51´«Ã½

The 51´«Ã½ Chamber Orchestra (BCO) will once again bring a special performance toÌýMacky Auditorium—this time, in a concert titledÌýMay the 4thÌý(Be With You)Ìýfeaturing the music ofÌýStar WarsÌýby composer John Williams.Ìý

The opportunity for the orchestra to perform at CU 51´«Ã½â€™s impressive gothic theater came about due to support from CU 51´«Ã½ Chancellor Philip DiStefano and local donors.Ìý

The 51´«Ã½ Chamber Orchestra was founded in 2004 and comprises professionally trained musicians who appreciate the opportunity to be involved with a chamber ensemble. Now in its 14thÌýyear, the BCO has scheduled 12 main concerts this season, plus a New Year’s concert, a dance-style concert, and theÌýStar Wars-themed special concert atÌýMacky.Ìý

The connections between BCO and CU 51´«Ã½ are many. Bahman Saless, founder and music director of the BCO, is an ex-physicist who received his PhD at CU 51´«Ã½ in 1987.Ìý

Silas Huff, associate director of the BCO, previously served as the conductor of the U.S. Army Band and is now a conducting students at CU 51´«Ã½ under the guidance of Gary Lewis,Ìýdirector of orchestras and music professor in the College of Music.ÌýHuffÌýis also pursuing a doctoral degree in musical arts at CU 51´«Ã½.

Saless and Huff also run the International Conducting Institute (ICI), which invites young conducting students from around the world to attend workshops allowing them to work and study with some of the world’s best conductors. While the premier ICI workshops is held in the historic city of KroměřížÌýin the Czech Republic, the institute has one of its pillars in 51´«Ã½, where dozens of young conductors gather each year to conduct members of the BCO.Ìý