Jacob Liao, Contributing Photographer

To William Boughton, musical director of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra is perhaps the greatest debating chamber in humankind. Even the smallest instruments, he said, get a hearing. 

On Nov. 16, the YSO will present its “Fantasy” concert, where various genres of music will come together in the debating chamber of Woolsey Hall. This concert holds additional significance for Boughton, for whom this show will mark his final November performance before he steps down at the end of the academic year and closes out a six-year directorship. 

“The musical argument is thrown around this musical debating chamber, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s film music, whether it’s serious music, light music, jazz, whatever,” said Boughton. “All music has this extraordinary sound world that encapsulates and embraces life in a way.”

Featuring six pieces spanning from late 19th-century Romantic and early modern music to contemporary film scores, the program showcases the talents of the college symphony as they perform a breadth of genres. 

According to Tobias Liu ’26, YSO programming chair and former arts reporter for the News, the November concert offered an opportunity to perform shorter pieces from a variety of different composers. 

It can be difficult to sustain the momentum of audience attendance following the widely popular annual Halloween show, said Liu.

Liu, along with a programming planning committee, spent the last three months at the end of the previous academic year to plan the program for the 2024-25 year. YSO repertoire programming chooses music from three musical genres: the Western canon, American heritage and American contemporary music.

“As a preeminent American university, I think it’s important that students coming to Yale learn about their heritage and also learn about what’s happening outside the bubble of Yale,” said Liu.

Designing the November concert, Liu and the programming team decided to include Richard Strauss’s “Don Juan.” Despite being one of the most challenging pieces in YSO’s repertoire, there was huge support within the orchestra to play the piece. 

“Don Juan,” composed in 1888 during the German late-Romantic period, is a tone poem inspired by the legendary character of Don Juan, also known as Don Giovanni. He is known to be a seductive figure who pursues love relentlessly, which ultimately leads to his downfall.

“The opening of the Strauss [score] is actually used as an audition excerpt for a lot of professional orchestras, so a lot of violinists have played the opening minute or two,” said Liu. “It’s one of those staples in the repertoire that everyone [in YSO] knows or has heard or has attempted to play at some point.”

The concert program includes two film scores. From the iconic “Star Wars” soundtrack by John Williams, the orchestra will play “Princess Leia’s Theme,” “Main Title” and “The Imperial March.” YSO invited students from nearby New Haven public schools to listen to the legendary score live. 

Audiences can also listen to Erich Korngold’s “Sea Hawk Overture.” Additionally, the concert includes Bernard Rands’ “Symphonic Fantasy,” Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” and Carlos Simon’s “Tap” from “Four Black American Dances.”

“Fanfare for the Common Man,” a piece written by Copland in response to the United States’ entry into World War II, is carried entirely by brass and percussion musicians.

“I think this concert really highlights the skills of our brass in a nice way,” Keeley Brooks ’25, president of YSO, reflected. “In this concert, their parts are really hard. We’re definitely maxing out their lungs to the fullest capacity, but they’re sounding really great.” 

Unlike previous concerts, said Brooks, this one will feature no soloist; the orchestra is the real “star” of the concert. The concert will also be filmed, which is a relatively new practice for YSO. 

Bernard Rands’ “Symphonic Fantasy,” which will close the concert, was dedicated to Boughton by the composer himself.

The two shared conversations about their mutual admiration for Jean Sibelius’ “Symphony No. 7,” just as Rands received a commission from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Inspired by their shared love for this one-movement work, Rands composed “Symphonic Fantasy” as a tribute. 

The Boston Symphony Orchestra premiered this piece, making YSO only the second ensemble to perform it.

“Some of the pieces, such as “Symphonic Fantasy” and the “Star Wars” literally fit within the theme of fantasy. But for [other pieces, such as] Carlos Simon’s “Tap,” we were thinking about fantasy in terms of how it has the power to transform historical realities through art,” said Liu. 

This past year, YSO, along with the Glee Club and Yale Concert Band, have become zero-credit classes. YSO rehearses every Monday and Wednesday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., with about eight rehearsals leading up to each concert. 

For the November show, rehearsals began in early October; the orchestra took a brief pause to prepare for their Halloween performance. 

“[Preparations for this show have been] wonderful, invigorating, demanding, but always providing unexpected surprises,” Boughton said. “They’re very skilled musicians, but learning new repertoire, particularly pieces like the Bernard Rands, is demanding of even a professional orchestra.”

Boughton, Liu, and Brooks all shared that YSO is more than just an orchestra — it is “a community.” 

Brooks said that the orchestra members become closer and are revitalized by the energy of the Halloween concert.  

“As a senior, I’m just starting to get a little bit nostalgic. I think any chance to get on stage with the orchestra is something I really look forward to,” Brooks said, “This concert cycle is very energetic and lively and I think it really plays on some of the strengths of the orchestra.”

Those who are interested in attending the concert can reserve their tickets online. 

Boughton encourages members of the Yale community and beyond to attend the concert, which he believes offers something larger than just music itself. 

“We don’t wake up in the morning and say, ‘Oh, what a wonderful sound that the birds are singing.’ We just kind of take it for granted,” Boughton said. “To bring all of these instruments together with the skills of the players in one ensemble with a musical argument being thrown around is kind of a metaphor for life, really. We’re debating with each other.” 

Woolsey Hall is located at 500 College St.