Coming together: Basses, bases, strings and skates
The Miami University Symphony Orchestra and Miami’s championship athletic teams are getting to know each other better this spring.
April 23, orchestra members are attending a Miami baseball game.
May 1, members of six MAC or national championship teams are invited to the Miami symphony orchestra performance, “We Are the Champions: a concert of sports and music,” at 7:30 p.m. at Hall Auditorium on Miami’s Oxford campus. The teams will be recognized between movements and at intermission.
Miami’s championship teams and Coaches of the Year are:
- Women's volleyball, coach, Carolyn Condit
- Women's field hockey, coach, Iñako Puzo
- Men's cross country, coach, Tom Chorny
- Collegiate synchronized skating
- Men's swimming and diving, swim coach of the Year Hollie Bonewit-Cron and diving coach of the Year KR Li
- Women's tennis
There are many parallels between the performance of an athlete and that of a classical musician, says Ricardo Averbach, MUSO conductor and professor of music, who thought it would be good to unite these talented groups of students:
- Both involve a high level of physical skills, coordination and balance.
- They require a lot of time and practice.
- Teamwork is an intrinsic element of team sports and the performance of chamber or orchestral music.
- Sports and music require a superior level of discipline and the ability to focus on specific goals.
- Athletes and musicians need to develop sophisticated motor skills.
The concert will also feature the winners of the 2018-19 Concerto Competition, “musical athletes” of the department of music. It is free and open to the public.
