Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia
Quarterly Newsletter
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 | Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia
2012-2013 Season:
"Honoring Music Educators" |
Dear Bay Youth supporter,
Summer is flying by and we are preparing for another fantastic season at Bay Youth! This year, our theme will be, "Honoring Music Educators." Throughout the season, we will pay tribute to our music teachers. We will start out with a letter-writing event at our rehearsals in September. Each student will write a note to a music teacher of his or her choice, thanking them and inviting them to special events taking place throuighout the course of the season. At each concert, we will honor a music educator from the city where we are performing. We will have a "Bring your Instrument to Bay Youth" day when we will invite our teachers to join us for rehearsal and a reception. Look for even more activities throughout the year as we honor the teachers who make everything we do at Bay Youth possible.
Amanda Armstrong
Executive Director
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| Our Staff: | |
Amanda Armstrong
Executive Director
armstrong.byov@gmail.com
Sara Cramer
Orchestra Manager
bayyouthorchestras@gmail.com
Helen Martell
Music Director
J. Aaron Hardwick
Conductor, Concert Orchestra
Christina Morton
Conductor, String Orchestra, Junior Strings
Brad Shedd
Assistant Conductor, String Orchestra, Junior Strings
Paula Bonds
Librarian
Kevin Genus
Stage Manager
Lois Whitlock
Rehearsal Operations Assistant
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Our Board of Directors:
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Sarah Church Ford, President
Jeff Phelps, Vice President
Cindy Bryan, Secretary
Mike Gentry, Treasurer
Marquetta Jones
Brian Smith
Kecia Yeates
Muriel Evory
Janet Kriner
Martin Barritt
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Gold, Silver and Bronze Circle Contributors:
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Business Consortium for Arts Support of South Hampton Roads and its members
Virginia Commission for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
Norfolk Commission of the Arts and Humanities
Ruth & Scott McElroy
Chesapeake Fine Arts COmiission
Loren Evory, Jr.
Muriel & Loren Evory
JoAnn Falletta & Robert Alemany
Jonathan Lichtenstein
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| Bay Youth Instrument Needs | |
Have an instrument in the attic? Consider donating to Bay Youth! When we perform repertoire that calls for certain instruments, we must rent these, sometimes at great cost. If you have any of these instruments, please consider a tax-deductible donation to Bay Youth. You will be helping us provide more financial aid to those who need it, by defraying the cost of instrument rentals.
Our Current Needs:
Timpani E Flat Clarinet Piccolo English Horn C Trumpet
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| Auditions: August 25, 2012, Norview H.S. |
Bay Youth will hold auditions on August 25, 2012, at Norview H.S., from 9am to 1 pm.
We are still in need of most woodwinds, brass and percussion. If you know a talented player, please encourage them to contact us!
Please email Sara Cramer at bayyouthorchestras@gmail.com to schedule an audition.
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| Music For Pickup: Symphony and Concert Orchestras |
Music for Symphony and Concert orchestras will be available for pickup at Norview High School from 9am-1pm, August 25 (Saturday)
Music for Concert Orchestra will also be posted online, and you will receive a password to this protected page via email.
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| First Rehearsal and Parent Meetings: |
The BYOV Parent Meeting and first rehearsal for Symphony, Concert and Strings, will take place on Monday, September 10 in the auditorium at Norview H.S.
Parent/Student Meeting: 6:30 - 7:30 PM
String Orchestra rehearsal: 7:30 - 8:30 PM
Concert and Symphony rehearsals:
7:30 - 9:00 PM
The first rehearsal and parent meeting for Junior Strings will take place on Monday, October 1, at Norview H.S., from 5:30 to 6:30.
Please plan to attend this informational meeting. Meet the conductors, our staff, and our board, and learn more about our mission and the exciting season we have planned for 2012-2013!
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| Concerto Competition 2012 |
Our annual Concerto Competition will take place on Saturday, December 15, 2012, location tba.
A change this year: Concert Orchestra members are now eligible to participate in the competition!
Please see the attached application form for our new guidelines: Concerto Competition Guidelines and Application Form
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| Quote of the Month: |
This is why I teach music:
Not because I expect you to major in music
Not because I expect you to sing or play all your life
Not so you can relax
Not so you can have fun
But, so you will be human
So you will recognize beauty
So you will be sensitive
So you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world
So you will have something to cling to
So you will have more love, compassion, gentleness, good - in short more life.
