Keeping Tempo November 2013

Keeping Tempo Volume 5, Number 2, November 2013

Loudon Wainwright III Will Headline YOBC Benefit

Inside this issue: Students In Concert Kicks Off Its Second Year

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To Play LARGE … Think & Start Small!

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Student Spotlight: Laura Krause

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Lessons from the Ying Quartet

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Quincy Hilliard to Work with YOBC Winds

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NAfME All-National Honors Band

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YOBC Celebrates 20 Years of Soloists

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YOBC Concerto Competition’s 20th Anniversary: Jason Calloway

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Important Dates: 

November 23 & 24: Fall concerts

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December 6: Holly Nights, Pennsbury Manor, Honors Strings

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December 7: TreeFest, Saxophone Ensemble

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December 14: B&N Bookfair Recital

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January 5: Spring rehearsals start

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January 26: Quincy Hilliard workshop

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March 1: Auction & Live Show Benefit

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March 8: YOBC Chamber Recital

The holiday season is practically upon us, so let’s look over your gift list and find “that person.” We all have at least one on our list – the person for whom we can’t seem to find the right gift.

Well, how does this sound: Give that person an incredibly memorable evening, and in return, you enjoy a tax deduction and support YOBC. Too good to be true? Not at all. Simply purchase tickets to our annual fundraiser, deliver them to the lucky recipient, and prepare to be hailed as the greatest of gift givers.

Last year’s event was a sellout and a rollicking good time. This year’s promises to be even better. We’ll have a tempting assortment of gourmet hors d’oeuvres, samplings of New Hope Winery’s finest wines, and a silent auction. Last year’s featured everything from Phillies tickets to a weeklong vacation rental in Maine. Topping it all off will be a concert by Grammy winner Loudon Wainwright III in the New Hope Winery’s intimate performance venue.

For just a bit more, you can upgrade the experience with a VIP ticket, which puts you even closer to the stage. You’ll feel like you’re singing back-up for Loudon, who you might reLoudon Wainwright III will perform at member for his this year’s Auction & Live Show benefit. stint as Captain Spalding on M*A*S*H in ways. Of course, you can the mid-1970s as well as purchase tickets for yourhis novelty hit “Dead self, but as we suggested, Skunk (In the Middle of you might also bestow the Road).” some upon friends. In adPick up a pair of tickdition, you can help spread ets for yourself while you’re the word. The more people in the holiday spirit! Don’t who attend, the bigger our procrastinate. Last year’s success will be. event sold out and we’re Also, if you have someexpecting a heavy demand thing – an item, a service – this time around, too. Rethat would be a great addimember that because tion to our auction list, YOBC is a 501(c)3 organithat donation helps, too. zation, donations are tax Our event will be held deductible!

March 1 from 6:30 to 10:00 PM at the New Hope WinThis is our single bigery between Peddlers Vilgest fundraiser of the year. lage and New Hope on Did you know that tuition York Road. covers less than 65 percent You can purchase tickof YOBC’s expenses? The ets at yobc.org or contact rest are covered by grants Development Director and donations. You can Karl Smith (215-932-1917) help make this critical for more information. event a success in so many

Students In Concert Kicks Off its Second Year in Bristol In late October, YOBC’s outreach program Students In Concert kicked off its second season in the Bristol Township School District with a couple of great events.

The first was our Beef & Beer & Blues fundraiser at McStew’s Irish Pub in Levit-

Guests at the Beef & Beer & Blues event

town, where guests enjoyed food, drink, and rocking music by Mike Metallia & Midnight Shift. This event raised approximately $1000 for the SIC program.

The first rehearsals for this year’s program began several days later. Chris Gerhart, the SIC coordinator in Bristol, spoke to the parents and students about the program and its expectations. Truman High School Band director, Keith Krelove, described how successful last year’s students have been in his band program this year. Everyone enjoyed a performance by a brass quintet that included three SIC teachers and YOBC’s own Colleen Sweetsir. Afterwards the fami-

Mike Metallia & Midnight Shift

lies partook in refreshments provided by volunteers from the YOBC Board of Directors.

This year’s SIC program is supported by the Bucks County ComChris Gerhart missioners and provided an overview of the program PECO, but is still slightly short of its fundraising goal. For more information or to donate, please visit YOBC Programs at the YOBC website.

The brass quintet

Conductors’ Notes: To Play LARGE … Think & Start Small!

