Westergaard, the William Shubael Conant Professor of Music Emeritus, who has been on the faculty since 1968. "With the exception of the really top music schools, you won't hear an orchestra as good as this outside of professional ranks."

The full story is available in the Weekly Bulletin.

The Princeton University Orchestra will perform Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 3 in the Stuart Mindlin Memorial Concerts at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 25-26, in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall. For ticket information, call 258-5000.

photo: Denise Applewhite