Keeping Tempo Volume 3, Number 2 November 2011
YOBC International Tour Set for Summer 2012
Inside this issue: Philadelphia Cultural Alliance Renews YOBC Grant for 2012
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Conductors’ Notes: YOBC and TCNJ Partnership
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Philadelphia Orchestra Field Trip Delights YOBC Students
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Executive Director’s Corner: Pirates, Roller Coasters, and Sharks
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Student Spotlight: Jesse Palmiotti
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Honors String Quartet Makes its Performance Debut
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How to Define a Musical Masterwork
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First-Class Music Theaters in New York
Important Dates:
November 19, 2011: YOBC Fall Concerts.
December 3, 2011: Honors String Quartet at Bucks County Visitors Center.
January 8, 2012: Winter/Spring semester starts.
February 25, 2012: Chamber Ensemble Recital.
February 26, 2012: Percussion Master Class.
Plans for YOBC’s 2012 International Tour have been finalized and the participants are packing their instruments. This summer’s group of 95 participants includes a 55-piece ensemble, YOBC staff, chaperones, and some lucky family members. The trip will take YOBC to northern Spain and the south of France for performances in exciting venues as participants in several international music festivals. First stop on the tour is Girona, on the Spanish Costa Brava. The first performance will take place at the Pals Festival, organized by Jeunesse Musicales International, the largest
Provençal des Orchestres de Jeunes. This Festival,
now in its 8th year, is an exciting project offering more and more opportunities for unforgettable concerts and tours for all youth orchestras and ensembles in the spectacular ancient towns and villages of Provence. The tour continues to the French Riviera, with stops in Nice where our ensemble will perform at the Citadel in Villefranche overlooking the city, and a final concert at the Festival de Menton, just to the east of Monte Carlo. The Festival de Menton has been going on annually since 1950 and has become one of the major events on the
youth music NGO in the world whose mission is to “enable young people to develop through music across all boundaries.” Next, in France, YOBC will visit the Provençal towns of Arles and Aix-enProvence where they will perform at the CatheCrowds watch an orchestra perform on a platform in the Mediterranean during the dral as part of 2011 Festival de Menton the Festival
The Cathedral in Aix-enProvence where YOBC will perform.
French musical calendar featuring renowned musicians from around the world. In addition to these concerts, YOBC students and families will be treated to visits to the fascinating medieval and Gothic towns and Roman ruins found in that part of Europe. There will also be time for the fabulous Mediterranean beaches, French and Spanish cuisine, and the principality of Monaco. The tour promises to be an unforgettable experience for our YOBC family.
Philadelphia Cultural Alliance Renews YOBC Grant for 2012 In October, YOBC administrators Colleen Sweetsir and Diana Nolan were invited to Philadelphia to accept a check for nearly $2,000 from the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (GPCA). GPCA is the regional partner agency of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA), a state-funded arts consortium. Through the Partners in the Arts program, the Cultural Alliance works with the PCA to evaluate proposals and distribute grant awards for projects or programs involving artists throughout the five-county Philadelphia region. This highly competitive program offers grants to individual artists and organizations for innovative, community-based arts projects. With tight state budgets and
funding cuts across all state agencampus. Nearly 100 people turned cies, the number of successful grant out to taste hors d’oeuvres from applications was severely around the world, reduced this year. YOBC prepared on site by was one of only two Bucks professional chefs. County programs to reThe event feaceive funding. Our applitured live music, a cation was specifically to silent and live support our Master Class auction, and tours series which will be schedand information uled during our spring about the history semester. In receiving this of the Tyler esgrant, YOBC’s program tate. This event was recognized by our was a great sucpeers as one of the finest cess and raised in the area, for the second nearly $8,000 for year in a row. YOBC scholarAlso in October, YOBC ships and educahosted an International tional programs One of the “musicians” Tapas Tasting Tour benefit such as our Master featured at the YOBC at Tyler Hall on the Bucks International Tapas Class series, sectionTasting Tour County Community College als, and field trips.
