Keeping Tempo August 2014

Keeping Tempo Volume 6, Number 1, August 2014

YOBC’s Community Outreach Programs

Inside this issue: Student Spotlight: Noah Harrison

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Conductors’ Notes: YOBC’s Wind Ensemble

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That’s Not on My List!

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Music Runs in YOBC Families

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YOBC 2014 Italy Tour

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Four Concerto Competition Winners to Perform This Season

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Important Dates: 

Saturday, September 6: Orientation and CurtainRaiser

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Sunday, September 7: Fall Rehearsals Begin, all ensembles

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Sunday, September 14: Parents meetings, 2:15 or 5:00 PM

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October 5–19: YOBC Practice-a-Thon

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November 22–23, 2014: Fall Concerts

For nearly 25 years, the reach efforts. The first, Youth Orchestra of Bucks already on the calendar, County has been providis a musical reading of ing outstanding classical The Remarkable Farkle music experiences for its McBride at Barnes & Nomembers. In recent years, ble in Langhorne, on DeYOBC has expanded its cember 6. The children’s outreach efforts to probook by John Lithgow is vide some of these same “a tale about a prodigy experiences to nonmemwhose quest for the perbers in the community at fect instrument leads him large. This includes a through virtually every “bring your friend to section of the orchestra.”

Wind Symphony” day, YOBC students will read inviting the community to and perform parts of the attend our master classes, book from 2:00–3:00 PM. and chamber performSymphony Orchestra ances in local violinist Kathechurches and rine Cramer has tourist venues. proposed a new One of the idea to pair curlargest outreach rent YOBC stuefforts is the Students as practice dents in Concert partners with program in the other student Bristol Township musicians in the School District. county. She enviIn two years, the sions a team of SIC program has YOBC Advanced served approxiDivision volunmately 100 midteers working dle school music with students Katherine Cramer one-on-one or in students, supported the BTSD instrusmall groups to teach mental music program, practice habits, techand introduced YOBC to nique, and to prepare seven new students. them for YOBC, BCMEA This year, we will be Counties, or other audiexploring some new outtions.

“How many times have I thought ‘I wish I knew that earlier’?”

Katherine wonders. The practice partnership may begin with just a survey of YOBC students asking, “What did you wish you had known before?” The feedback would be useful for new music students who are learning how to practice the right way.

These outreach efforts demonstrate YOBC’s continued commitment to supporting music education. Students come to YOBC with a special love for music and a desire to develop their musical talent. These programs allow them to share that love with the community.

tudent

potlight: Noah Harrison

Noah Harrison, an 8th grader at the Quaker School at Horsham, will lead the trombone section of this year’s Wind Symphony. He has been playing trombone for four years and is beginning his third year with YOBC. The trombone appeals to Noah as a unique instrument because of its slide. Hoping to be a successful musician in the future, he plays whenever he can. YOBC is just one of the outlets for Noah’s music. This summer he played at the Pennsbury School District summer music program and really enjoyed it.

Noah first heard about YOBC from a flyer distributed at school. “I got a flyer about YOBC at the end of 5th grade and decided to try out. I wanted to join because I was starting a new school for 6th grade, and it unfortunately did not have an instrumental music program. I wanted to continue to play the trombone and be part of a band.”

Heading into his third year with YOBC, Noah believes it is “an excellent music program. Participating in YOBC is helping me become a much a much better musician.”

When he is not playing music, Noah enjoys playing electronics, swimming, going on adventures, and hanging out with friends.

Conductors’ Notes: YOBC’s Wind Ensemble At this time a year ago, I was in a real quandary. I had been asked to direct the YOBC Wind Ensemble, a band that had been a part of the YOBC program for as long as I have been aware of YOBC. I had had private clarinet students who played in it. I knew of students who were in the Neshaminy School District music program, where I worked for 30 years, who played in it. And yet, the 2013–14 season was to be a new beginning in an important way. A new ensemble had been added, a third band named Fanfare Winds, which Mr. Sweetsir would direct.

Although Fanfare Winds was officially the new group, everyone from the previous year’s Wind Ensemble had moved up into it with Mr. Sweetsir, so the Wind Ensemble that I had been asked to direct was really the new band, formed with players who were moving up from Wind Symphony and new players who had auditioned during the summer. My task even before the first rehearsal—despite knowing very few of the new Wind Ensemble players and realizing that they had never before played together as an ensemble—was to decide what kind of music we’d be able to do. After a lot of thinking, Page 2

and with some trepidation, I decided on an initial program for the November concert. But would any of it be too hard for the group?

Would some of it be too easy? I had little doubt the Wind Ensemble could eventually learn everything I’d picked, even the hardest ones, but could they do it by the November concert? There was only one way to find out, I knew. Start working in September and see how things go.

As we know now, the band conquered the music with little difficulty, and, after what seemed like so few rehearsals, the concert went wonderfully. I hope the members of

the Wind Ensemble, then and after the next concert in April, were as proud of what they had accomplished as I was. Now, with a year of playing together behind us, I hope that we can reach even greater musical heights and that our new members will find their experience rich with musical reward. I’m looking forward to the coming year as the director of the YOBC Wind Ensemble. I know now that together we are up to the challenge.

Karl Krelove Director, YOBC Wind Ensemble and Clarinet Ensemble

Keeping Tempo

Executive Director’s Corner: That’s Not on My List!

