The Unicamp Symphony Orchestra (OSU) turns 40 years old in 2022. Created in 1982 by maestro Benito Juarez, OSU maintains an intense concert program and functions as an experimentation laboratory, contributing to the training of students. A special season of performances marks the anniversary celebrations.
The special episode Singular Symphony, from Rádio e TV Unicamp, is part of the celebration of OSU’s four decades. The video report features never-before-seen images of Benito Juarez, the first conductor, as well as testimonials from Cinthia Alireti, conductor since 2012, Raul do Valle, retired professor from the Department of Music at Unicamp, and Eduardo Ostergren, conductor between 2000 and 2010 and one of those honored in the anniversary program. Watch:
An orchestra integrated into the University
The work of the Unicamp Symphony is characterized by interaction with teaching, research and extension of the university environment. “The Unicamp Symphony is one of the few professional orchestras completely integrated into a university”, says Cinthia Alireti.
What makes OSU even better known to the public is the intense program of annual concerts and the staging of at least one complete opera per year, in partnership with the Ópera Studio singing class, from the Music course at the Unicamp Institute of Arts. .
Professor Angelo José Fernandes, coordinator of Ópera Studio and the Center for Integration, Documentation and Cultural Diffusion (CIDDIC), the body to which OSU is linked, highlights that the partnership brings lessons to everyone. “The participation of the choir ended up becoming a space of great growth for my students, which gave the singing course great national visibility”, he says.
The beginning of OSU
The first chords of the Orchestra sounded in August 1982, conducted by Benito Juarez. Initially, it was formed by a string group, made up of 13 musicians. "We felt the need to have a living organism among us, and for the conductor to be able to take his first steps directing an orchestra", recalls Raul do Valle.
OSU members also remember the creation and importance of the group. “Maestro Benito created this group to help us as musicians”, says Meila Tomé, cellist at the Orchestra since its foundation.
“I took the Music course at Unicamp, I have a degree in viola and conducting, and it was a gift to join a professional orchestra”, says Vânia Claudia Vera e Silva, who was a member of OSU between 1988 and 2019.
In the late 1980s, the group began to grow. “The orchestra stopped having an all-strings configuration and started having a classical configuration. Along with the strings, winds and percussion were introduced”, recalls bassoonist Francisco Amstalden, who joined the orchestra in 1990.
Currently, OSU is made up of around 40 musicians, who perform on average 45 concerts per year. In addition to cultural programming for Campinas and the region, offering presentations with accessibility resources, the Orchestra plays an important role in the training of students from the Unicamp Music Department.
“We have this laboratory function, which aims to both train and experiment. We're at a university, so this is possible: experimenting and reviewing. I think this is what characterizes our work here at Unicamp”, summarizes conductor Cinthia Alireti.
40 years programming
In 2022, OSU will celebrate its 40th anniversary. The next concerts will be with the Campinas Contemporary Choir, with a performance of Requiem by Mozart, one of the Austrian composer's main works. The presentations are free and take place in Piracicaba, Campinas and Limeira, between June 8th and 10th.
Check out the details:
Piracicaba (8/6): Municipal Theater “Dr. Losso Neto” (Av. Independência, 277 - Alto, Piracicaba), 19:30 pm
Campinas (9/6): Auditorium of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Unicamp (R. Albert Sabin - Cidade Universitária), 19:30 pm
Limeira (10/6): Church of Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte and Assunção (Largo da Boa Morte, 51 - Centro), 19:30 pm
The official commemorative concert takes place on August 18th. The complete anniversary season schedule can be seen at website and on OSU social media: Facebook / Instagram.
