Background

Durham University Orchestral Society (DUOS) is one of Durhams oldest and most
prestigious societies and is recognised across the university and in the surrounding
community for the high standard of its performances and for its exciting and
innovative programming.
The societys players are drawn from amongst the most talented musicians across
all academic disciplines and year-groups of the student body, with the orchestra
aiming to provide a stimulating environment in which students can come together to
create music, explore new and exciting repertoire, and collectively challenge both
themselves and each other to grow and develop not only as musicians but also as
students in the Durham community.
The society comprises both a chamber and symphony orchestra, each with its own
student conductor, and generally undertakes four performances a year across a
broad scope of genres, spanning smaller chamber works, large-scale symphonic
repertoire and operatic productions, as well as entirely new music commissioned by
the orchestra. The society also embarks on an annual tour, with trips in recent years
to Berlin, Prague, Venice, Barcelona and Vienna.
Structure
DUOS is a constituent part of DSU (Durham Students Union), and is as such a
registered charity (no. 1145400). It is governed by an executive committee
comprised of students, and is the process of setting up an Advisory Committee to
oversee and guide the orchestra, which will be made up of experienced and
influential people from the arts and business worlds.
Players are auditioned annually in the first weeks of the Michaelmas term, with
auditions for the two conductors, orchestra leaders and soloists taking place towards
the end of the Easter term.

The societys objectives are clear and seek to provide opportunities for the
universitys talented musicians that are not readily available elsewhere. We strive to
achieve this through the following efforts:

providing expert advice and guidance to players by experienced and highly

regarded professional musicians. In Easter term, following the exam period,
DUOS embarks on a week of intensive rehearsal with musicians brought in
from the major British symphony orchestras to tutor the societys players.
These include for example...There is also a chance for the two student
conductors to receive coaching from Richard Dickins, a noted conducting
pedagogue and professor at the Royal College of Music.

promoting the universitys aspiring composers. It is extremely rare for up-andcoming composers to be given the opportunity to write for an orchestra vital
experience that is sorely lacking in many young composers training and the
chance offered by DUOS to compose a piece to be performed by the
orchestra is unique in Durham.

providing opportunities for the most talented players to perform solos with an
orchestra a chance rarely afforded to student musicians, even at specialist
institutions such as the various music conservatories in London.

programming exciting and novel productions across a broad range of genres

that are of genuine interest both to the participating players and to the wider
Durham public.

maintaining the high profile and prestige of the orchestra through innovative
programming and high quality performances, which by extension increases
the profile of Durham University as a whole.

ensuring that concerts are not only of a consistently high artistic quality, but
also organisationally, logistically and financially sound. DUOS has a proven
track record of putting on successful high-profile concerts, not only in
prestigious venues in the local vicinity, such as Durham Cathedral, but also
on tour in a variety of European cities.

regularly engaging interesting and well-respected speakers to talk at concerts

about the works being performed. These include Professor Jeremy Dibble,
Professor Patrick Zuk and Lady Camilla Panufnik.

What our musicians have to say:

Playing in the Durham University Orchestral Society has enabled me to further

enhance my orchestral musicianship through performing complete works from a
range of repertoire to a high standard. It has also provided me and provides other
musicians with fantastic concerto and leader opportunities in a challenging yet
enjoyable setting. In my opinion, the leading classical music society in Durham.

Chris Hirschman, violin leader of Symphony Orchestra & soloist in

2012-13 (French & Arabic, 4th Year Undergraduate, University College)

DUOS gives an opportunity for students to take responsibility in both a musical and
administrative context, whilst also providing the chance to work with top-flight
professional conductors and instrumentalists, creating an exceptionally high
standard of performance and a hugely rewarding experience.

Alexander Robertson, trombone/Chamber Orchestra conductor 2013-14

(Economics, 3rd Year Undergraduate, Josephine Butler)

DUOS is a fantastic experience, both musically and socially, which quickly provides
incoming freshers with the chance to meet a whole array of new people and through
making music together, become great friends.

Sergei Bastichev, (Physics, 1st Year Undergraduate, University College).

Playing in DUOS has been a great opportunity to improve my orchestral

musicianship, performing a wide variety of repertoire in an efficiently student led
society. I have had a wonderful time and really grown

Jonathan Huff, trumpet (Music, Postgraduate Student, St. Johns)

Press
Horst Rdiger (March 2014) immediately convincingcompletely assured with
very pure intonationa stirring performance by the visiting orchestra.
The Bubble (June 2014) a tremendous performancefaultlessly executed.
Palatinate Newspaper (June 2013) Sir Thomas Allen is not the only experienced
performer here tonight. These may be students, but they are by no means
unprepared or unused to this kind of setting.

