BYSO's E-Newsletter: JANUARY
2018
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11th ANNUAL OPERA PERFORMANCE
BIZET'S
CARMEN
Sunday, January 28, 2017 at 3pm
Next week, BYSO will present its annual semi-staged opera production. This year, the Boston Youth Symphony will perform George Bizet's alluring and iconic masterpiece,
Carmen
. This will mark BYSO's eleventh full opera production. Our opera program is a unique initiative that gives our students the opportunity to perform with internationally acclaimed vocal artists while learning about a great art form with a rich and varied history. Get your tickets today as this performance sells out annually!
Boston Youth Symphony
BYSO Opera Chorus
Bénédicte Jourdois, Chorus Master
Voices Boston
Steven Lipsitt, Artistic Director
ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY!
Tickets $40–$60
*This production of Bizet’s
Carmen
contains some sensitive subject matter for young children and the running time is over 3 hours. Therefore, this performance is recommended for children 10 years and older.
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BYSO INTENSIVE COMMUNITY PROGRAM
ANNUAL MLK TRIBUTE CONCERT
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BYSO's Intensive Community Program (ICP) has been very hard at work lately spreading music throughout the community!
Members of ICP performed in Boston's annual King Day celebration, "A Day of Service and Celebration in Honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King., Jr" this year held at Boston University, Dr. King's alma mater. Mayor Martin J. Walsh offered welcome remarks, calling BYSO "the best orchestra in the country." Readings of Dr. King were presented by members of the community including BYSO and ICP alumnus, Chad Polk.
Organized in partnership with Boston’s
Museum of African American History
(MAAH), BYSO, and the City of Boston Mayor's Office, the celebration included moving performances of classical music, spirituals and freedom songs by musicians from ICP, including four ICP alumni as well as special guests from other BYSO ensembles, conducted by Marta Zurad.
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At left, ICP Low String Ensemble play Traditional Spiritual "Go Down Moses". At right, ICP Alumnus Chad Polk gives a reading at the annual Day of Celebration in Honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Photos by Michael J. Lutch
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CELEBRATING 60 YEARS OF BYSO
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Experience the future of classical music and reflect back on the last 60 years of BYSO.
We hope to create a greater BYSO for the next 60 years!
Video Created by: Good Life Productions
Photo Credits: Michael J. Lutch
#BYSO60
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Join us as we celebrate our milestone 60
th
Anniversary on March 10 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston!
With our 60
th
Anniversary, we honor the many members of our community who have contributed to our success as we celebrate our city, our home, our leaders, and our alumni.
The Honorees:
Martin J. Walsh, Mayor of Boston
Boston University, College of Fine Arts
George Keches, BYSO President Emeritus
Robert Beaser, Class of 1972
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INTENSIVE COMMUNITY PROGRAM NEWS
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ICP AWARDED MLK SCHOLARS GRANT
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ICP has been awarded an MLK Scholars grant - which means more summer jobs and leadership opportunities for Boston teens. Eight lucky students will be chosen to take part in a series of summer workshops and job opportunities with BYSO. Learn more about the John Hancock MLK Summer Scholars Program here:
http://bit.ly/2qYgUG6
At right, last year's MLK Summer Scholars.
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NEW CLASS OF ICP STRINGS STUDENTS
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ICP has chosen its newest class of Strings students! The call for applications opened in September and a record number of students applied. After initial interviews in September, 32 students were invited to participate in a series of music workshops. Classes took place once a week for six weeks during October and November and provided an energetic introduction to music and the exploration of string instruments. 17 students were then invited to join BYSO's new class of ICP students. We congratulate this new class of students and welcome them to the BYSO family!
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ICP FREE OUTREACH PERFORMANCES
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All ICP Strings and Winds students performed to a welcoming crowd in Harvard University's Paine Hall for the annual ICP Holiday Concert. Here, ICP Strings tune their instruments before the annual Holiday Concert.
Click here for more photos by Michael Lutch
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ICP students play for residents at Faulkner Hospital as part of a series of successful holiday outreach concerts during December. Visitors at the hospital were very appreciative of the students' annual visit. Photo by Karine Ernest.
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CONGRATULATIONS
George Keches Award
Winners
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BYSO is delighted to announce the inaugural winners of the 2017-2018 George Keches Award. This award is named in recognition of Mr. Keches, BYSO alumni parent and Board President. Awarded to students in the Boston Youth Symphony (BYS) who show exceptional commitment, performance, participation and hard work.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Ethan Chaves, violin
Elizabeth McCormack, flute
Benjamin Romanow, trombone/tuba
Leigh Wilson, percussion
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CELEBRATING FACES OF BYSO - SPOTLIGHT SERIES
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Elizabeth McCormack, George Keches Award Winner, BYS flutist
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“Everyone remembers that experience
of first picking their instrument.
