Conn’s orchestra goes international

The Connecticut College Orchestra will travel to Japan to play with Tokyo Sinfonia on March 14

It’s incredible what a difference two years can make.

When Professor Shou Ping Liu joined the Connecticut College Music Department faculty in 2023, the orchestra program was rebuilding following COVID. As she recalls, “The orchestra went through a really hard time. There were only maybe nine or 10 students at auditions.”

Now 31 members strong, the Connecticut College Orchestra is preparing to travel nearly 7,000 miles to play with Tokyo Sinfonia, a decades-old 19-piece group founded by Robert Rÿker. On March 14, the Camel musicians will join the professional orchestra for a full Beethoven program in the Akasaka Civic Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

“We’re all so excited, but it almost doesn’t feel real yet,” admits Liu, who serves as conductor.

“We’ve been practicing the repertoire since the fall semester. It takes all that time and effort. This is a very traditional, very difficult program. But the students commit to this. They show up and practice. They practice all the time,” she continued.

“We just did a run-through of the program, and some of us—the students are so sweet—some of us were moved to tears.”

Orchestra member Cade Fogdall ’26, a trombone and timpani player and music major from York, Pennsylvania, says he’s excited for the opportunity. 

“The fact that we’re able to play at such a high level to get this recognition, to get invited, is incredible,” he says.

Liu says the orchestra has benefited from strong recruitment. “I see this trend of very musically inclined students coming to Conn year after year.”

The trip has been made possible with support from the College, donations, a grant from the United States-Japan Foundation, and support from the city government of Minato-Ku.

Once the students return, they’ll have a chance to perform for a more local audience—the Connecticut College Orchestra will join the New England Chamber Orchestra, a local group Liu founded, for a March 28 concert at 8 p.m. in Evans Hall, Cummings Arts Center. Click here for tickets and more information.

Visit conncoll.edu/orchestra for more information, concert dates and the latest orchestra news.