Augustana’s School of Music and South Dakota Symphony Orchestra
FORMALIZE ARTISTIC
PARTNERSHIP | BY JILL WILSON
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ugustana University’s School of Music (SoM) has formed an official partnership with the largest arts organization in the state — the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra (SDSO). “I think the main thing is that we want to support Augustana’s new School of Music. It’s a significant step forward for the university and its commitment to the arts in general, and music, in particular,” said Delta David Gier, SDSO’s music director of 17 years. “And, the orchestra, the South Dakota Symphony, is much bigger, much better than you would expect to find in a city the size of Sioux Falls. It’s a huge asset, culturally, to the city.” The artistic partnership is “a drum” that Dr. Peter Folliard “has been beating for a long time.” Folliard was well aware of what a partnership with the SDSO would mean for AU, even when first arriving at the university as the conductor of the Augustana Orchestra in 2007. When he was announced as the dean of the School of Music in May of last year, Folliard said it was time to push on the gas and put pen to paper.
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THE AUGUSTANA | FALL 2021
