Royal Academic Orchestra on tour to Vienna

It is not so common for the Royal Academic Orchestra to tour abroad, but now it is about to happen, for the first time in seven years. The orchestra will perform its music in concerts in the Johann Nepomuk Church and the auditorium of the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien).

“We want to take Swedish music there, because I think it’s important to be an ambassador for our culture, so we’re bringing Hugo Alfvén’s Dala Rhapsody and music by Crusell, who lived in the 19th century and was a clarinettist in the Royal Swedish Orchestra. We will also be playing the piece Flyttfåglar by the contemporary composer Andrea Tarrodi. After the intermission, we will go on to play Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances,” says conductor Stefan Karpe.

One of the oldest academic symphony orchestras in the world, the Royal Academic Orchestra is already planning for its 400th anniversary in 2027. The orchestra has more than 80 members of varied age.

“They are mainly students and staff at the University, but we also have members who come from music schools, are music teachers, or are connected with the University in some other way,” says Karpe.

Many are exchange students

The average age is between 20 and 30, and most people stay in the orchestra for about four years, says Rebecca Måwe, producer at Musicum.

“Many are exchange students from Asia, Germany and France. For them, the opportunity to continue playing alongside their studies is the icing on the cake. This is why we have launched a network for student orchestras, the European Network for University Orchestras (ENUO).”

It is thanks to this network that the upcoming tour has come about. The host orchestra in Vienna, TU Orchestra at TU Wien, went on tour to Uppsala last autumn and now it is the Uppsala orchestra’s turn to travel to Austria.

“We helped them organise venues for their concerts and now they are helping us with many of the practicalities. Each orchestra pays for its own travel and accommodation, but the host organises the premises, instruments and other things,” says Karpe.

Performing at the Conferment Ceremony

Before heading off to Austria, the orchestra will play at the Doctoral Degree Conferment Ceremony in the Grand Auditorium on 23 May. They are a set feature of all academic ceremonies at Uppsala University, and every Tuesday and Wednesday they rehearse at Musicum, a building built specifically for the orchestra.

“There is a rich tradition that we are keen to preserve. We are partly funded by the University’s orchestral fund, which yields returns every year. Having saved for several years, we can now afford to undertake this tour,” Karpe concludes.

Annica Hulth