The 75-piece TCU Symphony Orchestra, conducted by German Guiterrez, performed Carl Orff’s legendary “Carmina Burana” with baritone David Grogan ’89 and the 150-voice Fort Worth-TCU Symphonic Choir in February at Bass Hall.

Also performing were soprano Ava Pine ’98 and tenor Jay Smith ’08.

With more than 350 TCU students on stage at the world-renown venue, demand for tickets was high, and on performance night the event was indeed sold out.

Often regarded as his most notable and monumental work for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Orff’s “Carmina” is influenced by 24 monastic poems dated from the Medieval period that center on some of life’s ultimate dramas: fortune and wealth, pleasure and peril.

With its challenging vocal solos and seductive melodies, the work is one of the most dramatic musical portrayals of the fleeting nature of life.

The orchestra and choir did not disappoint, seizing on the piece’s barbaric rhythmic compositional style, bolstered by impressive soloist highlights.

The chorus had its moments as well, especially the powerful and recognizable “O Fortuna” which opens and closes the work.

The audience of 2,000 also delighted in the fanciful performance by the award-winning TCU Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensemble, conducted by Bobby Francis and Curt Wilson respectively, which began the evening.