I am a planner. I create order in my life with schedules, checklists, charts, and spreadsheets. I like to nail down the details, check off the steps, and stay on target. I once read a biography of Winston Churchill. He’s my kind of guy! He left nothing to chance. He meticulously rehearsed his speeches, practicing the exact inflection and gestures he would use, even including hesitations and “corrections” to lend his words an air of spontaneity.

I understand this kind of preparation! I am happiest when I know what to expect and everything is going “according to plan.” I am decidedly not happy when the plan starts to go south. And yet, sometimes the greatest opportunities unfold when the unexpected happens.

My most recent “unexpected moment” took place at Padova, in the yard of the Palazzo Zuckermann, during YOBC’s concert tour of Italy this summer. Our students were preparing for an outdoor concert, but storm clouds loomed overhead. Despite the threat of rain, a small audience had gathered to hear the performance. Shortly after the concert began, the dampness and scattered raindrops gave way to a full downpour, forcing disappointed musicians and audience members alike to take shelter in the large lobby of an open building just off the square. It was at this point that events took an unexpected turn.

As conductors and chaperones scurried about the drenched stage trying to secure equipment, the sound of music filled the courtyard.

I followed the sound into the building to find YOBC students performing, on their own, without the aid of a conductor, music, chairs, seating charts, or proper lighting. It wasn’t on the schedule or any list! Yet there they stood, in a crooked half circle, improvising to a blues bass line, sounding absolutely terrific as Volume 6, Number 1, August 2014

they performed before an appreciative audience that cheered and applauded them on.

Sitting down on the floor, I soaked up the music and the moment.

It was a great concert and an evening full of opportunity. Faced with the unexpected, YOBC students stepped out and created their own concert.

The audience who had gathered to hear a traditional concert experienced something truly special and original.

And I had the opportunity to be humbled and inspired by the ingenuity of our students.

Someone once said, “The only thing worse than a plan is no plan.” That is frequently true, but every now and then we are reminded that although planning is a good and necessary thing, the unexpected can open the door for truly great opportunities.

—Colleen Sweetsir YOBC Executive Director Thanks to YOBC parent and tour chaperone Trista Walker, you can share this improv experience — and other performances from the Italy tour — on her YouTube channel.

Music Runs in YOBC Families You know David Osenberg as the emcee at YOBC concerts. Music Director and Host at WWFM, David is also the parent of two YOBC wind players, a member of our Board of Directors, and a musician himself. Hear him this weekend at the Langhorne Heritage Farm. The Straight Ahead Big Band began 10 years ago as a part-time band for professionals and area music teachers to come and enjoy playing big band jazz. Today the SABB does a limited amount of concerts but are happy to give their time in support of the nonprofit Langhorne Open Space organization by playing at the Heritage Farm. Find out more about the band at thestraightaheadbigband.com.

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YOBC’s 2014 Italy Tour...What will you remember most?

Sightseeing in the rain.

Gorgeous music in incredible venues.

My favorite memory is walking up the hill in Assisi and seeing the town from above, and the colosseum. Thank you so much.

My favorite memory is going to the beach and the crowd listening to our last concert in Florence.

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Keeping Tempo

Great concert in Florence Saturday night!

8 encores for a few thousand people.

How camera-shy Mr. and Mrs. Sweetsir are.

Food, friends, fun.

Volume 6, Number 1, August 2014

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252 Hollow Branch Lane Yardley, PA 19067 Email: info.yobc@gmail.com

yobc.org

The YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF BUCKS COUNTY, Pennsyl vania (YOBC) was founded in 1991 with the sponsorship and support of Bucks County Community College . Its mission is to create opportunitie s for young musicians to achieve artistic excellence through enriching classical musical experiences. In 23 seasons the organization has grown fro m a single, 60-member ensemble to 14 ensembles with over 240 young music ians.

Four Concerto Competition Winners to Perform this Season Four YOBC students were selected as soloists from 11 highly qualified contenders in this year’s Concerto Competition, which was held in June 2014. Congratulations to Cheyenne King-Bails (violin), Paul Hutchings (trumpet), Justin Shaw (piano), and Eric Cyphers (cello) who will each play at one of the YOBC concerts this season.

Cheyenne, a junior at Philadelphia’s school for Creative and Performing Arts, has been playing violin for nine years. She is planning to major in violin performance and loves to share and collaborate with other musicians. She will play Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G minor with the YOBC Symphony Orchestra in the Fall Concert.

Paul, a junior at Central Bucks West is in his fifth year

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with YOBC, playing in Symphony Orchestra and Fanfare Winds. In addition to playing trumpet and trombone, Paul composes and arranges music, too. He will play the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto with Fanfare Winds this fall.

Justin is a clarinetist in YOBC’s Fanfare Winds and Symphony Orchestra. He will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 with Symphony Orchestra this fall.

A senior at Central Bucks East, Justin has become a level-10 pianist with high honors or honors in music history, music theory, and performance assessments for the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program.

Eric is a senior at Archbishop Wood High School who currently studies with Derek Barnes of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Barnes has arranged master classes for

Eric with world renowned cellists Johannes Moser and Yo-Yo Ma. Eric will perform the Lalo Concerto for Cello and Orchestra with the YOBC Symphony Orchestra in the spring 2015 concert.

Keeping Tempo