Northern Lights String Orchestra
Yue Sun, Director
The Northern Lights String Orchestra, under the music direction of Dr. Yue Sun, is dedicated to the performance of large and small-scale works written for string orchestra. The group has explored the gamut of string orchestra repertoire from early Baroque through contemporary literature. The NLSO also adds wind, brass, and percussion as needed to perform works for full orchestra. It had its beginning as an outgrowth of the North Star Strings, as advanced members were interested in a more intense string orchestra experience. The North Star Strings is a group of adult string players who operate under the umbrella of the Fairbanks Symphony organization. The members of the NLSO benefit from an in-depth experience in string techniques as they relate to orchestra playing.
The NLSO is comprised of music majors and minors, students in other disciplines, and community members. The group has been in existence for over fifteen years, has featured student soloists, local soloists, and has supported performances by the Choir of the North and the UAF Opera Workshop.
The group also enjoys collaborations with many professional soloists including Kathryn Eberle, Associate Concertmaster of Utah Symphony; Daniel Han, section violin in the Philadelphia Symphony; Brian Lewis, violin soloist; Kevin Lawrence, violin soloist; Christopher Luther, violist and fiddler; Svend Rønning, Concertmaster of Tacoma Symphony; Sophie Lee, violin soloist; Matthew Thomas Troy, guest conductor; and many others.
Examples of composers’ literature that NLSO explores include modern compositions by Richard Peaslee, Michael McLean, Brian Balmages, Jesse Montgomery, and Kenji Bunch. NLSO also enjoys featuring new UAF student compositions and local Alaskan composers as well. NLSO also studies the more standard repertoire by composers including Grieg, Bach, Vivaldi, Dvorak, Elgar, Tchaikovsky, Coleridge-Taylor, and many others.
Contact Dr. Yue Sun at ysun12@alaska.edu for more information about joining the group.