Seeking to glorify God and minister to others, the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra is a place where music is an act of worship. Here, musicians pursue the highest possible level of artistic achievement in a Christ-centered environment that fosters musical excellence, creativity, and spiritual growth.
Directed by Dr. Benjamin Klemme, the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra (WCSO) performs four full concerts throughout the year and joins other Wheaton College ensembles for the Homecoming Concert, Christmas Festival, and Commencement Celebration Concert. Additionally, WCSO is active in offering music for worship in services on and off campus and performing concerts for school and church communities during regional, national, and international tours.
"The promise of a Wheaton education is that you'll find yourself engaging deeply with the best thinkers and works in your field in the midst of a community of Christians devoted to loving God and each other through the rigorous pursuit of truth and beauty. The Symphony Orchestra is precisely such a community, and the four years that I spent performing in it were truly an indispensable part of my Wheaton experience."
Cameron Harro (’20), horn player
Tickets for the WCSO concerts listed below are available at tickets.wheaton.edu.
Additionally, WCSO concerts livestreamed at wheaton.edu/streaming.
2024 | 2025 Concert Series
Homecoming Concert: Sounds of Wheaton
Featuring All of the Conservatory Ensembles
Friday, October 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Edman Chapel
Fall Concert
Saturday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Edman Chapel
Wheaton College Christmas Festival
Friday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 7 at 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Edman Chapel
Concerto Competition Honors Concert
Saturday, January 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Edman Chapel
Winter Concert
Saturday, February 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Edman Chapel
Spring Concert
Friday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Edman Chapel
Commencement Celebration Concert
Friday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Edman Chapel
Join the Symphony Orchestra!
The Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra has a long history of music excellence dating back to the late 1800s. With a commitment to music for Christ and his Kingdom, the Symphony Orchestra is a unique place where creativity, instrumental performance, and Christian community flourish. Will you join in on the legacy of orchestral music-making at Wheaton?
- The Symphony Orchestra rehearses on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:15 to 6:15 p.m.
- String sectionals are held on selected Mondays from 5:00 to 6:15 p.m.
- Woodwind and percussion sectionals are held on selected Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m.
- Brass sectionals are held on selected Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Participation in the Symphony Orchestra is open to all students, regardless of major. While it is a semester course, Symphony Orchestra musicians are asked to commit to involvement for the entire academic year.
Ensemble auditions take place during the first week of classes every fall semester. Please fill out the Ensemble Auditions Form to indicate your interest in auditioning. A member of the Conservatory of Music community will contact you to schedule an audition time. Audition materials for each instrument are provided below.
Instrumentation: violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute (including piccolo), oboes (including English horn), clarinet (including bass clarinet), bassoon (including contrabassoon), horn, trumpet, tenor trombone, bass trombone, tuba, percussion, harp.
Scheduling Your Audition: Ensemble auditions take place during the first week of classes every fall semester. Please fill out the Ensemble Auditions Form to indicate your interest in auditioning. A member of the Conservatory of Music community will contact you to schedule an audition time. Audition materials for each instrument are provided below.
Audition Music for 2024-2025 (All links are to PDFs)
Symphony Orchestra Clips
Giuseppe Verdi, Overture to “La Forza del Destino”
Arturo Márquez, Danzón No. 2
View our Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra Gallery
Virtual Audition Guide
Best practices for filming your ensemble audition.
1. Find a quiet room without distractions to record your audition.
2. Set up your camera or phone 4 to 8 feet away from yourself.
3. Record with the landscape orientation, not portrait orientation. We want to be able to see your technique and hear your playing.
4. If using a phone to record do not use the selfie camera.
5. You do not need to record in 4K, as the gain in video quality is not worth the massive increase in file size. On an iPhone, we recommend setting it to "HD • 30".
6. Avoid shooting in front of bright light or a window as you will appear too dark in the foreground.
7. Record your audition in one shot. Do not take multiple recordings and combine them.