University of Alberta Department of Music: Celebrating 60 years of Passion and Resilience

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The current iteration of University of Alberta’s respected University Symphony Orchestra can be traced back to a ragtag group of faculty, community members and students from, of all places, the Faculty of Medicine. Now, approaching the department’s 60th anniversary, Department Chair William Street describes a better-funded but equally tenacious community of musicians who are working to create a vibrant future for classical music.

“We’re resilient,” says Street, who is also the department’s professor of solo and ensemble wind instruments. “No matter what happens around us, the students and the faculty members come together and they create great music.”

This year marks the anniversary of the department’s formal membership within the university’s arts faculty, which began under organist and choirmaster Richard Eaton in 1965. However, the music program’s inception can be traced back much farther. In 1942, a group of amateur musicians came together for a performance of the satirical comic opera, The Pirates of Penzance, to enthusiastic public support.

In the time since this first orchestra formed, the department has grown into a mid-sized program which, nevertheless, holds its own among music departments at larger Canadian institutions. “For the size that we are, we do a lot!” Street says. “We have limited resources, but the quality remains the same [as larger programs].”

Training strong, multi-faceted musicians is particularly important in 2025, with symphony orchestra vacancies being few and far between. “[In our program], we talk about the realistic nature of performing with a symphony orchestra,” Street says. “We have way more talented musicians than can ever play in a symphony orchestra.”

But for Street, this is only a roadblock, not a cause for despair. “A lot of musicians study because they’re passionate about music itself. About the poetry of music.”

For a program like this, filled with tenacious musicians trying to eke out a place in a competitive field, a 60th anniversary is a major milestone and cause for celebration. And yet, while Street acknowledges this achievement, he and the rest of his department do not allow this celebration to overshadow the daily, hard work that goes into music-making.

Earlier this year, the department made the choice to delay its 60th anniversary concerts in order to pursue renovations of its primary performance space—“the Old Arts Building,” the very same space which housed that early University of Alberta production of Pirates of Penzance.

With the choice between delaying anniversary celebrations in favour of making tangible improvements that will benefit the student experience, the department signals its intention to look to the future rather than dwell on the past. When the well-earned celebrations do take place—most likely around the 62-year mark—they will capture the spirit of resilience that has always characterized this program.