Band and orchestra students are taking a trip to the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center Thursday at 7:30 p.m. to watch the Dallas Symphony Orchestra perform the World Premiere of a new cello piece, Polovtsian Dances, and Rite of Spring. 

Students are taking this trip as an opportunity to learn more about professional musical settings.

“Going to these performances [will] help me get a deeper understanding and feeling of well-known classical pieces,” junior Nicole Johnson said. “As both a violin and clarinet player, I love listening to each of those instruments and seeing how they play certain things, especially clarinet.”

Planning to pursue music in college, senior Kavan Mehta is hoping to learn from the professionals.

“I decided to go to the performance because I think it’s a great experience to see professional musicians firsthand and understand the styles, intricate details, and the musicality of the pieces they really emphasize in concerts,” Mehta said. “I plan to use this experience to try to bring more musicality in my own performances as I continue to play the violin in college and beyond.”

The desire to learn more about musicality is something several students are hoping Thursday’s outing provides. 

“I think the idea of musicality is something that is elusive to me,” senior Ajay Venkat said. “Listening to seasoned performers incorporate musicality in their pieces to make it more than just a series of notes and rhythms is something I hope to mirror and become a better musician.”

As someone who is used to experiencing concerts as a performer, this concert gives Venkat a unique opportunity to witness a live performance from the perspective of an audience member.

“I have never been to a live performance before, and I’ve always wanted to,” said Venkat. “Normally, being the one who performs pieces, it [will] be exciting being on the other side as the audience to a concert.”