Grace Notes – Winter 2014

P
H
O
E
N
I
X Chairmen
Officers
President
Janet M. Wilson
1st Vice-President
Mary Keltner
2nd Vice-President
Fred Hanley
Recording Secretary
Pat MacGillivray
Corresponding
Secretary
Kathleen Duyck
Treasurer
Richard Gardner
Y
O
U
T
H
Administration
Curt Leaf
Competition
Sandy Rutledge
Grants
Niraj Kohli
Hospitality
Kathy Ratliff
Membership
Dana Faris
Music Memory
Sharon Amrein
Orchestral Training
Jane P. Evans
Promotion
Annie Gechman
S
Y
M
P Past-President
H Ex-Officio Members
O
N
Y
Ways & Means
Judy Peel
Youth Endowment
Patsy J. Kelly
Nominating Committee
Betty Leaf, Chair
Gail Eagleburger
Orchestral Training
Manager
Stacey Page
Nominating Committee
Sara Hawkins
Dominique van de Stadt
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Phoenix Youth Symphony
WINTER 2014
Grace Notes
President’s Message
The Fall issue of Grace Notes previewed coming events through December
2013 and they were all as successful as anticipated. “Meet the Conductors,” held at
the lovely Barker home, featured performances by several of our very talented young
musicians as well as a quintet made up of our five conductors!
The November concert at the Chandler Center for the Arts with the Youth
Symphony and three guest artist alumni -- Michael Levin, Michael Hernandez
and Nathan Johnston -- was outstanding. The center’s staff/ushers expressed their
amazement at the talent and repertoire of our talented young musicians.
The Holiday Prelude attracted over 600 people for a day of fun, fashion, lunch
and shopping. Awaiting a few receivables, results are not yet available.
Year 2014 started with a marvelous weekend of concerto competition
and scholarship auditions held at the ASU School of Music. Several of the judges
commented that this year’s entry field attained a new higher level of talent across the
board.
Every one of the above events requires much intense planning and volunteer
effort. We are extremely fortunate to have so many competent and willing members
and friends who make these successes possible -- and I hope they all know how very
much they are appreciated!
Next up are the Music Memory concerts on February 11 held at North Phoenix
Baptist Church. These concerts will introduce over 4,000 schoolchildren to classical
music. These performances by the Youth Symphony and guest artists from Arizona
Opera will focus on The Barber of Seville -- another first for PYS!
February 18 will be an annual favorite -- the Competition Winners Luncheon
at Paradise Valley Country Club. Invitations are already out so make your reservation
now. The end of February (2/23) brings the Teacher Appreciation Concert at
McClintock High School in Tempe. This is another annual favorite culminating with
music by the massed ensembles -- very impressive.
The Side by Side Concert (PYS and The Phoenix Symphony together) at
Symphony Hall on March 16 is already generating much interest and ticket requests. SAVE Sunday, April 6, 3:00 p.m. for the Ethan Bortnick Concert with our
Youth Symphony and the Phoenix Boys Choir. Pianist Ethan is a 13 year old sensation
on national tour. Check his website or the link at our website. This very special donot-miss event will be at the Chandler Center for the Arts and tickets are on sale now.
The Season Finale concert on May 4th will be at the Orpheum Theater -- a
great chance to hear wonderful music by outstanding young people in a historical
setting.
This is truly a year full of exciting events. Oh that more people were aware
of the programs our organization offers in this world of diminishing music education.
I encourage all of you to participate and tell your friends and neighbors about us and
the opportunities we make possible for talented young musicians -- the symphony
performers, teachers and audiences of the future!
Happy New Year!!
Sincerely,
Janet M. Wilson
President
ORCHESTRAL TRAINING
Stacey Page, Manager
Throughout January, the PYS ensembles
have had sectionals and seating auditions. Thank you
to our valley professional musicians for sharing their
talents and expertise with our students. Thank you
also to the Daniel O’Bryant, Director of Orchestras,
and the strings’ faculty at Northern Arizona University
for coaching the Symphonette sectionals. Thank you
to Arizona School for the Arts for allowing us to use
their facilities for sectionals.
