The Fredonia College Symphony Orchestra, and its director, Dr. Emily Schaad, have been honored with The American Prize for 2025.
The orchestra was entered into the category of Orchestral Performance (college/university division – larger program) and named a Finalist for the prize earlier in the year. The other finalists included the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, Purdue Philharmonic Orchestra, Oklahoma State University Symphony Orchestra, TCU Symphony Orchestra and the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra.
The performance recordings submitted for consideration for the prize were from two Spring 2024 concerts including, “Capriccio Espagnol” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Montgomery Variations by Margaret Bonds, and Symphony No. 2, IV: Finale. Allegro, by Alexander Borodin.
“This award is for all of you, regardless of which semesters you have participated in CSO. The type of commitment, preparation, and willingness you bring to the rehearsal and performance process is what allows CSO to play great concerts and develop over time." - Dr. Emily Schaad
In a message to orchestra members, Dr. Schaad noted, “This award is for all of you, regardless of which semesters you have participated in CSO. The type of commitment, preparation, and willingness you bring to the rehearsal and performance process is what allows CSO to play great concerts and develop over time. We could not do any of that without your incredible studio teachers and the deep ensemble training provided by the phenomenal band program at Fredonia.”
The orchestra is comprised of undergraduate and graduate students with majors in Music Education, Music Performance, Sound Recording Technology, Music Composition, and Music Therapy at the Fredonia School of Music. All upper string majors and select bass, woodwinds, brass, and percussion participate in CSO during their undergraduate studies. The ensemble comprises the orchestra for an annual production of the university’s Hillman Opera and accompanies winners of Fredonia’s annual Concerto Competition.
The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, first awarded 2010, is the nation's most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. The American Prize is unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, directors, ensembles and composers in the United States at professional, college/university, community and high school levels, based on submitted recordings. For more information about the awards, go online.
The orchestra has recently collaborated with Valerie Coleman, Dr. Vivian Fung, and Dr. Jennifer Higdon, and will perform in 2026 with JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
