Seatle Youth Symphony Orchestras

 America's Largest Youth Orchestra Training Program 


SYSO Musical Notes
April 2013

A Very Active 70th Season 

SYSO did not hibernate through the winter. Musicians, coaches and staff have been busy with performances, concerts and events. We are always excited to share the accomplishments of our talented young musicians. Maestro Stephen Rogers Radcliffe leads off this issue of Musical Notes with a reflection on the last few months' activities. 
Maestro's Musings

by Stephen Rogers Radcliffe

SYSO Music Director

 

The Seattle Youth Symphony's 70th Anniversary season is the most active in the orchestra's history. In addition to our three-concert subscription season in Benaroya Hall, the orchestra performs two concerts in McCaw Hall with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, and premieres three new chamber operas in venues all around town as part of the Seattle Opera's "Our Earth" project. Finally, the orchestra shares the stage with theSymphonette, Debut and Junior Symphony Orchestras for a Gala 70th Anniversary concert on April 28th.

 

SYSO musicians support the Seattle Opera's world premier youth opera.
SYSO musicians play a world premiere performance with the Seattle Opera

The striking variety of orchestral repertoire performed so expertly by the young musicians in the Youth Symphony continues to astound and inspire me. The dramatic range so beautifully expressed by the orchestra would seem to come from a group more advanced in age and worldly experience. From the elegant and provocative melodies of Respighi's Fountains of Rome to the powerful, triumphant strains of the Saint-Sa�ns Organ Symphony to the yearning, anguished lyrical sinew of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde, the members of the Youth Symphony Orchestra demonstrate both impressive technical mastery and a deeply felt emotional engagement.

 

We are blessed with repertoire that inspires us, and are so fortunate to work with wonderful guest artists as well. This January, the critically acclaimed soprano Adina Aaron joined the orchestra for two performances of Richard Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder. In one of the performances she also sang the powerfully expressive "Liebestod" from Wagner's opera Tristan and Isolde. Every time she took the stage with the orchestra, we were inspired by her musicianship and her professionalism. Indeed, her artistry was actually contagious. The exquisite way she shaped every phrase, the incredible range of color in her voice and her total emotional conviction drew us all in, and brought out expressive capacities in ourselves that even we didn't know we had.

 

Of course, this is the essence of a true artistic experience. When a group of musicians master the technical demands of a piece, they are freed to engage in the immediate visceral dialogue with one another that elevates the artistic process from one of mere repetition to something astounding and exceptional. Great repertoire, a wonderful soloist, an inspiring section leader, even a totally engaged stand-partner can bring about this powerful transformation. 

 

At SYSO we all work together to put these important pieces in place so that the performing experience is something more than a date in the calendar. It is a collection of indescribable moments of creative connections that we experience viscerally for just a few seconds yet that remain with us for a lifetime.

syso70
70th Anniversary
Concert & Silent Auction
SYSO70 Apr28 concert

 

Please join us Sunday, April 28 in Benaroya Hall for a gala concert that marks the peak of our 70th anniversary season!

 

The concert will feature performances by all four orchestras and special anniversary events including appearances by SYSO alumni sharing how music changed their lives.

 

We will also hold a silent auction in the lobby before the concert and during intermission. All proceeds benefit SYSO programs and scholarships. Participation in the auction is complimentary with the purchase of your concert ticket.

If you are interested in donating or procuring items for the auction, contact Development Director Angela Beard at [email protected]

 

partners
Performance Partnerships
SYSO with the Seattle Opera  Seattle Opera_OurEarth





Heron and the Salmon Girl
& Rushing Upriver
 
April 20, 2013 | 12:00-4:00pm
at Fisher Pavilion
in Seattle Center
Admission is FREE

 

SYSO continues its collaboration with Seattle Opera on the newly commissioned Our Earth trilogy. As part of Seattle Center's Earth Day celebration, the April 20 performance will feature the first two parts of the trilogy. The Seattle Youth Symphony, under the direction of Stephen Rogers Radcliffe, joins Seattle Opera soloists and the Seattle Youth Chorus and the Seattle Youth Symphony for both performances. 

 

In Heron and The Salmon Girl, the salmon fail to return to the sea one spring. Orca, Heron, Turtle and a grumpy fisherman embark on a journey from the open water of Puget Sound to an estuary to find the missing fish. In the world premiere of the sequel, Rushing Upriver, a brother and sister are pursued by a hungry coyote, a treacherous raccoon, and a wise raven. The siblings continue up the river toward the watershed, searching for a hidden flower with healing properties. 

 

Additional Earth Day programming made possible by The Nature Conservancy.

