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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