Of what value will it be
to make a prosperous living unless you know how to live?
-Author Unknown
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 BYOV Summer Camp at Norfolk Academy
Helen Martell
Bay Youth @ The Academy: Summer Orchestra Camp 2012
Listen to what the campers had to say:
"I very much enjoyed the music selected and all of the teachers were engaging and made the week enjoyable."
"I learned a lot on how to improve my practicing as much as my performance which I really enjoyed because it enhanced my everyday playing experience."
"The length of classes was good and I liked that there was some variation to the schedule - it kept everyday fresh. Jazz improv was so much fun."
"THE TEACHERS WERE AWESOME!!! I'd love to see them all again next year."
Helen Martell, Aaron Hardwick and our special guest, Virginia Symphony Associate Conductor Ben Rous led the groups with great enthusiasm through a variety of music and musical styles. Beethoven Symphony No 7 2nd movement and Mystical Quest were the favorites of each ensemble. Thank you so much to the VSO members who expertly led sectionals and technique sessions and to Dionne Wright for providing interesting theory lessons. Yoga, swimming and Aaron Hardwick's Jazz improv class were
big hits. Please plan on joining us for this great orchestra camp experience next year. We increased our enrollment by 40% since last year and I believe we can do it again.
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From Our New Board Chair: by Sarah Ford
My interest in BYOV comes as a former youth orchestra member, teacher of violinists in BYOV, coordinator of the Suzuki Strings Program at The Academy of Music, supporter of musical organizations in the community, and parent of former young musicians.
The fortieth anniversary was an exciting time to become active in the organization. Last year I chaired the Anniversary Gala and initiated a collaboration with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in support of the Four Rivers Commission.
It is an honor to be associated with this dedicated staff and to lead the board in support of their work with the young musicians of BYOV.
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Continuing Musical Studies after Bay Youth
by Dana Morrison, Bay Youth alumna
When I joined the Bay Youth Symphony Orchestra's trumpet section in 2006, I had never played in an orchestra before, but thought it sounded like fun. Playing the Overture from "Candide" in that first concert ended up being fun indeed, as well as scary and exhilarating, and has had a huge impact on my life ever since.
I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life when I graduated from Hickory High School in 2008, but I did like playing the trumpet. On top of that, playing in Bay Youth had enlightened me to the fact that there were these things called "orchestras," and that maybe if I practiced a lot I could get a job in one some day! So, I decided to enroll at Virginia Commonwealth University as a music major. I had met and had a couple lessons with the trumpet professor, Rex Richardson, and really liked him and what I had seen of the music department. On top of that I loved Richmond, and VCU was a big school with lots of options in case I decided that music wasn't for me. Turns out I didn't need to worry about that last part- this past spring I graduated suma cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance, will be pursuing my Master's degree in trumpet at Northwestern University this fall, and I couldn't be more excited about continuing my musical education.
My first semester as a music student was a challenge. I couldn't read bass clef, had no idea what a "chord progression" was, and it took me three tries to pass my first piano competency. But I persevered, and the things that at first seemed impossible are now second nature. I eventually took (and passed) a class where we analyzed Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, and ended up taking four semesters of secondary piano lessons after passing the requisite three competency levels.
VCU also provided me with the opportunity to play in a large range of ensembles, including the Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, a student-led brass quintet, and I even competed in the ensemble division of the National Trumpet Competition with the Trumpet Ensemble I.
Though I learned a lot at VCU, there was a ton to learn outside the classroom as well. When I auditioned for graduate school this past spring, I found myself flying to Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago all by myself- which was not only a test of self-reliance, but a crash course in the geography and public transportation systems of different cities. In just the past year I've played church gigs, first trumpet for Respighi's Pines of Rome at Eastern Music Festival, in the pit for a youth theatre camp's production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, and was a member of Richmond-based modern jazz ensemble Brunswick. Versatility and time-management have been extremely important. I learned different things from all of those experiences, but the biggest was that showing up early and having a good attitude greatly increases your chances of success.
While no one can predict what will come next, my current goals for the future are to complete my graduate studies at Northwestern and eventually make a living by being a musician. I'm glad I had Bay Youth to help introduce me to a broader musical world beyond high school band class, and hope it continues to inspire young musicians for years to come. Happy music making!
