Hallo zusammen! Our names are Briana McGrane and Rachel Schwabenbauer, and we are the blog coordinators for the Luther College Symphony Orchestra Residency in Vienna, Austria. We are both music education majors at Luther, and both have been in the Luther College Symphony Orchestra (LCSO) for three years. In her junior year, Briana is principal bassoonist of the LCSO and she currently holds the position as president of the orchestra. In her senior year, Rachel is the principal flutist and currently holds the position as the LCSO’s social media officer. Here is a brief synopsis of our upcoming trip that all of us are so excited for!

On January 10th, 2019, the orchestra will be flying from the Chicago airport to Munich, Germany, where we will travel through Salzburg, Austria and to our final destination for the month-- Vienna, Austria.

Once we arrive in Vienna, we will begin daily rehearsals under the direction of Dr. Daniel Baldwin in preparation for our three performances at the end of the residency: One at the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava, Slovakia, the next at the Kultur Kongress Zentrum Eisenstadt in Eisenstadt, Austria, and our last performance at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Our program includes the works of Richard Wagner, Felix Mendelssohn, Manuel de Falla, and George Gershwin. Performing with us as our violin soloist (Mendelssohn) is Dr. Igor Kalnin, violin professor at Luther College.

The course we are taking during our residency will be under the instruction of Dr. Melanie Batoff and Dr. Philip Borter. Through the attendance of several musical performances and observing them through an ethnographic lens, we will develop our understanding of audience behavior and conventions in relation to their performance contexts.

We will also have free time during our residency to explore the beautiful and historically rich city of Vienna. Through these blog posts, you will read about experiences from the great food in Vienna to the extravagant Officer’s Ball to the several museums containing important art and history. Stay tuned for more on our Viennese adventure. Auf Wiedersehen!

-Briana and Rachel