SOGO - May 2013 Newsletter

SOGO

Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia 1629 22nd Ave SE, Olympia WA 98501 May 2013 Vol. 13 no. 5

From the Podium

Issue

2 Have Trumpet, Will Travel 3 Healing Power of Music 3 Seniors Look Ahead, Look Back

Concert

Sunday, May 19, 4pm Tickets (WCPA) olytix.org | 360.753.8586 Get your tickets today!

Reminders

May 22, 26 - Auditions June 2 - New Member Auditions August 31 - Harbor Days May 19 Dress Rehearsal Schedule: • • • • •

SOGO musicians become the teachers at our Instrument Petting Zoo! Thanks to R. L. Ray Violin Shop and Westside Music for providing zoo instruments.

Brass Choir load-in 11:00 am Brass Choir 11:20 - 11:55 am Debut 12:00 - 12:45 pm Academy 12:50 - 1:35 pm Conservatory 1:40 - 3:10 pm

• CONCERT CALL TIME 3:30 pm Sugar Plums and Sonatas

by Mary Armstrong At age four, I started two activities that have influenced me my whole life: ballet and music. From twirling around in tutus and dreaming of sugar plums, to humming movements of sonatas, these two art forms have very much become a part of who I am. Both have given me experiences and skills I could not have gained any other (continued on page 2) way.

I am so proud of how well our musicians have matured during the 2012-2013 season.

They have been challenged throughout the season and have proven themselves. I invite you to join us for an afternoon of springtime music and hear their progress for yourself! Our final concert will be Sunday, May 19 at 4:00 pm at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Also joining us on stage will be my good friend, flutist David Johnson.

The Conservatory Orchestra will begin with Claude Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Completed in 1894, it was inspired by his friend Stephane Mallarmé’s poem of the same name. In the poem, a faun has just woken from his afternoon sleep and is daydreaming of nymphs.

Debussy said that his loose interpretation did not “by any means pretend to be a synthesis of the poem; but rather a series of successive scenes across which the dreams and desires of the faun pass in the afternoon heat.” For his part, Mallarmé said of Debussy’s work, “It is music that brings out the feeling of my poem, providing it with a warmer background than color.”

Upon its debut in Paris, the audience demanded an immediate encore.

Faun remains one of Debussy’s best known and most popular works.

David Johnson will join us in performing British composer Gordon Jacob’s Concerto for Flute (1951). Mr. Johnson currently resides in Manila, Philippines where he is the founder, Artistic Director, and flutist of the Clarion Chamber Ensemble, a chamber group specializing in Baroque music. Concerto for Flute is a very lyrical work that highlights the flute’s pastoral quality. Its light dancing sound is reminiscent of the British pastoral school of composers, which includes Jacob’s own mentor Ralph Vaughan Williams. Jacob wrote concertos for virtually all of the common orchestral instruments, including a second one for flute in 1981 and one for timpani in 1984.

We will conclude with Franz Liszt’s Les Préludes (Symphonic Poem No. 3).

Liszt believed that “All art flows from the same source.” This belief inspired him to create a new musical form: the symphonic poem, in which a poem, story, painting, or other non-musical source is illustrated in a single orchestral movement. Liszt drew on poetry by Joseph Autran and Alphonse de Lamartine in the creation of Les Préludes, revising the work several times between 1848 and 1853. Les Préludes is a colorful, dramatic work that expresses Romantic musical themes of nature, emotion, and imagination, and is the most popular of Liszt’s symphonic poems.

Get your tickets today at olytix.org and bring a friend!

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Have Trumpet, Will Travel Brass Choir Soloist Bruce Kirkpatrick

Sugar Plums

A resident of Longview, Washington, Bruce has been trekking up to Olympia for SOGO rehearsals and concerts since he was a middle school student. When he couldn’t find a youth orchestra in Longview, he looked a little further from home and decided to join SOGO.