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Symphony Notes
by Helen Martell, Music Director
BYSO Shostakovich Symphony No 5 parts ready for pick up Saturday, August 25, 10AM-2PM, Norview High School
Bay Youth Symphony had a great taste of Shostakovich's music with Milton's performance of his CelloConcerto No. 1. What a new and different orchestral language we experienced! I decided shortly
thereafter that the BYSO's first musical project of the 2012-2013 season would be Shostakovich's powerful Symphony No. 5. This symphony is not only significant musically but probably saved Shostakovich's life from the repressive regime of Josef Stalin. Shostakovich started writing at a time when music, art, and literature had taken a turn towards the avant-garde. Romanticism was out of fashion while Serialism, Constructivism, Jazz, and the bizarre came into vogue. To earn a living as a young musician, Shostakovich would improvise music for silent films and play music for theater. He was very talented at this, but sometimes was criticized for being too modern in his approach. He was 19 when his First Symphony was premiered by the Leningrad Philharmonic and it was an instant success. The second movement was even encored at the first performance in 1925. By 1929, Stalin had created an atmosphere of suspicion, distrust, and fear within the country. Education institutions were subjected to military scrutiny and many people were jailed or killed for speaking out against the policies of the regime. In 1932, the political party assumed control over all cultural matters. Powerful music unions agreed that music should have a social message and be accessible to the masses. This was the atmosphere that existed when Shostakovich wrote his opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District". The opera created much controversy because of its realistic drama and challenging music although it was very successful and was performed over 100 times. Two years after this successful premiere, the terror of the era struck Shostakovich when Stalin attended a performance and left at intermission. The next day, a condemning article was published in the newspaper, Pravda, "Muddle instead of Music". It was a vicious attack on the opera and the composer. Overnight all music critics, musicians, and the public were forced to agree with the opinion or suffer questioning by the regime, shunning of the musical community or worse. Shostakovich was forced to cancel the performance of his Fourth Symphony because he was warned that it contained the same musical qualities of the opera. He was even brought in for questioning by the police for having information on an assassination plot against Stalin. Shostakovich needed to write a symphony that brought him back into good graces with the powerful critics in Stalin's favor. What resulted was the Symphony No. 5. It still contained his individual style with chromatic lines, angular melodies and rhythmic drive. There are no words in the score that explain the drama and pressure that Shostakovich was under. The music says it all with the minor keys, the lament for all those lost in the third movement and the military domination in the finale. The musical genius,
Shostakovich, won back the support of the regime, the music critics, and the people and lived a long life. It is hard to imagine such an oppressive state when we live in the comfort and safety of America today. We need to go beyond the notes, rhythms, unique melodies and harmonies that Shostakovich wrote and tell the underlying story of fear, sorrow, and flawed triumph in this incredible piece of music.
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Concert Orchestra Notes
by J. Aaron Hardwick
After being welcomed with open arms, celebrating 40 years, and a season of great music, it will be hard to top last season's success. However, I know that the students and audience will enjoy the selection of great music we have in store. I look forward to the great energy and continued excellence from the top student performers in the region. I also look forward to being a part of a team of musicians, staff, volunteers, and board of directors that continue to provide amazing musicial experiences to our students and audiences alike. See you all at the concerts!
J. Aaron Hardwick
Conductor, BYO Concert Orchestra
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Strings and Junior Strings Notes
by Christina Morton and Brad Shedd
Mrs. Morton and Mr. Shedd are planning a season of music with the Bay Youth theme of music training and music teaching which will include etudes (technique pieces) and featuring composers who were instrumental in the art of teaching string players through the ages, such as A. Corelli and A. Vivaldi in the Baroque era, S Suzuki in more modern times, as well as local teachers who have arranged/composed for young string players.
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 Honoring Bob Deal, 1953-2012
excerpts from a letter to the editor of the VIrginian Pilot, by Christina Morton
Bob Deal was a member of the board of directors of the Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia for many years, as well as an alum of the organization, having played in its predecessor, the Tidewater Youth Orchestra growing up. He loved being part of the musical community of Hampton Roads and was active with Tidewater Winds. His enthusiasm for music making made him a wonderful advocate for live music in our community and will serve as his legacy for those who knew him.
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About Us
Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia
P.O. Box 10897
Norfolk, VA 23513
757-618-1800
bayyouthorchestras@gmail.com
www.bayyouth.org
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