Wednesday, Nov. 13, Bakersfield College and Cal. State University Bakersfield combined orchestras to put on a concert in BC’s Edward Simonsen indoor theatre.

Dr. Scott Dirkse the director of instrumental music at BC explained after low enrollment in both individual orchestras after the Covid-19 pandemic Dr. Dirkse and Dr. Leo Sakomoto director of instrumental music at CSUB decided to combine orchestras to perform with a full orchestra.

Having started in 2021 this year is the fourth year of having this combined orchestra.

The concert itself consisted of 5 pieces that varied in difficulty and feeling from operatic to heavily classical music.

Dr. Dirkse said that his favorite part of this combined ensemble was that “Many BC students end up transferring to CSUB, so having a joint ensemble is a great way to build connections between schools. It also gives our BC students an opportunity to play in a larger ensemble alongside more advanced players.”

The audience enjoyed the performances applauding after every piece and cheering at the end of the concert.

Dr. Sakomoto led the orchestra during the concert while Dr. Dirkse gave context for each song or movement that was about to be performed.

The orchestra is open to anyone with string instrument experience whether a BC student, CSUB student, or a community member.

The orchestra alternates performing at the BC campus and the CSUB campus for multiple performances a year.

The concert ran about an hour and a half and cost $10 for the general public, $5 for college students with IDs and High school students with IDs got in for free.

The next concert from this orchestra at the BC campus will be Mar. 5, in the spring semester.