 

SYSO with PNB

 

NEXT STEP: Choreographers Showcase

June 14, 2013 | 7:30 pm

at McCaw Hall

 

32nd Annual PNB School Performance

June 15, 2013 | Time TBA

at McCaw Hall

 

Tickets at www.pnb.org

 

The Seattle Youth Symphony's annual collaboration with Pacific Northwest Ballet kicks off on Friday evening, June 14 with the annual NEXT STEP Choreographers' Showcase Performance. Among the professional choreographers creating new works for the showcase:
  • Kyle Davis, who continues to unveil new sections of his choreography for Leo Deliebs' "Sylvia"
  • Ezra Thompson, whose magnificent choreography to the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 last season sent chills up the collective spines of the SYSO musicians performing in the pit, offers a new choreography to the Adagietto Movement from Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5
  • Price Suddarth's new dance set to the music of Olafur Arnalds
  • Jonathan Poretta's setting of the Bach Cello Suites

The weekend collaboration continues on Saturday, when the Seattle Youth Symphony returns to ballet pit to perform alongside advanced students form the PNB School in Tchaikovsky's "Serenade for Strings" and the Schoenberg orchestration of Johannes Brahms's Piano Quartet No. 1 in g minor.

gala

Changing Lives:

Spectacularly SYSO Gala

You are invited to an elegant evening of music, friendship and stories that illuminate the impact SYSO has had on several generations of Northwest musicians.

Spectacularly SYSO Gala: June 8

 

Saturday, June 8

6:30-9:30pm

at MOHAI

 

Tickets: $125-$150

Event Details

 

This annual fundraiser is an excellent time to make a commitment to continuing the tradition and innovation SYSO is proud to offer our talented young musicians.

 

Support the future of exceptional music performance and education with SYSO!
alums

SYSO Alumni:
Where are they now?

Are you a SYSO alumnus?

Do you know someone who is?

 

We are in the process of expanding and updating our records to create a more robust alumni program for our former musicians.  

To add your information, go to:

www.syso.org/alumni/join.html

SITS

SYSO in the Schools:
2013 Super String Saturday

This past January, more than 200 elementary and middle school students, their friends and families filled Chief Sealth International High School in southwest Seattle for a fun and musical celebration. 

 

The students are participants in SYSO's Southwest Seattle String Project. Super String Saturday showcased the results of their hard work and dedication. They participated in master classes and chamber ensemble demonstrations led by SYSO musicians. They also had a chance to perform side by side on stage with more experienced SYSO musicians.

 

During the school year, the Southwest Seattle Strings students have been working with professional musicians hired by the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras. These musician "coaches" lead small group and individualized instruction to deepen the quality of the students' musical skills. Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras provides the coaches free to the Concord, Roxhill, Sanislo, Arbor Heights, Gatewood, West Seattle and Highland Park elementary schools and Denny International Middle School in the Southwest region of the school district -- an area which historically has had lower participation rates in instrumental music due to economic barriers.

 

Photos from Super String Saturday

 

 

Marrowstone

Looking ahead to summer:

Marrowstone!

Marrowstone Music Festival

 

July 21 - August 4
at Western Washington University

in Bellingham, WA

We are getting excited for this summer's Marrowstone Music Festival! 2013 will include some of our most exciting repertoire, such as Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Smetana's The Moldau, Grieg's Peer Gynt, and Prokofiev's Classical Symphony and  Love for Three Oranges. 

In addition to our wonderful returning faculty such as Dale Clevenger, Diana Gannett, Ron Patterson, and Walter Grey, we'll also welcome several new artists. Hal Grossman, violin, of the University of Oklahoma; John Friesen, cello, of Western Washington University;  Roger Cole, oboe, of the University of British Columbia; and Jeffrey Zook, flute, of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will make this year's artist faculty better than ever. 

Make sure to visit the Marrowstone website in the coming weeks for concert and ticket information!

SYSO Calendar

April 28  

70th Anniversary Concert3:00 pm in Benaroya Hall.

 

Spectacularly SYSO Silent Auctionin conjuction with the concert.

 
May 19
Seattle Youth Symphony final season concert. Get your tickets!

June 2
Debut, Symphonette & Junior Symphony final season concert. Get your tickets!

June 8 
Spectacularly SYSO Gala6:30-9:30pm at MOHAI. Save the date. More details to come!

 

 


Like us on Facebook


Instruments for Sale
Instruments for sale

 

Looking to upgrade your violin or bassoon for next year's orchestra? Alumni and community members are offering their beloved instruments through our website.

 

What's for sale?

MITCboy
Apply to MITC Today!

Marrowstone-in-the-City (MITC) is now accepting applications for the summer 2013 season. 

 

Session 1: 

July 15 - 26

at The Overlake School

 

Session 2: 

July 22 - August 2

at Shorecrest High School