The central mission of the MIT Symphony Orchestra is the cultural enhancement of education at MIT by promoting music performance at the highest level of artistic excellence among MIT students, by nurturing new works and young artists, by developing and sustaining the widest possible audience. The orchestra’s repertoire consists of works from the entire symphonic canon, spanning works of the early Baroque era to contemporary compositions, and including music for film and theatre.
Compositions by MIT Faculty are also part of MITSO's repertoire. The orchestra recently recorded Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique, and has participated in masterclasses with Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Roger Norrington, and Nicholas McGegan. Frequent collaborations with other ensembles such as the MIT Concert Choir, the theater program, with members of the faculty and performances by MITSOlite, a chamber orchestra comprised of MITSO members, are also part of MITSO’s activities.
The students in the MIT Symphony Orchestra come from a variety of fields including: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Biology, Mathematics, Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Nuclear Science and Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Management, Architecture, and Materials Science & Engineering.
With works described as “sumptuously scored and full of soaring melodies” (The New York Times), and “unspeakably gorgeous” (Gramophone), American composer Elena Ruehr is known for her bold lyricism, which is informed by her ability to combine diverse musical structures spanning the second Viennese School to minimalism. Currently composer in residence with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, she has been a Guggenheim Fellow (2014) and a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute (2008) and composer-in-residence with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, which recorded her opera Toussaint Before the Spirits (BMOP Sound) and her complete orchestral works (BMOP Sound, O’Keeffe Images). She has written five operas, twelve string quartets, and numerous other chamber, film and dance works that have been recorded on over twelve CDs and performed internationally.
Full Biography: MIT Music and Theater Arts
Website: elenaruehr.org
New Zealand-born violinist, educator, and arts entrepreneur Dr. Natalie Lin Douglas is the founder and artistic director of Kinetic Ensemble, the Houston-based conductorless ensemble. Committed to amplifying diverse, under-represented, and newly composed classical music through flexible chamber and orchestral ensemble performances, Kinetic has been coined “Houston’s indie, conductorless orchestra” (Houston Public Media) and praised for its “visually arresting… brilliantly executed” performances (Arts+Culture Texas). Under her leadership, Natalie has commissioned and premiered numerous works by composers of our time, including Karim Al-Zand, Daniel Temkin, Giancarlo Latta, Alexandra T. Bryant, and Daniel J. Knaggs.
Full Biography: MIT Music and Theater Arts
Website: natvln.com
A dynamic and versatile conductor, Adam Kerry Boyles is a notable figure in the musical life of New England. Boyles is currently Director of Orchestras at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Assistant Conductor of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director Emeritus of the Brookline Symphony Orchestra. In the 2019/2020 season, he was Visiting Assistant Professor/Co-Director of Orchestras at the University of Kansas City-Missouri Conservatory of Music. Previous Music Director positions include six seasons with the Brookline Symphony Orchestra, three seasons with the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, five seasons with Opera in the Ozarks, and five seasons with MetroWest Opera. Boyles also served on the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Arizona.
Full Biography: MIT Music and Theater Arts
Website: adamboyles.com