This July, the Youth Orchestra of Bucks County will perform in one of the most beautiful piazzas in the world ... the Piazza della Signoria of Florence, Italy. As our musicians perform, a visual inspiration for them will be Michelangelo’s David, situated directly in front of them. It’s a grand opportunity for YOBC to perform for an international audience ... a vibrant and appreciative audience which is expected to parallel our concert experiences of 2012 in Southern France.

In order to reach this LARGE goal, we began to build our orchestral sound, in an incremental way, during our very first September rehearsal. We first started with the element of intonation – Page 2

playing “in tune.” We then moved to the element of timbre – developing an orchestral tone color that is full of dimension. Next was ensemble cohesion – where we focused on playing in a unified approach with one another. Once we experienced small degrees of success with each of these elements, we were truly beginning to build the orchestral sound that we would take to the Piazza della Signoria.

Maximizing all of the musical opportunities that have been planned this year for our students is key to the success of the larger picture. From every single rehearsal, to the Ying Quartet master class, to attending David Kim’s Kimmel Center solo performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra, to welcoming

David Kim to Bucks County to perform with us ... all of these experiences will contribute to a certain artistic mastery that we will bring to our Piazza della Signoria performance.

To play LARGE ... doesn’t have to be out of reach. With an artistic plan, small degrees of success will add up to the original, larger goal that you’ve had in mind from the beginning. Have fun setting, working for, and obtaining your smaller goals. The mastery of these goals will surely pay off in the future in a LARGE way ... and, take your time ... remember, “Rome wasn’t built in a day!”

—Robert Loughran YOBC Music Director YOBC Symphony Orchestra Keeping Tempo

tudent

potlight: Laura Krause

This is the second year flutist Laura Krause has been a member of YOBC, where she currently plays in the Chamber Flute Ensemble and Fanfare Winds. She learned about YOBC from her flute teacher who was trying to give her some extra gigs. Laura didn’t want to audition initially but did so to make her flute teacher happy. But the more she comes to rehearsals, the more she loves playing with “such great musicians.”

Laura is currently a junior at Pennridge High School – “I am one of very few Pennridge kids in YOBC” – where she plays in the symphonic band, jazz band, marching band, graduation band, and a flute trio. This experience has led to some interesting musical opportunities. “My marching band and jazz band traveled to Disney World this past spring, and I soloed for the

symphonic band workshop and received a Disney Music pin that I keep on my flute case,” Laura said.

She has played the flute since fourth grade. “My friends said they were going to join band playing the flute in fourth grade, so I did that too – although they never did end up joining.”

Laura is looking forward to this summer’s Italy tour with YOBC. “Who else can say that they played in “the streets of Rome?” she asks. “I love foreign cultures, but I hope I can pick up some Italian.” She is most looking forward to “walking out to the first performance location/stage. It’s scary, but it’s also exciting and you sit down and play with so many talented musicians, and then it becomes fun as you try to get a great crowd response.”

During the summer Laura

also plans to spend three weeks in Germany with the family of an exchange student. “I may go and play in her band for the three weeks I am living in Germany.”

When the exchange is over, before rejoining her friends from YOBC in Italy for the tour, Laura will travel to Switzerland to see the beautiful mountains, and she is trying to get into a master class with James Galway that he does there every summer.

Laura does not plan to pursue a music career, but says, “all my college choices must have a strong music program so I can enjoy it in college too…. I can’t imagine life without band.”

Executive Director’s Corner: Lessons from the Ying Quartet “Behind successful collaboration, there is a strong sense of respect for what each person has to offer,” David Ying stated emphatically.

Thus began the Ying String Quartet’s remarkable, two-day residency at Cairn University a few weeks ago. The lineup included workshops on “Audience Building,” lecture/demonstrations on “String Quartet Playing,” a series of master classes for Cairn University and YOBC Symphony Orchestra string students, and a stunning formal concert that brought the audience to their feet in a rousing standing ovation.

YOBC Symphony Orchestra string students had the opportunity to participate in one of those master classes. Throughout the two-hour session, the Ying musicians helped them develop both skill and artistry in their performance, urging them to “respond, interpret, and project” their musical vision. At the end of Volume 5, Number 2, November 2013

the master class, students remembered the musical lessons they learned, but they were struck by the encouraging, respectful, “let’s work on this together” openness that defined the Ying’s interaction with them. The content and delivery of their message brought to the forefront concepts like conversing rather than debating musical ideas, developing a curiosity about the ideas of others, and working together to make a project stronger and better.