Conductors’ Notes: YOBC & TCNJ Partnership The 20th Anniversary Gala concert was an amazing event and the beginning of a unique partnership between YOBC and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Percussion Department. Mrs. Sweetsir had contacted Bill Trigg who is an Artist/Teacher of Percussion at TCNJ, who assigned a senior music education student to perform the timpani parts at the Gala concert. The student was Nick Clipperton who did a fantastic job at the event. After the concert, I spoke to Mr. Trigg about a possible partnership between YOBC and TCNJ. Through our partnership, Nick Clipperton is now a YOBC intern who helps me with Percussion Ensemble rehearsals and performances. Nick has been a great assistant who has directed several rehearsals and will conduct the Fall Concert performance. The YOBC Percussion Ensemble has also been invited to the TCNJ Percussion Ensemble Winter Concert dress rehearsal on Monday, Novem-
ber 28. The YOBC students will have dinner with the TCNJ Percussion Ensemble students and will be on stage to watch their dress rehearsal prior to their December 2 Winter Concert at TCNJ. We will join the TCNJ Percussion Ensemble again in the spring when not only will we attend the spring dress rehearsal, but YOBC will also be performing at the TCNJ Percussion Ensemble Spring Concert! At the Spring Concert dress rehearsal, we will again have dinner with the TCNJ students and then rehearse the piece we will be performing at the TCNJ Percussion Ensemble Spring Concert on April 20. Mr. Trigg will be making comments at the dress rehearsal to help us achieve a better performance. We will also be using the TCNJ percussion equipment which will be a unique opportunity for our YOBC students. As another element of our collaboration, we will be having a Percussion Master Class with Mr. Trigg Page 2
and the TCNJ Percussion Ensemble at BCCC on Sunday, February 26. In addition to working with Mr. Trigg on the piece for the Spring Concert, TCNJ Percussion students will be performing “Scheherazade” and interacting with the YOBC Percussion Ensemble students and community guests. I am incredibly proud of our students and the events of this year. The YOBC Percussion Ensemble students have an amazing opportunity to interact with the TCNJ Percussion Department several times throughout this year. I would like to thank Mrs. Sweetsir, and the YOBC Executive Board, for their support of our partnership. I would also like to thank Mr. Trigg for all of his support regarding our partnership and his willingness to involve the YOBC percussion students in a series of events that will make a positive impression on YOBC percussion students for years to come. —Joe D’Alicandro, Conductor YOBC Percussion Ensemble .
Philadelphia Orchestra Field Trip Delights YOBC Students Despite an unseasonable Halloween snowstorm, a busload of YOBC students headed to the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia recently to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra. The performance included a solo by cellist Gautier Capuçon, making his Philadelpia debut with Schumann’s Cello Concerto. The program also featured a Strauss suite and Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations. Prior to the concert, the YOBC students had an opportunity to meet three Philadelphia Orchestra musicians and learn about the evening’s performance and ask questions about working as a professional musician. Then they took their seats in the Conductor’s Cir-
cle where they could see the working orchestra and watch the conductor, Charles Dutoit, as he led the musicians through the pieces. This was a wonderful opportunity for YOBC students, one we hope to make a regular part of our program and offerings. But don’t wait for YOBC’s next field trip...you can hear the Philadelphia Orchestra any time! Singlepurchase tickets are available to every concert and many special deals are available. For example,
students can take advantage of $10 student rush tickets; availability is based on prior sales, and all seat locations are at the discretion of management. When available, these tickets go on sale at the box office 30 minutes before each performance. Visit the Kimmel Center website for more details and other ticket deals.
Executive Director’s Corner: Pirates, Roller Coasters, and Sharks Charlotte believes in everything. “There are pirates over there,” she tells me as we walk through a shadowy gathering of trees, darkly silhouetted against the nighttime sky. “They aren’t real,” I reassure her. “They can’t hurt you.’’ She holds my hand extra tight. “I know,” she nods bravely, her eyes wide with worry. “They’re over there,” she insists knowingly. You can’t change her mind. Charlotte lives in a world where almost everything is real and she is both fearful and fascinated. She talks to her dollies as she wraps them in blankets and rocks them to sleep in her little-girl–sized chair. She frantically scrambles out of the kiddie pool when her uncle tells her to watch out for sharks. There is no boundary which separates real from makebelieve in her world. Charlotte is almost three and she is curious about music. As her grandpa listens to Modest Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, Charlotte fearfully buries her head in her greatgrandmother’s lap for comfort. “It’s scary!” she whispers. Her Page 3
great-grandmother gives her a hug and explains that the music is telling a story. Charlotte learns to listen for the wind and the storm, the calm, and then the flutter of birds in the music. The musical imagery captures her imagination. Her fear and fascination fuse and she listens to the music again and again like a thrill-seeking roller-coaster rider. She loves it!
