Oklahoma Community Orchestra to perform “Women in Music” concert at OC on Nov. 12

The concert will feature four main performers on soprano, clarinet and flute.

November 12, 2019 - The Oklahoma Community Orchestra will perform a concert titled “Women in Music” at Oklahoma Christian University Nov. 12. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in Baugh Auditorium in the Garvey Center. 

“Women in Music” is OCO’s second subscription concert of the season. OCO exists to provide quality symphonic music to the community. The orchestra was founded in 1984 by the Chamber Music Division of the Oklahoma City Ladies Music Club. In 1987, OCO became a nonprofit organization supported by donations and member dues. 

The concert with feature four women.

Leona Mitchell, soprano, won a Grammy Award, spent 18 seasons as a leading Spinto Soprano at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and performed for five U.S. presidents: Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George Bush. Additionally, she has sung at several prestigious opera houses and collaborated with many major symphonies around the world. 

Jennifer Rucker, playing the clarinet, earned her bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in music education from the University of Central Oklahoma. She is a member of the Cimarron Wind Quintet and several orchestras. Currently, she works as an adjunct instructor at UCO and OC. Rucker has been the principal clarinetist since OCO’s inception in 1982 and serves as its current president and personnel manager. She has competed in the International Clarinet Association’s “Clarinetfest” Orchestral Excerpt Competitions where she was chosen as semifinalist in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 and won second place in 2007 in Vancouver, B.C. 

Janet Romanishin, playing the flute, has performed in many symphonies and orchestras, including the Tulsa Opera Orchestra and the Norman Flute Quartet. Romanishin made many guest appearances in solo recitals at the University of Arizona and the University of Redlands, the Ada Arts Council Artist Series and Oklahoma Music Teachers Association conferences. She served for nine years as a province officer for Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity and performed at the national convention with the group. She is on the founding board of the Oklahoma Flute Society, serving as president and treasurer. Romanishin taught flute at Duquesne University and Northern Arizona University Summer Fine Arts Camp and previously taught flute and piano at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix. She is a member of the Norman, Oklahoma, Arts and Humanities Guest Artist Program and teaches flute privately in Norman, serving as an adjudicator, freelancer and performer. Romanishin records with the Arioso Consort and is the principal flutist of the OCO. She served on the board of OMTA and as president and treasurer of Norman Area Music Teachers Association. 

Natalie Syring, also on the flute, holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of South Dakota and a master’s degree in flute performance from Sam Houston State University. Syring is an adjunct faculty member with UCO, OC and Herbert W. Armstrong College, teaching flute, piano and a variety of music subjects. She performed for The Woodlands Symphony Orchestra and is now a member of the OCO. Syring is featured regularly as a soloist on the Faculty Artist Concert Series at the Edmond Jazz Lab and plays the flute for the chamber music group Eclipse, a quartet made up of OC adjunct faculty musicians. Syring performs and teaches the baroque flute with the Britch Center for Historical Performance. She also conducts for the Oklahoma Flute Society’s Honor Flute Choirs for students in 7-12 grade as well as the Oklahoma Adult Flute Choir. She is a member of the National Flute Association and performed at several of their national conferences. 

OCO has strong ties to OC. The orchestra rehearsed several times at OC before they were invited to serve as the “Orchestra-in-Resident at Oklahoma Christian University” in 1995. Both organizations benefit from the relationship: OC provides the rehearsal space and concert halls while the OCO orchestra attracts new audiences and members to OC’s campus. 

The conductor of the orchestra is Dr. Irvin L. Wagner. The orchestra is made up of about 75 musicians that come from a multitude of backgrounds: professional musicians, business professionals, former members of a high school or college orchestra and music instructors. A few staff and alumni of OC perform in the OCO, such as Rucker and John Fletcher, professor of music at OC. 

Tickets are available at OCO’s website for $12.50 until two hours before the event. Tickets may also be purchased at the door for $15. Season tickets are available on OCO’s website for $50, which provide general admission for all five of OCO’s subscription concerts. For more information, visit http://okorchestra.org.