Caltech Orchestra Performs “Four Great Film Composers” at Ramo Auditorium

A 70-piece symphony orchestra made up of Caltech students, faculty, staff, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory community members performs a free concert Saturday evening at Ramo Auditorium, with a program built around four composers who shaped the sound of American cinema. Conducted by music director Allen Robert Gross, the Caltech Orchestra closes one of its three pairs of annual concerts with “Four Great Film Composers.”

The orchestra rehearses once a week at Caltech and gives roughly four concerts per academic year. Recent programs have spanned symphonies by Mahler, Brahms, and Beethoven alongside contemporary works, and the ensemble has collaborated with guest artists including Los Angeles Philharmonic concertmaster Martin Chalifour and violinist Danielle Belen. Featured student soloists are selected through Caltech’s annual concerto competition.

Ramo Auditorium, donated to Caltech by Simon and Virginia Ramo, has long been the orchestra’s home concert hall. Performances at Ramo are free and open to the general public, part of a tradition of cultural programming offered by Caltech Event Productions as a campus and community service.

The Saturday concert pairs with a 3 p.m. matinee on the same day, giving listeners two opportunities to catch the program.

Caltech Orchestra “Four Great Film Composers” will run on Saturday, May 16 at 8 p.m. Ramo Auditorium, Caltech, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena. For more information, email Hyesung Park at hschoe@caltech.edu or visit pva.caltech.edu/music/orchestra. Admission is free.