Both ballet and music take intense concentration and discipline, but not at the expense of stripping away their passion and beauty. Each require a balance of finesse and skill. Looking back, I am so thankful to have started both at the same time, and at such an early age. Confidence in performing, extreme dedication and persistence are just a few of the retrospective benefits. These sort of experiences I can apply to all aspects of my life, not just the arts.

Bruce is a musical jackof-all-trades. As a violinist, he is the Conservatory Orchestra’s concert master.

Bruce added the trumpet to his repertoire when his high school band needed a jolt of energy in their brass section. He will perform La Virgen de la Macarena, a traditional bullfighting song, with the Brass Choir in our May concert. Bruce has also played clarinet in the Academy Orchestra.

When asked how he approaches each instrument differently, Bruce says, “I approach my instruments based on my ability. For example, violin might require some ‘woodshedding’ (slow practice in technically challenging sections) while trumpet might require more musicalitybased practice, such as phrasing or articulation.”

“Bruce is an extremely inquisitive and thoughtful musician. All of those around him admire his consistent effort and fine musicianship no matter what instrument he is playing. His joy and love for music come out in his sound in a very vibrant way.” ~ Greg Allison Bruce plans to attend University of Colorado Boulder next year in their Engineering Honors Program. He believes that the creativity required for music and engineering are the same. “Whether I’m addressing a tricky passage on the violin or deciding how to construct an elaborate project in the woodshop, I’m utilizing identical creativity.” Bruce will keep up with his music by playing in one of CU-Boulder’s jazz ensembles.

(continued from page 1)

Ballet, in its simplest definition, is movement to music, taking advantage of all the minute details of the music, literally painting a picture that the composer was inspired by when he or she chose to write the piece. Both ballet and music convey an immense array of various emotions. In ten minutes of a piece of classical music, the listener can recognize many distinct emotions, and the same can be said of ballet.

“I can’t perform any musical literature without imagining a dancer expressing themselves, and in the same way I cannot dance without being deeply moved by the music.”

A strong sense of rhythm has helped me advance in ballet. I imagine that I am the instrument when I dance, that I create the music. As a visual thinker, when I am able to paint a picture in my head about the music I am playing, I can concentrate on more than simply playing the notes, although that is definitely very important!

Once a person receives the love of listening to and creating music, I believe they have found a joy that is very difficult to find any other way. Although ballet and music shows, rehearsals, and classes keep my schedule full, there is not a day I go without thanking God for giving me my love of the arts.

Mary Armstrong plays flute in SOGO’s Conservatory Orchestra and dances with the Johansen Olympia Dance Center.

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Healing Power of Music

Uniting the arts and the sciences

Michael Metzner is investigating the connection between music and healing. The University of Central Florida medical student is working with Dr. Michael Campbell, director of patient care at nearby Nemours Children’s Hospital, to launch a two-year study tracking the physiological effects of music on chronically ill children.

Nemours’ lack of musical instruments didn’t phase Metzner, who pounded the virtual pavement for help. “I emailed about 200 people who had ads on Craigslist selling pianos,” Metzner says. “I told them what I was doing and was looking for someone to donate a piano.”

“I think we should be doing a better job of uniting the arts and the sciences. My hope is to change practice in medicine, especially in pediatrics, so that the arts can be used as a beneficial intervention.”

Community members donated a baby grand piano, funds, and time to get the piano set up at Nemours.

“I am really a strong believer that music – all arts – do help the healing process, and have a place in medicine,” says Metzner who has double degrees in biological chemistry and visual arts. “We all know music has an impact, and that it reduces anxiety in stressful settings. The problem is trying to quantify that.”

Congratulations to Our Seniors!

Some of our graduating seniors share their plans for next year and memories of their time with SOGO.

Alex Carlson, bassoon Plans to attend Johns Hopkins University. Favorite memory: Playing An American in Paris in 7th grade. It was way over my head, but still an awesome piece of music. Favorite piece: Gadfly Suite because it sounded so cool. Scheherazade because it has great bassoon solos.