The Youth Symphony is preparing for Music
Memory. These two concerts for elementary school
children will be held on Tuesday, February 11 at
North Phoenix Baptist Church. This year’s theme
is “A Trip to the Opera with PYS.” The orchestra
will be performing excerpts from Rossini’s opera,
The Barber of Seville. They will be joined by Studio
Artists from Arizona’s Opera’s Marion Roose Pullin
Opera Studio. This performance is going to be a lot
of fun! The dress rehearsal on February 5 will be a
special performance for the Autism Community.
The Youth Symphony is preparing for the
annual Side-by-Side Concert with The Phoenix
Symphony conducted by Keitaro Harada. They
will perform “Triumphal March and Ballet” from
Aïda by Giuseppe Verdi. They will also perform
Khachaturian’s Gayane Suite No. 1 with The Phoenix
Symphony. The concert will also feature the winners
of the 54th annual PYS Young Musicians’ Competition,
accompanied by The Phoenix Symphony. The
Grand Prize Winner, violinist Tiffany Chang, will
perform the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Violin
Concerto in D Major, and the Otranto Prize Winner,
violinist Linda Han, will perform Zigeunerweisen
by Sarasate. This concert will be held on Sunday,
March 16th at 3:00 p.m. at Phoenix Symphony
Hall. Tickets are free and are available at rehearsals
and will be available at Symphony Hall on the day
of the concert. Tickets are also available on the PYS
website: www.phoenixyouthsymphony.org
The Teacher Appreciation Concert will
be held on Sunday, February 23rd at 3:00 p.m.
at McClintock High School in Tempe. This is
a special concert that is open to the public and
honors the instrumental music teachers of our PYS
musicians. The concert features Chamber Winds,
The Symphonette Orchestra, Symphonic Winds, The
String Orchestra and the PYS Percussion Ensemble.
Tickets are $10 for Adults, $5 for Students (3-18)
or Seniors (over 62), and $35 for a prepaid family
ticket (up to 8 people). Tickets will be available at
rehearsals on February 12th and 19th and will also be
available at the door. We hope you will join us for
these upcoming concerts.
It’s already time to start thinking about
auditions for the 2014-2015 Season! The March/
April Auditions are only for PYS students who want
to stay in their current ensemble. These students will
audition for their current conductor at this time. The
application deadline for the March/April Auditions is
February 19th – no exceptions. The May Auditions
are for new applicants, and current PYS students
who would like to be considered for a different
ensemble. These auditions will be held May 19-23.
The application deadline is April 9th. Contact Sandra
Rutledge with any audition questions (602) 882-0401
or [email protected].
Don’t forget to register
with the following
businesses to participate
in their programs
benefiting non-profit
organizations such as PYS
FRY’S FOOD STORES
AMAZON SMILES
See details on our website
www.phoenixyouthsymphony.org
SEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT
Sadly we announce the following: Stacey
Page’s family is relocating out of state and Stacey
has notified us she will not be returning to PYS when
her current contract ends on June 30, 2014. Thus,
we will be conducting a search for a new Orchestral
Training Manager with resumes due by March 15,
2014. Stacey will be available for training her
replacement.
This position is on a year to year independent
contractor basis and will take effect July 1, 2014.
General criteria are listed below. A more detailed
description will be made available upon request.
Check our website for application information.
Organization
Scheduling, multi-tasking, problem solving, time management (meeting deadlines)
Communication/Leadership skills
Ability to work and communicate with diverse groups i.e. students, parents, conductors, volunteers, music educators, venues
Persistence
Negotiating skills
Flexibility
Music knowledge/background
Ability to communicate with music professionals
Ability to arrange venues/concert prep.
Organize sectionals
Technical knowledge
Good email communication skills
Prompt response to inquiries, concerns
Knowledge of word processing
(Word, Excel, Access)
Composition/proofreading ability
Weekly newsletter, handbook, flyers, concert program info
Maintain databases
Spreadsheets: fee payments, attendance, student information and other data as needed
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Dana Faris, Membership Chair
The PYS Membership Directories have been mailed
to our members. If you did not get yours or if you
have a change of address, please call (623) 937-2521
or email [email protected].
