Music

Orchestra & Chamber Music

The Occidental-Caltech Symphony Orchestra offers Oxy students the opportunity to perform side by side with students, faculty, and staff from Caltech. Oxy's chamber music ensembles perform a wide variety of repertoire, and collaborate with the music department's composition students and faculty.

The Occidental-Caltech Symphony consists of instrumentalists from Occidental, Caltech, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and members of the community. The orchestra presents concerts on both the Occidental and Caltech campuses. The symphony performs a varied repertoire of classical, romantic, and contemporary music. An annual student concerto competition, held the first week in December, allows winners the opportunity to perform as soloists with the symphony. Membership is by audition at the beginning of the academic year. Directed by Allen Gross, the orchestra rehearses once weekly, at both Caltech and Occidental, with extra rehearsals before each concert.

Contact Allen Gross

Directed by Gloria Lum and Stephanie O’Keefe, Occidental's chamber music ensembles are made up of instrumentalists who are interested in performing chamber music for various media and drawn from various historical periods and styles. Among the usual ensembles are a brass ensemble, and various combinations of strings, woodwinds, and piano. Students perform at least twice during the year in regularly scheduled concerts, and often perform music composed specially for them by Occidental's student and faculty composers.

Contact Stephanie O'Keefe and Gloria Lum

  • Contact: Wendy Clifford, senior administrative assistant, (323) 259-2785, Booth 205
  • Contact: Irene Girton, department chair, (323) 259-2590, Booth 205