Lincoln Civic Orchestra

Why We Love Lincoln: Lincoln Civic Orchestra

When you go to an orchestra concert, you probably don’t expect to sing along to Disney’s Frozen, but dozens of concertgoers did just that this past Sunday.

The Lincoln Civic Orchestra performed a series of seasonally themed pieces entitled Four Seasons for its fall concert. LCO provides an opportunity for community musicians to make music together to share with the community and have a blast while doing it (icy or otherwise).

After starting off this Sunday's concert with An Outdoor Overture by American composer Aaron Copland, we took a journey through the seasons of the year beginning with spring. The concert ended with audience members singing at the encouragement of the conductor, Rob Salistean, before (and during) a medley of songs from Frozen.

For the spring season, we played Spring Song, op. 16 by Jean Sibelius, which explored the sadness of spring. Summer Dances by Brian Balmages written in 2000 provided an opportunity to experience a sizzling new composition from an American composer. Associate Director Brett Noser conducted In Autumn, op. 11 by Edvard Grieg, a stormy and romantic piece.

This was my first concert playing violin with LCO, and I will definitely be coming back for more. In addition to playing awesome music, LCO is a very fun and welcoming group. Sometimes it feels like I stumbled into a comedy club instead of orchestra rehearsal on Thursday nights!

What I love about LCO is the accessibility. The music selection is accessible, and the concerts themselves are accessible because they're free. I know that there were people who would never normally attend an orchestra concert there, and they came because their kids liked hearing Frozen and it was a free afternoon of entertainment and culture.

One of my favorite parts of LCO is the variety of people I've met. Because it is the resident orchestra at Nebraska Wesleyan University in northeast Lincoln, there are many Wesleyan students that form its ranks, but there are also students from other area schools and adults of all ages. This diversity provides a unique opportunity to meet people of Lincoln and helps unify the community.

If you are interested in joining the group, please contact info@lincolncivicorchestra.org. If you're interested in hearing us play, join us on February 22nd, 2015 for a concert themed Solos and Dancing!

All photos from the Lincoln Civic Orchestra website.