MUSICIAN COMMENTS:
Participation in the Chicago Reading Orchestra covers myriad aspects to becoming a better orchestral musician. If you are looking for exposure to a wide array of the orchestral and solo standards that every orchestral musician should have played, you should experience the Chicago Reading Orchestra. Members are also offered seminars from professionals to help hone skills in audition preparation, share their knowledge of instrument care, and how to deal better with performance anxiety. This well-rounded workshop offers much-needed knowledge and experience that is hard to come by outside of one single insitution.
-Neil Kimel
2nd Horn Grant Park Symphony
First of all, it was a lot of fun for me. It was nice to see people from different backgrounds and at different stages in their professional lives participating. It was always a motivating, relaxed environment where egos didn't exist, and personal artistic skills were let out, rather than subject to the conductor's will. Kim is a really fun conductor to work with. She is always very prepared and humble. She is the kind of conductor who inspires respect and the desire to play my best at all times. The purpose of the CRO is extremely helpful, as sight reading is crucial to any musician. Plus, reading the kind of repertoire that we read is excellent training for the future as an orchestral player. Also, when Mike Goode gave his lectures about stage fright, it made me consider many things about performing. It was great! I recommend his ideas to a lot of people!
-Diego Piedra, Violin
New World and South Bend Symphonies
The CRO was a great way for me, a new player in Chicago, to make contacts, network with other musicians, and play beautiful repertoire in a very non-threatening environment.
-Rachel Levinson Fisher, Violin
New Philharmonic and Chicago Pops Orchestra