We have some changes for the Directory,
so please note:
Mrs. Rita Nash - Change of address
Friendship Village
2625 E. Southern Ave., C-309
Tempe, AZ 85282-7659
Welcome back a former member:
Betty Kay Gillett (602) 997-1470
215 W. Echo Lane
Phoenix, AZ 85021-5552
We would love to add your friends and family to
our PYS Membership, so please check out the
membership opportunities at PYS website,
www.phoenixyouthsymphony/supportus/membership. com.
There are several levels of membership available,
starting at $50.
A
FROM THE PAST
25 YEARS AGO....
On Wednesday evening, March 22, 1989, the Youth
Orchestra performed at CARNEGIE HALL.
The conductor was James Sedares and the repertoire
included:
FESTIVE OVERTURE by Shostakovich
ON THE TRAIL by Grofe
POMP AND CRICUMSTANCE MARCH by Elgar
HOE-DOWN by Copland
MARCHE SLAVE by Tchaikovsky
You are invited to
The Competition Winners Luncheon
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Paradise Valley Country Club
7101 N. Tatum Boulevard
Sponsor
Jane P. Evans
11:00 a.m. Hospitality
12:00 noon Luncheon
1:00 p.m. Program
$65.00 per person
President
Janet M. Wilson
Competition Chairman
Sandra Rutledge
Scholarship Co-Chairmen
Maria Maldonado
Dian Huff
Luncheon Co-Chairmen
Jane P. Evans
Judy Peel
General Membership Meeting
Information: Dana Faris (623) 937-2521
Kindly reply by February 12, 2014
Valet Parking Available
For tax purposes, any amount over $50 is deductible.
TIFFANY CHANG • VIOLIN
LINDA HAN • VIOLIN
GRAND PRIZE WINNER
CLOTILDE OTRANTO PRIZE WINNER
Tiffany Chang, age
15, is a freshman at
Corona Del Sol and a
member of her school
chamber
orchestra.
She
is
currently
studying with Phoenix
Symphony member,
Jing Zeng. Former
teachers
include
William Magers, Lan
Qiu, Chun-Yi Lu, and
Qao Zhiu. Ms. Chang
began studying violin at the age of 3. She was a
member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony (MYS)
in Mesa, Arizona for five years starting at the age of 6.
Ms. Chang was 10 when serving as the Concertmaster
in Division I of MYS ’09-10 where she was awarded
with the Director’s Award. She was the winner in the
Junior Category of MTNA ’09, ’11, and ’12 where she
moved on to the Division level in Hawaii, Las Vegas,
and Utah. Ms. Chang gave her first solo performance
with the Four Seasons Orchestra, directed by Dr.
Carolyn Broe, after winning their Spanish Concerto
Competition in 2013.
On the side, Ms. Chang is also a member of the
Phantasie String Quartet/Quintet, directed by Gina
Chien. Other members of the group include Andrea
Lin (violin), Paula Li (cello), Gina Han (viola),
and Joyce Yang (violin/piano). The group won the
Arizona Musicfest Young Musicians Competition in
2013, and performs regularly for seniors in assisted
living.
Linda Han, 16, began
playing violin at age
nine and currently
studies with Ms.
Susanne Rothaar. She
is the Clotilde Otranto
prize
winner
in
the 2014 Phoenix
Youth
Symphony
Young
Musicians
Competition. In 2013,
Linda won 1st place in
the American String
Teachers Association State Solo Competition, 2nd
place in the Music Teachers National Association
State Solo Competition, and 2nd place in the Chandler
Symphony Concerto Competition. Linda also won
1st place in the 2012 Four Seasons Chamber Orchestra
Bach Competition, 2nd place in the 2011 Phoenix
Youth Symphony Young Musicians Competition,
and was a runner-up in the 2011 and 2012 Arizona
Musicfest Young Musicians Competition. Many of
Linda’s solo performances have been recorded by
KBAQ, the Phoenix classical radio station
Linda was a member of the 1st violin section
of the 2013 All-National Honor Orchestra and was
recently selected to participate in the 2014 National
High School Honors Orchestra. She has been a
member of the Phoenix Youth Symphony since 2009,
where she has served as co-concertmaster. Linda
will be attending the Boston University Tanglewood
Institute this summer on a full scholarship.
Linda is currently a junior at Desert Vista
High School. In her spare time, she enjoys reading,
writing, and drawing.
