A small yet well-known engineering school in Upstate NY isn’t somewhere that would be expected to produce the talent to perform at a world class concert hall. However, that’s what happened at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 24 when Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) celebrated the launch of a new Bachelor of Science degree program in music with a debut performance by the Rensselaer Orchestra.

Produced by DCINY (Distinguished Concerts International New York), the show brought together friends, family and classmates of the performers along with NYC locals for an enjoyable night of classical music.

Under the direction of Nicholas DeMaison, the Rensselaer Orchestra presented two pieces beginning with River Rouge Transfiguration composed by Missy Mazzoli (commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2013) and continuing with Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82, composed during the years of World War 1.

RPI President Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson began the show with some opening remarks about the new music degree and program. “…the degree is a means of preparing today’s contemporary musician for fluency in the arts as well as in the sciences…We all have recognized the degree to which the arts can spark innovation and the value connected with the arts, science, and technology.” Dr. Jackson continues, “our new Bachelor of Science in Music will enable us to further incorporate the arts throughout our research, curriculum, and student life experience…The theme of our musical program this evening is also about transformation that celebrates the work of two innovative and inspiring composers, Missy Mazzoli and Jean Sibelius.”

Since the concert, the university has released a video of the concert which can be seen here.