They each spoke of a literal moment in their lives when a specific piece of music profoundly engaged them and transformed their lives. Last month, I was surprised to see some of that same sense of wonder and musical imagery when YOBC students took a trip to the Kimmel Center for a Philadelphia Orchestra concert. Three Philadelphia Orchestra members met with the students before the concert. They each spoke of a literal moment in their lives when a specific piece of music profoundly engaged
them and transformed their lives with a “This is what I want to do with my life!” moment. I was struck by the passion that these seasoned performers continue to have for their work. They love it…all of it. Each artist in turn emphasized the painstaking preparation they still engage in for every concert. Their work is an obvious delight to them because it is inextricably tied to deep passion, respect, and a sense of wonder that they still have for music. Like Charlotte, music captures something deep inside of them. We do need to grow up at some point in our lives. And knowing the difference between what is real and what is imaginary is a useful skill. But still, let there be pirates and roller coasters and sharks! In a world where we can sometimes become jaded by the realities of life, it is nice to be able to preserve that childlike wonder that first opened the door to our passion and dedication…to all the things we love! —Colleen Sweetsir YOBC Executive Director
tudent
potlight: Jesse Palmiotti
In the coming months, a lot of interesting things are planned for YOBC percussion groups, so it is fitting to highlight our lead percussionist, Jesse Palmiotti, in this issue of Keeping Tempo. Jesse, a junior at the George School, is in his third year with YOBC. He plays in the Wind Ensemble, the Percussion Ensemble, and the Symphony Orchestra. Playing in three YOBC ensembles makes Sunday a busy but interesting day for Jesse. “It is an incredible opportunity to be able to play in these three ensembles. Their styles are very different, which gives me the chance to play many different songs and learn so many new things during my time there. I have been given the chance to play obscure instruments, like brake drums, and the timpani which has taught me a lot.” Jesse’s favorite part about YOBC is interacting with other musicians and conductors. “I rarely get the opportunity to play with such dedicated, talented people because I do not have a band at my
school,” he says. “They give me inspiration to work harder and play better each week. “ This spring, the YOBC Percussion Ensemble will have a joint performance with the TCNJ Percussion Ensemble. Jesse is looking forward to the event which he believes will be “an incredible learning experience for me. To be able to play with percussionists of their caliber will teach me so much and give me inspiration to practice harder each day.” Outside of YOBC, Jesse plays in a band with some friends at his school. “It is nice to have a balance between the classical music of YOBC and the rock music my band plays.” Other than playing drums and piano, he also enjoys writing and playing tennis. Some day Jesse hopes to become a novelist or journalist. “I will continue playing music, of course, in college and the rest of my adult life. It is a huge part of who I am and I will never give it up.” For Jesse, YOBC offers a chance to express himself musically. “I
Jesse Palmiotti
don’t have many opportunities to play music with other kids and YOBC is my place to do that,” he explains. “It has been a tremendous experience for me so far and has made me not only better musically, but has taught me responsibility and work ethic.” Jesse will take part in YOBC’s 2012 International Tour. “I am really looking forward to playing in Europe.”
Honors String Quartet Makes its Performance Debut YOBC’s new Honors String Quartet made its debut last month at the Tapas Tasting Tour benefit at Tyler Hall. Following auditions in September, four students were chosen to make up the quartet: Gregory Chen and Kelsey Busch, violin; Yinzi Xin, viola; and Brian Buhr, cello. These students are all current members of the YOBC Symphony Orchestra. The Page 4
students receive coaching from Sara Bennett Wolfe and a $100 scholarship. In addition to performing at YOBC’s Chamber Recital on February 25, 2012, the group is required to represent YOBC by playing in at least three other benefit performances in the community. They will also provide prelude music in the lobby before the fall concert. On Saturday, December 3, the YOBC Honors String Quartet will perform again at the Bucks County
Visitor Center, 3207 Street Road in Bensalem, PA. The performance, at 11:30 A.M., is part of the annual Holiday TreeFest event that runs from November 22, 2011 through January 8, 2012. TreeFest features at least 25 uniquely themed trees on display in the main gallery of the Visitor Center. Each tree is decorated by a local business or organization. Come out to support the efforts of these fine musicians and make TreeFest part of your holiday celebrations.