Surprisingly, the aim of “Audience Building” was not to increase the number of bodies in the audience. Members of the quartet emphasized the importance of developing a thoughtful approach to concert planning focused on “deepening the interaction of the audience with the music.” They urged directors to address the question, “What will help people listen to the music in a more meaningful way?” and to “include music of today to connect to the peo-

ple of today” and to “choose less likely repertoire to communicate the intent of more standard selections.” If people don’t break down the doors to the concert hall, take your music to where people already are. In keeping with their collaborative approach to music, the Ying Quartet encouraged musicians to find ways to include the audience in the concert experience and to instill a sense of adventure in every performance.

The Ying Quartet’s residence at Cairn University provided a rare opportunity to feature the appearance of renowned artists of their caliber right here in Bucks County. Congratulations to Cairn University for having the vision to create unique opportunities for learning for musicians, students, teachers, and Bucks County’s musical community.

—Colleen Sweetsir YOBC Executive Director Page 3

Quincy Hilliard to Work with YOBC Winds in January percussion ensemble director. Mr. D. University in Quincy Hilliard is Composer in collaborated with Dr. Hilliard as his England wantResidence and the Heymann Enco-author of a percussion ensemble ed to find the dowed Professor of Music at the book, Percussion Time, published in best person to University of Louisiana, Lafay2004. talk about No ette. In January, this renowned In anticipation of this year’s Child Left Becomposer and educator will come visit, Mr. D told us, “This will be my hind and its to YOBC to provide a conductors’ fourteenth year working with Dr. impact on inworkshop for YOBC staff and a Quincy Hilliard. The band director I strumental workshop and master class for have become is because of him. Dr. music, they all YOBC wind students. Last Hilliard travels to band rooms called on Dr. spring Dr. Hilliard inspired SIC throughout the United States, CanQuincy Hilstudents in the Bristol Township ada, Australia, and has made sevliard. His goal is to make bands School District when he coneral visits to a military base in Jaand band directors throughout the ducted their group for an April pan. When a think tank at Oxford world better. His legacy and his music festival. vision can be heard in Some YOBC students band rooms throughout may already be familiar the world. It has been with Dr. Hilliard as he is my privilege and honor regularly invited to conto work with him, and duct, demonstrate effective for me the greatest gift techniques, and adjudicate is calling him my festivals throughout the friend.” world. He has been in We look forward to Bucks County numerous welcoming Dr. Hilliard times, often as a guest of Dr. Hilliard at the SIC music festival in April 2013 to YOBC this winter.

Joey D’Alicandro, YOBC’s

NAfME All-National Honors Band Upon finding out that I had made the NAfME All-National Band, I immediately (after dancing out of excitement) started a countdown on my calendar until the day I would depart. I didn’t fully realize what I was counting down for, though, until I was standing on the stage with the audience endlessly cheering for us.

It was a monumental experience filled with barely any sleep, lots of rehearsals, and bad jokes.

Rehearsals were extensive to say the least but worth every second. I have on occasion finished a rehearsal for a number of ensembles feeling like we didn’t accomplish anything, but that was not the case at Nationals. Every day Page 4

Dr. Boonshaft would take a moment and ask us, “Remember how we sounded yesterday?” In response the whole band would laugh, because we had improved that much just in a few hours. Everyone in the ensemble wanted to learn and improve. Dr. Boonshaft pushed all of us to be better.

He expected so much from us, and by the way each rehearsal went, you could feel that the band was determined to exceed that expectation.

There was constantly that drive to be better.

Every person I met was a joy to talk to. They told me about their youth orchestras and music festivals and how they want to be musicians when they grow up. At most music festivals you’ll find a handful of students who actually want to pursue music as a career. At Nationals every person I met wanted to be a musician for the rest of their life. It was encouraging to be around a talented group of people that planned on doing the same

thing with their future that I want to do.

Nationals was an experience I will never forget.

From the best friends I made, to Rachel in Nashville for the phethe NAfME All-National nomenal Honors Ensembles music made, to the terrible jokes that Dr. Boonshaft made during rehearsals, every second was memorable. The NAfME t-shirts for this festival said on the front, “Just hanging out with 670 of my best friends.” Originally I thought it was corny but once I left the festival, I realized just how right that corny shirt was.

—Rachel Jones, French horn YOBC Symphony & Fanfare Winds Keeping Tempo

YOBC Concerto Competition Celebrates 20 Years of Soloists In the spring of 1993, at the end of YOBC’s second season, the firstever Concerto Soloist Competition took place. Four young students were selected to perform with YOBC’s Symphony (the only ensemble at the time): Nadine Megill on violin; Jill Fleming and Andrew Chung, a violin duo; and Jason Calloway on cello. This year, as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the YOBC Concerto Competition, look for an update on these musicians in each issue of this newsletter (see p. 6 for a profile of Jason; Nadine was featured in the August 2013 issue).

