UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 12, Page 1
November 17, 1994
New campus orchestra to present first concert

     The newly formed University of Delaware Orchestra, under the
baton of maestro Peter J. McCarthy, associate professor of music, will
make its debut at 8 p.m., Monday, Dec. 5, in the Loudis Recital Hall
of the Amy E. du Pont Music Building. The orchestra will perform Franz
Schubert's Symphony Number 8 in B Minor, widely known as the
Unfinished Symphony.
     Sharing the program, which is free and open to the public, will
be the Jazz Chamber Ensemble, under the direction of Vernon James,
which will present compositions by John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Bill
Evans and James.
     A University of Delaware orchestra has been under consideration
for  a while and now its time has come, according to McCarthy.  It is
appropriate that the University, with its good-sized, high-caliber
music department have an orchestra, which will contribute greatly to
the campus cultural scene, McCarthy said.
     Although there was a small strings chamber ensemble in the past,
the formation of an orchestra will expand opportunities for string
players to perform major orchestral works with a large group and will
attract student musicians. The orchestra also will provide new musical
experiences for brass, woodwind and percussion players.
     The force behind the formation of the orchestra is McCarthy, who
has worked with well-known orchestras, including those of the Julliard
School, led by Otto Werner-Mueller, and the Curtis Institute of Music.
McCarthy also is music conductor of the Church Music Festival in
Salzburg, Austria.
     When approached by David Herman, chairperson of music, to form an
orchestra, McCarthy agreed to take on the project. His first mission
was to find interested players, and he asked the admissions office for
a print-out of student profiles, then personally telephoned those who
were string musicians. The response was enthusiastic, and, in some
instances, students are playing in the orchestra for experience and no
credit.
     The result of his efforts is a new orchestra consisting of 43
University students, some of whom are string majors, plus a few
community and advanced high school musicians. There are 18 violins,
four violas, seven celli and three double basses, plus brass,
woodwinds and percussion.
     McCarthy has high praise for the orchestra members. They rehearse
in sections and have full-scale rehearsals twice a week. They are
conscientious and are doing "wonderfully," he added.
     The department also has been supportive. The University's
Mendelssohn String Quartet has worked with the string musicians in
small group lessons. Tamara Legutko, music department manager, has
been helpful doing everything from organizing the library to helping
to fix a broken string. Ted Berger, a friend of the department, has
donated sets of parts-an expensive item for any orchestra.
     Looking ahead, McCarthy has invited other professional orchestra
leaders to work with the University's musicians and provide a clinic
for area conductors. Future concerts will feature music by Beethoven,
Corelli, Dvorak, Stravinksy and Sibelius.
     A graduate of the Crane School of Music at the State University
of New York at Potsdam, McCarthy earned his doctorate in musicology
from the Catholic University of America.
     He also is known for his choral work and is a certified choir
master of the American Guild of Organists and served as past state
president of the American Choral Directors Association. He has worked
with several choral groups in the U.S. and abroad during his career
and currently is director of Jubilieren, an adult mixed choir.
                                                          -Sue Moncure