Recent highlights
June 2014, Durham Cathedral Britten Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge,
Shostakovich Chamber Symphony, Holst The Planets
March 2014, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedchtniskirche (Berlin) Saint-Sans
Concerto No. 3, Borodin Symphony No. 2, Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture

Violin

June 2013, Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Vaughan

Williams Five Mystical Songs (with Sir Thomas Allen),

Programme for 2014-15 Academic Year

Michaelmas Term 2014
1. Chamber Orchestra 29 November, Castle Great Hall; 1 December, Sage
Gateshead
Panufnik (Andrzej/Roxanna) Modlitwa
Bach The Art of Fugue Canon and Fugue (orch. G. Benjamin)
Panufnik (Andrzej) Bassoon Concerto
Schubert Symphony No. 5
We mark the centenary of the birth of British-Polish composer Andrzej Panufnik
(1914-1991) with a performance of his Bassoon Concerto in what will be only the
sixth UK performance of this work. The solo will be played by Matthew Burgess,
DUOS Principal Bassoonist.
Modlitwa (Prayer) is a setting by Andrzej Panufnik of the Prayer to the Virgin of
Skempe by the Polish poet Jerzy Pietrkiewicz. Left unfinished, the song was
completed and orchestrated by Roxanna Panufnik, his daughter, and a successful
and highly-respected composer in her own right.
Lady Camilla Panufnik, Andrzejs widow and Roxannas mother, will be talking
before the concert in the Sage about her husbands life and works.
Despite its proximity, DUOS has never before performed in the Sage Gateshead and
it seems particularly fitting that the orchestra makes its debut in this world-class
concert hall in 2014-15, the season in which the society celebrates fifty years since
its founding.
2. Symphony Orchestra tbc, tbc
Beethoven Egmont Overture
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
Stravinsky Scherzo fantastique
Sibelius Symphony No. 6
Beethoven, perhaps the greatest symphonist to have ever lived, composed a set of
incidental pieces to Goethes Egmont, with overture quickly becoming one of the
most celebrated pieces of the classical canon.
Felix Mendelssohns Violin Concerto in E Minor (performed by second year, Sergei
Batishchev, Physics, University College) was his largest orchestral work, and has
gone to become one of the most popular of all concertos

Epiphany Term
3. Both orchestras 28 February, Elvet Methodist Church
New piece from the winner of the DUOS student composition competition
Britten A Charm of Lullabies
Mahler Symphony No. 1
In keeping with our commitment to promoting new music and aspiring student
composers, DUOS is holding, as a new initiative in 2014-15, a composition
competition open to all students across the university, with the winner having their
piece performed by the Chamber Orchestra. The competition jury will include John
Casken, a highly renowned British composer signed to Schott Music (and a former
Professor at Durham University), who will also mentor the winner.
The first of 10 symphonies, The Titan in D major, was composed between 1887 and
1888. Although early performances of the work were not very well received, after
some alterations, the work is now regarded as one of the stalwarts of the symphonic
repertoire. Lasting between fifty minutes and an hour, it is a huge work, and worthy
of its title.

Easter Term
4. Both orchestras 15 June, Durham Cathedral
Beethoven Symphony No. 8
Saint-Sans Piano Concerto No. 2
John Casken The Trackway of Time (New commission)
Ravel Daphnis et Chlo Suite No. 2
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of DUOS founding, the society has commissioned
a new work from John Casken for the Chamber Orchestra and Sir Thomas Allen, the
Universitys Chancellor. This will not only be an incredibly exciting opportunity for all
the participating musicians, both with regards to premiering a new piece by John
Casken and working with Sir Thomas Allen, but it will also be a huge prestige boost
for Durham University as a whole, with this being the most high profile work any
group at the university has ever commissioned.
Saint-Saens Second Piano Concerto was composed in 1868 and is regarded as his
most popular piano concerto. At its premiere, the composer was the soloist, and our
soloist is 3rd year music student, Jonathan Whittaker.
The ballet, Daphnis et Chlo was commissioned from Ravel in 1909 by Sergei
Diaghillev for his Ballets Russes. The premiere was given in 1912, with Ravel
subsequently extracting two orchestral suites from the full ballet. The work calls for a
chorus, and as such DUOS will be collaborating with Durham University Chamber
Choir, the universitys premier choral ensemble, for the performance.