How to Define a Musical Masterwork You may have seen me wandering around YOBC with a clipboard back in September, or perhaps you were one of the musicians that I surveyed. For my fall Musical Masterworks class, I was assigned to interview 20 adults with a knowledge of classical music, asking them to “name one composition you would definitely include in a course on musical masterworks.” It was fun to watch people protest the limit—“Really? One and only one?!” “Hmmm…this is going to be a toughie…”—and then have a sudden moment of clarity and definitively announce a winner! The top response for a single masterwork was Handel’s Messiah, with Beethoven being the composer most mentioned but for various works—Symphonies No. 3, 5, and 9; Moonlight Sonata, Minuet in G, Sonata Pathétique, and Für Elise. Some unexpected picks were Satie’s Gymnopédie No. 1, Poulenc’s O Magnum Mysterium, and Joe Hisaishi’s Summer. Wind Symphony members will be happy to know that Sousa’s Washington Post received a mention. In class, we used the survey results as a launch into discussing what defines a masterwork. We made a list of adjectives, such as great, awe-inspiring, perfect, lovely, complex, amazing, and beautiful. We also agreed that defining something
as a masterwork involves opinion as well as fact. There was always an activity that brought us into the subject of the week. As an introduction to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, we learned about the physics of the pipe organ from a video narrated by an animated pipe. Then we were each given PVC pipes of differing lengths to play a “fugue” by passing on a pattern
BEETHOVEN
to the next player in line as the teacher kept initiating new patterns. When learning about the classic Russian basso profundo, we played a game of vocal limbo to see just how low we could go! For my final project, I created a video collage of the history of aviation, from the 1903 Wright Flyer to the 2016 F-35 Lightning II, to accompany John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986). I hope to have the opportunity to play the exciting woodblock part for this piece someday… maybe even in YOBC! —Nathan Hillanbrand YOBC Wind Symphony & Percussion Ensemble
Nathan Hillanbrand is a 7th grader at Bradford Academy—conveniently located at his own residence—and also attends SCHOLA, a weekly academic co-op for homeschooling families. He enjoys martial arts, horseback riding, chess, SGM choir, studying history, and being a new member in two of YOBC’s great ensembles. Page 5
252 Hollow Branch Lane Yardley, PA 19067 Email: info.yobc@gmail.com auditions@yobc.org
yobc.org
The YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF BUCKS COUNTY, Pennsylvania (Y OBC) was founded in 1991 with the sponsorship and support of Bucks County Community Co llege. Its mission is to create opportunitie s for young musicians to achieve artistic exc ellence through enriching classical musical experiences. In 21 seasons the organization ha s grown from a single, 60-member ensemble to eleven ensembles with over 250 young mu sicians.
First-Class Music Theaters in New York New York City is known as the hub with over 80 dazzling lights. Yet the Carnegie Hall are the well-known of concerts and shows in the United most amazing part of Merkin Hall buzz of New York City due to the fact States. During the month of May, was its dressing room. The moviethat you can hear a pin dropping in 2011, I was honored to perform at star mirror, plush sofas, and a flatthe middle of the stage from the back two prestigious theaters, screen TV that monitors row of the balcony. Merkin Hall and Carnegie the status of the stage Inside Carnegie Hall, three ostenHall in New York. The exfrom the dressing room tatious chandeliers reveal 268 traordinary differences bemade me feel that I bewooden maroon-colored seats, a royal tween these two theaters came an overnight celebbalcony, bluish-green curtains, and through my personal exrity. The best part is the gold designs swirled on the walls. periences are fascinating. soundproof wall that perMore importantly, these flamboyant Merkin Hall The memory has forever mits performers to pracchandeliers enlighten paramount changed my outlook on mutice backstage before show characteristics of its elevated timbersic and entertainment. time. Merkin Hall truly represents a made stage. Here, I realized for the When I stepped into Merkin landmark of the modern theaters. first time that pianists at Carnegie Hall, the first things that jumped out In contrast, as I stood in the front Hall play luscious music not just for at me were the titanic, see-through, of Carnegie Hall, its glamthe audience but also for themand immaculate glass windows that our and beauty engulfed selves. My precious performdisplayed a throng of people waiting my musical mind instanance moment on the top of that to enter the recital hall. This 449taneously. Carnegie Hall, famous stage connected me not seat concert hall built in 1987 has a as the most esteemed hall just with the audience but also huge seating area for the audience. in all of America, is the with all the musicians who had The smooth light brown wooden most attractive theater I walked down the same red carCarnegie Hall stage was built not only for Broadhave ever seen. The Italpet. We all share the same pasway performers but also piano soloian Renaissance design and its 1891 sion for music. ists and orchestras. The stage ceiling aura make Carnegie Hall a must—Melissa Lu, Flutist was adorned with a modern electric play place for famous pianists all YOBC Wind Symphony system, which illuminates the stage around the world. The acoustics of 7th Grade, Richboro Middle School
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