The Blue Lake International String Orchestra is comprised of talented and inspired young musicians and performs a full range of string orchestral works. In 2023, the International String Orchestra repertoire included selections such as Dances from the Fairy Queen – Henry Purcell; Serenade for Strings – Edward Elgar; Pavane – Faure, arr. Phillips; Dances of Transylvania – Bela Bartok; and Adagio for Strings – Samuel Barber. The 2023 International String Orchestra visited France, Germany, and Italy.
More information about our 2024 repertoire and destinations will be available soon!
We’re pleased to introduce our 2024 International String Orchestra Director and Faculty:
Suren Petrosyan
Director
Dr. Suren Petrosyan is Music Director of the Shoals Symphony and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of North Alabama, conducting the orchestras and teaching cello. Prior to his appointment at UNA, he served as Music Director and Conductor of the Mason Symphony in Michigan; he conducted orchestras and taught cello at Arkansas State University, at Creighton University, and at Alma College. He has conducted concerts with symphony and chamber orchestras in Germany, France, Armenia, Canada, and the United States. As a cellist, he has played with a number of orchestras including the Arkansas, Delta, Jackson, Texarkana, Lansing, Jackson, Alma, Midland, Sioux City, and Omaha symphonies. He recently performed as soloist with the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra in Maryland with Aram Khachaturian’s Concerto Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra, and has performed and curated chamber music concerts at University of North Alabama, Webster University, Arkansas State University, Louisiana Tech, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, the Music by Women Festival, and at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Dr. Petrosyan holds degrees in Orchestral Conducting and Cello Performance from Michigan State University and Yerevan State Conservatory in his home country of Armenia. Dr. Petrosyan has been on the Blue Lake Faculty for 18 years and is excited to lead the International String Orchestra for 2024.
Amanda Wilton
Faculty
Dr. Amanda Wilton is Principal Viola of the Shoals Symphony and is on the string faculty at the University of North Alabama. Prior to UNA, she taught at the University of Idaho, Creighton University, Lone Star College-Tomball, and Louisiana Tech University. As a violist she performed regularly with the Omaha Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, as well as the Lincoln, Texarkana, Sioux City, Dubuque, Quad City, and Jackson symphonies, and as Principal Viola of the Brazos Valley, Cedar Rapids, and Delta symphonies. She has performed extensively in Spain, Switzerland, and Germany and in recital in Houston, Chicago, Omaha, and West Michigan both as soloist and in chamber ensembles. Dr. Wilton has presented lecture-recitals at three American Viola Society Festivals, the College Music Society National Conference in Louisville, and at the Music by Women Festival. Dr. Wilton holds degrees in violin and viola from the University of Houston, University of Maryland, University of Missouri-St. Louis, and the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain where she studied as a Fulbright Researcher. Amanda’s hometown is Mount Pleasant, Michigan and she began her long affiliation with Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp as a 6th grader coming to camp for five summers, later as a cabin counselor, and has now served as a member of the Conducting and Viola Faculty for the past 14 years. A former Blue Lake International Orchestra student herself, Amanda is excited to lead students on the 2024 tour.