Austin Brumbaugh, trumpet Plans to attend UW. SOGO experience: It’s made me much more outgoing, and fostered a deeper appreciation for classical music. The mentors and peers that I worked with made my learning experience all the more enjoyable.

I would not be the musician I am today were it not for SOGO. Bruce Kirkpatrick, violin and trumpet Favorite memory: Performing the Messiah in the Washington Center. Favorite piece: Sibelius' Karelia Overture for its incredible brass chorale.

Catherine Brassey, cello Plans to attend PLU. Favorite memory: The first time I played in the Messiah. The first few Sundays I spent in awe of the sound. SOGO experience: SOGO made me more serious about my cello. I feel like a far more able and aware musician than when I first entered SOGO. Max Glass, clarinet Plans to attend UW. Favorite memory: Sectionals with my fellow clarinets! Favorite piece: Hard to choose! Probably A Night on Bare Mountain. It sounded cool and was fun to play.

Chanté Mack, violin Plans to attend college on the east coast. Favorite memory: Playing in chamber groups.

You really got the chance to hear everyone fit together to perform a beautiful piece. SOGO experience: The music difficulty is much harder than the music at my high school so to have this challenge was refreshing.

Mallory Halbert, viola Plans to attend UW. Favorite memory: On April Fool's day someone hid a fake fish in Mr. Welsh's score. When he found the fish he conducted with it for a few measures! Favorite piece: Der Rosenkavalier was difficult technically and musically, but finally understanding and performing it was truly rewarding.

Emily Donaldson, flute Favorite piece: There’s a section of Beethoven's 5th Symphony that made me feel really good. It just sounds like how I feel a lot. SOGO experience: I think music means more to me. Specifically playing in a giant group with people is really important.

Orchestra is where emotions are laid on the table once and for all.

Vivian Edwards, clarinet Favorite memory: My first concert with SOGO. It is so cool to see how I have come from only clumsily playing bass clarinet to playing sometimes three clarinets in one concert. SOGO experience: SOGO has taught me the weight of good work ethic and self-discipline. If you don't practice, you are not just slowing yourself down, but everyone else too. In the future, I will use this lesson, not just in music, but all other aspects of my life.

Don’t miss Play On Greater Olympia (POGO) perform during our May concert intermission! POGO, provides a music-rich educational experience for students at Washington Middle School who would not otherwise have access to music instruction.

Concert Dress: Please check your member handbook to make sure you’re wearing the appropriate dress clothes.

Dress Rehearsal: Enter only through the back stage door (alley).

Parents may listen to dress rehearsal in the designated seating area.

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NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID OLYMPIA, WA PERMIT NO. 358

STUDENT ORCHESTRAS OF GREATER OLYMPIA

1629 22ND AVE SE | OLYMPIA WA 98501 www.studentorchestras.org

SOGO 2012-2013 Season Sponsors

Olympic Dermatology & Laser Clinic Tumwater Eye Clinic & VUE Olympia Federal Savings R.L. Ray Violin Shop RadiantCare Salon Salon Sunrise Dental

EXECUTIVE BOARD Colleen Welch, President Jilyna Dick, Vice President Peter Despot, Secretary John Fleckenstein, Treasurer BOARD Joyce Allen Joan Armstrong Brad Carlson Alison Coppock Doug Ford Ginny Nordhorn Dana Phelps Amy Schutte Jennifer Taft Kirk Veis

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

n ay concert!

M r u o r ernoon of a Fau fo ft s A u e in th Jo to e d lu ssy, Pre • Claude Debub, Concerto for Flute No. 3) • Gordon JacoLes Preludés (Symphonic Poem • Franz Liszt,

STUDENT BOARD Ella Bushnell, violin Keadrin Dick, cello Maggie Taft, clarinet Nolan Welch, cello MUSIC DIRECTOR John Welsh ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Greg Allison ADMINISTRATIVE Krina Allison, Executive Dir. Ginny Nordhorn, Ex. Assist.

Pat Kabler, Finance Dir. Mary Jo Rydholm, Lib. Doug Ford, Photos/Summit

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