A TRIP TO THE
OPERA WITH PYS
Sharon Amrein, Chairman
Music Memory concerts are
scheduled for Tuesday, February 11,
2014 at North Phoenix Baptist Church.
These 2 concerts will include
performers from the AZ Opera,
presenting “The Barber of Seville.” Our Youth Symphony will perform the
music along with 6 operatic singers
from the Arizona Opera’s Marion Roose
Pullin Opera Studio.
This is a unique opportunity for
our orchestra members, and a definite
“first” for our Phoenix Youth Symphony.
In the 54 years of existence, we believe
opera has never been included in the
Music Memory program.
Our concert at 10:00 is full,
but the one at 11:30 will have plenty
of seats available for PYS members
to attend. We encourage you to come
hear this unique performance, if at
all possible. Our teachers are quite
enthusiastic about the possibility of their
students being introduced to opera. The
concerts last about 35-40 minutes each.
You are invited, and we hope you
will join us, for our presentation of “The
Barber of Seville.”
A SPECIAL THANK YOU
GERMANY TRIP
Cindy Mohler, Volunteer Coordinator
Jane Evans, Orchestral Training
Congratulations to all of the talented
musicians who participated in the 54th annual Young
Musicians’ Competition. I’m super proud of all of
you! This competition could not have happened
without the very generous volunteers who got up early
and appeared at ASU at my request. So it is with the
sincerest thanks and gratitude that I tell Sherry Ross,
David Mohler, Jeani Hills, Tyler Douglas, Brandon
Ross, Renzo Alberti, Richard Gardner, Mel Huff,
Curt Leaf, Greg Eagleburger, Betty Leaf, Cindy Wu,
Mary Keltner, Pat MacGillivray, Joyce Dougan, Jean
Frankeberger, Arneda Gaines, John Gaines, Dan
Sagramoso, Cleta Sagramoso, Wendy Norton, Eileen
Hackenyos, Cathy Ratliff, Niraj Kohli, Ying Wang,
Brian Logsdon, Alyssa Huff, Annie Gechman, Janet
Wilson, William Lawrie, Lauren Lawrie, Viveca
Lawrie, and Dominique van de Stadt; that without
you all, these fine young musicians would not have
had this opportunity to grow.
We proved to be a fantastic team, and I hope
to work with you all again next year!
ARE YOU READY?
We are looking forward to traveling to
Berlin and other towns in Northern Germany for
performance and learning opportunities. Walter
Temme, Keitaro Harada and Nathan Johnston will be
taking turns conducting our touring symphony. We
will be seeing fabulous museums, having a master
class with a German instructor, performing three
public concerts, and enjoying the scenery and culture.
Please make sure everyone going on this trip
has their passport current, and turns in two copies of
their passport to Gail Eagleburger or Jane Evans on
Wednesday night.
We look forward to the tour and traveling
with our young musicians. It will be exciting and
entertaining.
FINAL PAYMENTS ARE DUE APRIL 15TH
“SIDE BY SIDE”
featuring
The Phoenix Youth Symphony & The Phoenix Symphony
Sunday, March 16, 2014 • Symphony Hall
75 North Second Street • Phoenix, Arizona
3:00 PM
More tickets are distributed than there is seating available for the concert.
Therefore, tickets do not guarantee a seat.
LOBBY DOORS OPEN AT 2:00 PM PORTAL DOORS OPEN AT 2:30 PM
PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY, PLEASE DO NOT HOLD SEATS!, FIRST COME FIRST SERVE ONLY
www.phoenixyouthsymphony.org
The Phoenix Youth Symphony
NON-PROFIT
ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
P.O. Box 15150
Phoenix, Arizona 85060
PAID
PERMIT NO. 304
PHOENIX, AZ
Change Service Requested
FEBRUARY 2014
11
Music Memory Concert 18
Concerto Competition Luncheon
23 Teacher Appreciation Concert
No. Phoenix Baptist Church
PV Country Club
3:00 McClintock H. S. Tempe
MARCH
16
Side by Side Concert 3:00 Phoenix Symphony Hall
APRIL
6
Ethan Bortnick Concert 3:00 Chandler Center for the Arts
MAY
4
The Season Finale Concert 3:00 The Orpheum Theater, Phoenix
www.phoenixyouthsymphony.org

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