It is really cool to recreate that.”
Do you remember the first time you heard a particular instrument? Elizabeth McCormack, BYS flutist, remembers first deciding to play flute after seeing
Greg Pattillo beatboxing the flute
on the Disney TV show iCarly. With encouragement from her parents, Elizabeth began taking flute lessons in middle school and is now a member of the Boston Youth Symphony. Can she beatbox on the flute? Oh, yes. She has also soloed classical flute concertos with the Boston Civic Symphony, Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, Rivers School Conservatory and the Repertory Orchestra at BYSO. Today, she is grateful and excited to have the opportunity to share the flute with others, and inspiring future flutists.
BYSO is lucky to have hard-working and dedicated students like Elizabeth, sharing the joy they have for their instrument.
A member of the Boston Youth Symphony, Elizabeth is currently preparing for Bizet's
Carmen
on January 28.
"Opera is one of the biggest formative experiences for me in terms of how much you need to stretch your mind with listening. With singers, there is a different type of perspective you must have. It's really the biggest flexibility exercise I've ever had."
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At BYSO's spring concert
BYSO on Parade
in March 2017, Elizabeth played her flute through the halls of Symphony Hall, inviting concertgoers to ask questions about her instrument.
“The kids who were most drawn to what I was playing were around the 5-6 age range. It was really meaningful to me to show them what you can do when you are at the level of playing Peter and the Wolf."
"To have music in your life is definitely a busy lifestyle, but it’s also the most rewarding.
The opera for me is the best example of that – you put in so much work with Maestro Cortese and the singers, and then the actual performance is like this huge celebration. It is unbelievable how many people are here, supportive, to see opera in Boston. It's definitely a rewarding experience.
”
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Are you a member of the BYSO community with a story to share? Submit your story and submit your selfie to us
HERE
. You may be featured in the next
#FacesOfBYSO
story!
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:
JENNIFER CHEN '07,
DOUGLAS BALLIETT '01,
EMI FERGUSON '05
AMERICAN MODERN OPERA COMPANY
Reimagining what it means to be in community
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“Our exploration in opera is a field where disciplines collide and transform each other.” – Jennifer Chen ’07, Managing Director of The American Modern Opera Company
BYSO alumni Jennifer Chen ‘07, Douglas Balliett ‘01, and Emi Ferguson ‘05 have joined forces, along with conductor Matthew Aucoin and choreographer Zack Winokur, to create The American Modern Opera Company (AMOC). AMOC is a contemporary opera company that is attempting to push the boundaries of opera production and performance in the stories they tell, the music they set, and the way in which they proceed in content creation. AMOC is a fully collaborative ensemble, an attempt to be purely democratic; “artists committed to each other.”
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UPCOMING
Please join us in commemorating 60 monumental years of BYSO history during our 2017-2018 season!
PE Winter Concert
Boston University College of Fine Arts Concert Hall
Petit Ensemble
Marta Zurad,
Conductor
Petit Ensemble’s first concert of the season! Free to attend!
Bizet's
Carmen
Sanders Theatre at Harvard University
Boston Youth Symphony
Federico Cortese,
Conductor
Edward Berkeley,
Stage Director
with professional vocal soloists, the BYSO Opera Chorus and Voices Boston
JRO & YPSO Winter Concert
Boston University Tsai Performance Center
Junior Repertory Orchestra
Young People's String Orchestra
John Holland,
Conductor
Marta Zurad,
Conductor
REP & PW Winter Concert
Boston University Tsai Performance Center
Repertory Orchestra
Preparatory Winds
Mark Miller,
Conductor
Janet Underhill,
Conductor
Featuring BYSO Concerto Competition Winner: Liam Barthelmy, Violin
Concerto for Violin in E minor, mvt. 1 – Mendelssohn
Tag us on social with #BYSO60 and #FacesofBYSO
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During this giving season, you can make our young musicians SMILE! Click through the
Amazon Smile
giving program before making your Amazon.com purchases and BYSO will receive a percentage of your purchase as a donation!
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ADVERTISE IN BYSO PROGRAM BOOKS
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With the purchase of an ad in our program books, you will advertise to an audience of exemplary young musicians, their families, and classical music lovers. This audience attends and participates in an array of cultural activities, while supporting fine classical music and a program which changes young people's lives.
Click here for more details!
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BYSO offers volunteer opportunities throughout the season!
Contact BYSO for more information.
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Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras
855 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215 | 617-353-3348
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