Symphony celebrates 60

Dan Renzetti

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In March, the Yale Symphony Orchestra celebrated its sixtieth anniversary with a nod to its roots. John Mauceri ’67, ’70MPhil (seen here rehearsing with the orchestra), a conductor and author who led the YSO’s transformation from a nascent student chamber orchestra to a full-scale symphony orchestra from 1968 to 1974, returned to conduct Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in front of a full house in Woolsey Hall. Mauceri’s YSO performed the Mahler work, known as the “Resurrection” symphony, in 1971, an event he calls a “watershed moment” for the young orchestra, so for him it was a natural piece to reprise for the anniversary. Asked what it was like working with Yale students again, Mauceri marveled at the skill and passion of a group of student volunteers who will for the most part not become professional musicians. “There's nothing like that sound,” he said. “I mean, I tell you, after all the years I've been conducting, it was so uplifting to me to hear that sound of committed young people.”