STUDENT ORCHESTRAS OF GREATER OLYMPIA ORCHESTRATING LIFELONG PARTICIPATION IN THE ARTS February 2022 | Vol. 22 No. 3
s Ticket Sunday @ 4pm on sale March 6 OW! Washington Center N Tickets: $8-21* Six & under free* 360.753.8586 *plus $4 WCPA fee
SOLOIST SPOTLIGHT page 2
Ryan Kapsandy, bassoon and Gabe Ong, oboe
Beyond the Glamor
f you’ve been following our orchestras since the beginning of the season, Iyou’ve likely marveled, as I have, at the
remarkable progress they have made in just a few short months. In August, most of the students were unsure even how to be in the same room after a year and a half, let alone produce a unified ensemble sound. The progress between our season kick-off just before Labor Day and the first concert on November 7 was nothing short of miraculous. The Brass Choir then put on a stunningly heartwarming performance in early December at the annual SOGO HO-HO, “A Clear View of the Holidays”, and the Conservatory Orchestra followed this up with what I believe to be the best sounding Messiah Sing-Along of my SOGO tenure so far. If I didn’t know better, I could ALMOST forget it’s still a pandemic year! Traditionally, the March concert tends to be the least glamorous from both a performer and audience perspective. The newness of the season has worn off, it’s often cold, wet, and dark, and the music is usually more challenging. But this is often where the most and best teaching happens. Our conducting staff choose music that presents the students with opportunities to grow their musicianship in a variety of ways. The central work on the March concert for the Conservatory Orchestra is Ballade in A minor by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a British composer of African descent. The Olympia Symphony Orchestra performed this piece in February 2020 and it struck me then that it would be a good challenge for the Conservatory musicians. You’ll hear that ColeridgeTaylor’s music is heavily influenced by
his British musical education, though he still managed to carve out a unique voice in his all-too-short (37-year) life. Parents of Conservatory students will likely know that, in addition to the prepared solo and sightreading, a musician wishing to be considered for the Conservatory Orchestra is required to prepare certain standard orchestral excerpts. These are portions of famous pieces for orchestra that musicians are likely to encounter many times throughout their careers, and, where possible, I look for opportunities to program some of these pieces with the Conservatory Orchestra during the season. This year, it’s the trombone section that gets to experience their excerpt in context, as we close out the March concert with Berlioz’s Hungarian March. You won’t want to miss it, especially since the bassoons, tuba, cellos, and basses play the excerpt along with our excellent trombone section. Also in this concert, we will feature two of our senior musicians: oboist Gabriel Ong and bassoonist Ryan Kapsandy will take center stage in Vivaldi’s Concerto in G for oboe, bassoon, and strings. And the Conservatory Orchestra will open the second half with a contemporary piece by Oregonian composer Kevin Walczyk, titled Celebration Fanfare. While there won’t be any big anniversary celebrations or mass performances with 100 students on stage, I can still promise an exciting afternoon of great music played by some of the hardest working student musicians I know. Cameron May, Music Director
WHAT IS “INSPIRE OLYMPIA?”
nspire Olympia had a kickoff in January at the Washington Center. It is a cultural access program created for Olympia. This initiative will go to the voters on April 26, I2022, to increase access to arts, culture, heritage, and science experiences throughout Olympia. This sales tax (.01%) will help reduce barriers to access and expand offerings, particularly for underserved youth. The kickoff opened with guest young musicians from SOGO, who performed a gamut of works from classical to movie music for a very diverse audience. The purpose of the evening was to highlight the impact a program like this would have on Olympians. The program is of particular interest to nonprofits that labor in the arts, culture, heritage, and science realms, where funding would be available to help expand equitable access to public programs like SOGO. This could increase SOGO’s opportunities to expand educational options for youth, and build sustainability for ongoing cultural programs that provide value for our community. For more information go to InspireOlympia.com.
See how SOGO is already making an impact because of generous contributors to our SOGO to Schools program article on page 2.