Over the last 20 years, nearly 200 students have auditioned to be soloists and 49 have performed at a YOBC concert. A wide variety of instruments have been represented; the most common instrument has been the violin (20), whereas there has only been one trombone (so far!). Beginning around 2005, soloist opportunities were offered for Wind Ensemble, adding to the variety of performances. In 2009, piano was included for the first time as an instrument eligible for the Concerto Competition, and students who played another instrument in YOBC could audition for the competition on piano. To date, three musicians have performed with the YOBC Symphony Orchestra as piano soloists.

Currently, to audition musicians must be sophomore or junior YOBC members in good standing.

Music selections must be approved by the music director, Robert Loughran, who says, “It’s been a joy to see the concerto competition flourish through these 20 years.

Each year, the competition has provided a unique opportunity for both soloists and orchestra to listen to and artistically engage with each other.”

This year’s concerts feature three competition winners. In the fall concert we will hear cellist Brian Buhr playing Hungarian Volume 5, Number 2, November 2013

Rhapsody by David Popper with the YOBC Symphony Orchestra and flutist Nick Hall playing Concertino, Op. 107 by Cecile Chaminade Brian Buhr, John Wagner, and Nick Hall are the winners of with YOBC’s the 20th annual YOBC Concerto Competition Fanfare Winds. Nick says his piece, “is such a staple of trict, Regional, and State levels. flute literature, and I can think of no He won a seat in the NAfME Allmore humbling an experience than Eastern Honors Concert Band last to be able to perform it in front of April, and in the All-National Honfriends, family, and my fellow YOBC ors Concert Band last month. musicians. See you all at the conJohn is a junior at Pennsbury cert!” In the spring, trumpeter John High School where he is a member of Wagner will play Haydn’s Trumpet the Marching Band, Concert Jazz Concerto in E-Flat Major with PhilharBand, Symphonic Winds, and Symmonia. phonic Orchestra. He participated in Brian, a junior at Council Rock the 2013 PMEA District, Regional North, has been part of the YOBC and State Concert Bands, and was 2008 Italy and 2012 Mediterranean also selected for the 2013 NAfME tours and is looking forward to returnAll-National Honors Concert Band ing to Italy with YOBC in 2014. Brian in Nashville. has performed in BCMEA/PMEA Congratulations to these and all County, District, Regional, and Allthe competition winners throughout State Orchestras, as well as in the the years. We are sure to continue Temple University Music Preparatory enjoying excellent performances.

Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Ensembles. About his upcoming performance, he said, “Seeing posters YOBC’s hanging with my face on 2014 Benefit Auction & Show them has reminded me presents… how close the performance actually is! I am a little nervous, but mostly excited. Getting the opportunity to perform my favorite piece with my favorite orchestra under my favorite conductor will be someLOUDON WAINWRIGHT III thing I will forever remem& copious gourmet hors d’oeuvres ber!”

Saturday March 1, 6:30 – 10pm Nick, a senior at Central Bucks West High New Hope Winery School, first picked up a Cabaret Seating: $75 Gen, $85 VIP flute in sixth grade. He TICKETS: yobc.org or Rehearsal Lobby auditioned and performed in PMEA festivals at Dis-

W! O W

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

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 250 young musician s.

YOBC Concerto Competition’s 20th Anniversary: Jason Calloway In 1993, Jason Calloway was one of the four winners of YOBC’s original Concerto Competition, for which he performed the Concerto in A-minor of Saint-Saens. He went on to study at the Juilliard School and the University of Southern California and has since performed as a soloist and chamber musician in many auspicious venues, including Carnegie Hall.

He is now the cellist of the Amernet String Quartet, an ensemble that tours throughout the United States,

Jason rehearsing in 1993

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Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

Last season the quartet appeared twice at the Kennedy Center. Along with the Amernet String Quartet, Jason is currently professor of cello and chamber music at Florida International University in Miami.

Jason is a devoted advocate for new music and has given hundreds of premieres of works by living composers. Recently, he appeared in a series of concerts at Harvard and Temple Universities. in which he performed cello solos composed for him. Jason continues to collaborate regularly with many of today’s leading composers.

He is also the artistic director of the ensemble Shir Ami, a group devoted to the preservation of Jewish art music that was suppressed by the Nazis and Soviets and which performs frequently across the

United States as well as in Austria, Hungary, and Italy. Over the next few years, Jason will continue to expand his concert career, develop his studio, and, as always, continue to grow as a musician and cellist.

Keeping Tempo