Orchestrating Lifelong Participation in the Arts 1629 22nd Ave SE, Olympia WA 98501 | 360-352-1438 | StudentOrchestras.org StudentOrchestras@gmail.com | Facebook.com/StudentOrchestras | March 2021 Vol. XXI No. 8
SO-GO Virtual Concert
Sunday, March 28, 4PM
Join us to watch the newest SOGO virtual concert online at StudentOrchestras.org! Tune in for works by local composer Austin Schlichting, as well as Dvořák, Gabrieli, Offenbach, and Johann Strauss. And don’t miss SOGO’s Natalie McVay on French horn in the Brass Choir’s performance of Gershwin’s Someone to Watch Over Me.
Natalie McVay, French horn
“Natalie is an accomplished musician and has been a dependable and respected member of SOGO for several years,” says Artistic Director and Brass Choir conductor Greg Allison. “We are glad to feature her with the SOGO Brass Choir on Mark Thome’s arrangement of the Gershwin classic.” The concert is free to view. Please consider making a donation to SOGO as a virtual ticket at StudentOrchestras.org.
What We Love: The Conductor’s Privilege by Cameron May, SOGO Music Director Valentine’s Day fell on a SOGO rehearsal day this year, and Conservatory and Academy students were asked to submit a photo of something they loved, along with a brief explanation. The results were sweet: many students submitted photos of pets, others of snow, or music albums, or beverages, or creative projects. The Conservatory Orchestra was, at that time, rehearsing Festival March by Music Director Cameron May with Antonin Dvořák, in preparation for the his Dvořák-themed phone case! upcoming virtual concert on March 28. Coincidentally, this piece has a distant connection to Valentine’s Day, as it was written in 1879 for the 25th anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary. SOGO’s music historian Anne Edge put together a wonderful presentation for the Conservatory students tracing the theme of love in music. While I admit I was not aware of the Valentine’s Day connection with the Festival March when I chose it for the Conservatory students, its inclusion in our virtual season is not an accident. As previously discussed in this newsletter, when putting together a virtual program, we look for musical selections between three and five minutes in length that move along at a steady tempo. The Festival March fulfilled these “My lifelong love of the music requirements and is a piece that of Dvořák began in the eighth has been on my musical “bucket list” since I was in high school. grade, the same age I realized I
wanted to become a conductor.” ~ Music Director Cameron May
My lifelong love of the music of Dvořák began in the eighth grade, the same age (Continued on p2)
“SOGO to Schools” Program Aims to Help Keep Music Alive in Our Schools
happy musicians.
When we hear that the public school music programs are struggling as a result of the environment, we jump into action. In SOGO, students meet virtually with their conductor and their teaching artist weekly. While everyone is doing their part, we have found that the relationship between the student and the teaching artist in that small group was and is the key to our success of having
COVID-19 has impacted arts negatively. Imagine one music teacher trying to meet the social and pedagogical
needs of rows and rows of children in boxes on their laptop. Although it sounds like a nightmare, every music teacher should be given a weekend at the spa for their efforts, passion for music, and love for children to learn this art form. It is time for us to deploy our SOGO teaching artists out into the schools and support the valiant work being done by our public school music teachers. We call our program “SOGO to Schools.” Orchestra and (Continued on p2) LEAD • INSPIRE • PERFORM •
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SO-GO Virtual Concert - Sunday, March 28, 4PM at StudentOrchestras.org.
Visit StudentOrchestras.org to donate online.
March 28 SO-GO Virtual Concert April 1 Registration opens for 2021-2022 auditions April 1 Registration opens for Summer Music May 25, 26, 28 Auditions for 2021-2022 June 6 SO-GO Virtual Concert July 12 - 16 SOGO Summer Music
Visit StudentOrchestras.org April 1 to register for 2021-2022 auditions! “Thank you so much for all you do for the young aspiring musicians of Olympia. Our daughter enjoys playing with you in Academy. Her dad and I are both so impressed and grateful for the way SOGO was able to pivot and make the most of this strange year.” ~ SOGO Parent Double your donation to SOGO! Check with your employer to see if they match charitable contributions made by their employees. Corporations providing matching gifts include Starbucks, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Boeing, Alaska Airlines, State Farm Insurance, and Liberty Mutual. 2020-2021 Sponsors
What We Love, cont’d
I realized I wanted to become a conductor. The first Dvořák piece I played was Humoresque from Suzuki Book 4, but the one that really kicked off my obsession was the Sonatina, Op. 100 for violin and piano.
At the time, I was also reading Fair Weather by children’s author Richard Peck, which depicts a fictional family from rural Illinois who travel to Chicago in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition. In his epilogue, Peck writes of how SOGO conductors Jennifer Marin-Palmer, the fair was one of a number of inspirations for Travis Sipher, and Cameron May back Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” stage at the March 2020 concert. (the Conservatory Orchestra performed two movements of this symphony on March 1, 2020; it was our final live performance before the pandemic, though we didn’t know it at the time!). The New World symphony is a musical tapestry of Dvořák’s experiences in the United States, and the Sonatina, written around the same time, condenses these ideas to a mere 15 minutes. At age 14, I was hooked, and my life would be forever changed. As I have grown up and become more well-researched, I continue to find new reasons to admire and appreciate the man as much as the music. I see many parallels between Dvořák’s life and my own, including a deep personal faith (and a connection between faith and music-making), unabashed introversion, and a lifelong love of trains. Dvořák was forever in search of a quiet life, and family and home were very important to him. He was invited to the United States to help the musical authorities of the day discover “American music”. His research led him to the African American and Native American communities, and though his advice was not heeded at the time, his work foreshadowed today’s conversations of giving voice to the unheard. Perhaps he was just 100 years ahead of his time. I have been programming hypothetical orchestra seasons since my own youth orchestra years, and though my ideas from that age demonstrate a naiveté about how orchestra programs work, one thing has not changed: no season of mine is complete without at least one work by Dvořák. My message to the Conservatory students on Valentine’s Day, therefore, was that what they see me do every week is a manifestation of what I love, because the privilege of my position is that I get to share my favorite music with them.
I see many parallels between Dvořák’s life and my own, including a deep personal faith (and a connection between faith and music-making), unabashed introversion, and a lifelong love of trains. ~ Cameron May
“SOGO to Schools” cont’d
band teachers are being contacted to have two teaching artists work with a group of students and offer 4 lessons. All this is provided for free due to a generous donor. “School orchestra teachers are frazzled trying to do a ‘spinning plates act’ type of teaching,” says Mary Jo Rydholm, SOGO Violin Teaching Artist. “They really appreciate their students being divided into groups where students receive professional instruction on their instrument. SOGO’s outreach may be ‘instrumental’ to inspiring students to not just stay with their music class, but to be excited about ways to grow their skills on their instrument.” The SOGO to Schools is a pilot program that is intended to keep music alive in our schools and community. If you are interested in hearing more about this program or donating, visit StudentOrchestras.org or contact us at StudentOrchestras@gmail.com.
Congratulations to all of the SOGO All-Northwest, All-State and Jr. All-State Musicians
2020-2021 Foundations Justin Baek, trumpet
Andrew Lee, clarinet
Alessandro Martinez, clarinet
All of these students have worked hard and auditioned in the fall for this honor! Junior All-State - Augie, Chloe; High School All-State - AJ, Susannah, Gabriel, Naomi, Cooper, Jorie, Camille; High School All-Northwest (drawing musicians from AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, and WY) Justin, Alessandro, Andrew, Maria, Natalie