STUDENT ORCHESTRAS OF GREATER OLYMPIA
LEAD • INSPIRE • PERFORM •
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SOGO To Schools - Your donation is making a difference! “Thank you for making this opportunity possible…” ~ Parent of SOGO to Schools student
W
hen public and private schools were coming back in person this fall all of our music colleagues knew there would be significant gaps in basic skills, training, and understanding - especially for those who had just started on an instrument during the 2020-2021 school year. Each local school district had a plan to support these young learners and our SOGO 2 Schools program hit the ground running this fall to provide free in-person sectionals and private lessons over Zoom. We supported Jefferson MS, Olympia Christian School, and Capital HS with over 25 sectionals for instrument groups chosen by their teachers and then offered a set of lessons to those same students.
Elementary through high school students can explore and experience all kinds of engaging classes at the 2022 SOGO Summer Music at Jefferson M.S. July 18-22! Offerings include: Fiddling, Music Theory, Ukulele, Composing, Bucket Band, Swap Band, Jazz, Summer Orchestra for H.S. students, and much more. Register April 1.
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To date we have provided free lessons to over 30 students and the progress has been significant and acknowledged by teachers, students, and parents.
“Thanks so much for your teaching and for sharing these great opportunities with us! The SOGO TA was a great help: he was personable and made a clear difference in helping our student get started on a new instrument. Thank you for offering this service!” ~ Parent “Thank you for making this opportunity possible not just for my kids who would be playing regardless but for a number of kids there from diverse backgrounds whose family finances wouldn’t otherwise allow for this opportunity.” ~ Parent “I have been hearing lots of great feedback from parents during conferences about the lessons you have been offering my students. Many of them are asking about continuing lessons too!” ~ Teacher
SOLOIST SPOTLIGHT... Ryan Kapsandy, bassoon,
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GIVE LOCAL CAMPAIGN WRAP UP! This past Holiday Season we were so grateful for your support of SOGO through the Community Foundation’s Give Local campaign. Nearly 100 non-profit groups in three counties participated. SOGO’s goal was to raise $13,000 for programming and thanks to you, we met and exceeded that goal by $375. With the Dawkins Charitable Trust Bonus Fund, you helped stretch our grand total to $15,961! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
and Gabe Ong, oboe are soloists on the March Concert. I asked them a series of questions for this article. I intended to pair down what they said and fit it into this space, but I couldn’t. Instead, as I read their answers, I found myself laughing, giving a nod of agreement, tearing up - just a whole gamut of emotions. So I decided to provide you with a glimpse on this page of who these two young musicians are - thoughtful, passionate, driven, fun-loving, thankful, and ready to make the world a better place. They will so inspire you that you’ll want to read the entire interview at studentorchestras.org (SPOTLIGHT). What were your initial thoughts when Mr. May asked you to be a soloist with the Conservatory Orchestra? Gabe: I was pretty excited to hear I’d be playing with Ryan. I’ve played alongside an orchestra as a pianist, which I really enjoyed, but never as an oboist. Ryan: My first thoughts when being told that I was going to have a duet on stage were mostly excitement. I love sharing what I can do with music with people and letting people know that I can play an instrument that is so special in my eyes and that maybe other people will think it's as special someday as well. Along with the nerves that follow me to every concert, I think I'm really going to enjoy performing for everyone. Tell us what you enjoy most about your solo? Gabe: The Vivaldi Concerto is a concerto for oboe and bassoon, which means I get to play with another person which is always fun. With that being said, the concerto has a lot of nice oboe moments that I’m looking forward to playing. Ryan: I enjoy playing parts that were written specifically for bassoon, with knowledge of the bassoon and its strengths. Some of the 16th note runs in the first movement of the concerto capture the versatility of the bassoon and really lets it shine through. Bassoon can be smooth and lyrical, but it can also be one of the most bouncy and punctual instruments in the orchestra, which movements I and III take advantage of. What will you be thinking just before you play the first note of your solo in March? Gabe: My main concern will probably be my reed. Since I don’t come in on the first measure, I have to make sure that my reed doesn’t dry out as the orchestra is playing. Aside from my reed, I’ll be counting to make sure I come in at the right time. I wouldn’t want to mess up an entrance. Ryan: I will most definitely be cracking jokes in my head, because that's my defense mechanism for times of stress. There was an assignment in my psychology class that talked about stress and how the way we view stressors can change the way they affect us. I think realizing I'm nervous or scared, then changing that into excitement in my mind will be important for the way I sound on stage.