Music stands at rehearsals are branded with University of Iowa stamps.

IOWA CITY, Iowa. – While attending a Symphony Orchestra rehearsal on Monday, I spoke with students who make up the viola section. While each student has had many past experiences playing the viola, I focused on their involvement in youth symphonies. Many cities in the United States don’t offer music programs in their school districts, and students are forced to go elsewhere to pursue their musical abilities. Here, many students share their journeys and their dreams for the future.

Pompous Youth Symphony Conductor (clearly quite pleased with himself for having caught someone reading during rehearsal): Is that an 1812 Overture score?

Me: Why yes, it is.

PYSC (visibly flustered): Where did you get it?

Me: The Library

PYSC: Well…is it overdue?

Me: No.

PYSC: Okay. Fine. Let’s start at letter F…

It was pretty funny. But you probably would have had to be there. Anyway, I haven’t been anywhere near the library since living in Evanston, where I used to hit up the Evanston Public Library as often as I could. They had some quality CD’s there, and you could actually take them home and listen to them (unlike the CD’s kept constantly in a carcerel state in the NU listening library). In fact, that was why I decided to visit the library on this Artist’s Date: I wanted to check out some CD’s…specifically, CD’s by the Mexican singer Juan Gabriel (it’s gonna take another post to explain why). Also, Artist Way Week 4 is the reading deprivation week in which I’m not allowed to read anything…so I needed to be prepared and stock up on CD’s.

My new local library...right down the street from my new house.

Young adult fiction...my favorite...even if I am not technically a "young adult" anymore. (I'm not the only one...google Sassy Gay Friend...he likes it, too...)

They have COMIC BOOKS at the library!! NO WAY!! I always wanted to read comic books but was never sure where to start...

The reading area at this library is nice and quiet. It has a block glass window and blue glass lamps.

The CD's I checked out and my new library card. So far the Juan Gabriel CD is the best; I've listened to it three times since Friday. Ana Gabriel's voice takes some getting used to, but I'm giving her another chance. Maná is awesome. The Mexican divas CD is disappointing...I only checked it out because it had Julieta Venegas on it...

Yesterday I “started” (I didn’t do that much, so I’m not sure it counts) my internship at Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. It’s a really great group and reminds me of musical activities I did when I was in middle/high school. Being able to contribute to an organization that provides kids with a great outlet and an opportunity to become better musicians is so rewarding, even if it’s completely behind the scenes and not something people immediately think of. I really hope I can create a library system that will be intuitive, clean and sustainable for the future of BYSO. Having an easy to use library will make rehearsals and performances run much smoother—even if the kids don’t really notice!

I’m hoping to chronicle my semester at Simmons here, as well as my internship with BYSO. I’ll also be posting other interesting links, stories and ideas about libraries, music and music libraries.

ASU Gammage promises pre-event family activities in the ASU Gammage lobby, special guest appearances and free dessert after the preview event. The preview event will be your first opportunity to purchase mini-package subscriptions if you’d like to attend only some of the shows in this season’s line-up.

Tempe Center for the Arts presents their “TCA Fall Arts Kick-off” Fri, Aug 19 from 6-8pm. It features live music, artist demonstrations, gallery tours and more. Fall season information and special advance ticket pricing will be available.

Popular TCA programs include the Lakeshore Jazz Series, Performance With a View, Poetry in April, Songwriters’ Showcase, Sonoran Chamber Music Series, Tempe Symphony Orchestra and Walk-in Wednesday Open Mic Night.

Several “partner groups” perform at the TCA — including A Ludwig Dance Theatre, Arizona Academy of the Performing Arts, Arizona Wind Symphony, Childsplay, CONDER/dance, Desert Dance Theatre, Tempe Community Chorus, Tempe Live! Theater and Tempe Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

The last “sneak peek” event I attended was presented by Mesa Arts Center, which has a lovely complement of founding resident companies including Ballet Etudes, East Valley Children’s Theater, Mesa Encore Theater, Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Sonoran Desert Chorale, Southwest Shakespeare Company, Symphony of the Southwest and Xico Inc.

I had a great time gathering information about diverse programs, meeting fascinating artists and chatting with fellow art lovers. The next MAC preview event is a three-day “Season Kick-Off Festival” taking place Sept 9-11.

Keep an eye on Valley venues like Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts because many hold fall or spring “preview” events that offer a taste of their dance, music and theater menus. Who doesn’t love a free nibble now and then?

– Lynn

Note: A “Fall for the Arts Festival” presented by Arizona Broadway Theatre and Leadership West Oct 8 from 10am-4pm will feature live performance by various arts groups, creative activities for children and more.

Coming up: Introducing kids to classical music, Disney musicals on Valley stages, Art promoting peace

Listen here:

Listen here:

We have arrived in Budapest, Hungary.  Our trip here went well, but we are all exhausted.  The first day of the tour has been full of activity. The orchestra had their first rehearsal for their concert tomorrow night at Nador Hall.  They sound wonderful and we can’t wait for the concert.  We then went our for an amazing dinner on the Kossuth Museum Ship which is on the Danube River.  The food was a three-course meal that consisted of Budapest traditional cuisine.  It was very tasty.  After our dinner we attended a wonderful concert which featured the World Premiere of Karl Jenkins’s “The Bard of Wales Cantata,” at the Hungarian National Concert Hall.  This was a real treat for all of us on tour to experience this special moment for Hungarian Arts.

Tomorrow will be another full day of activity.  We will be taken on a guided tour around Budapest and the Castle Hill area.  There is a lot to see in this city in a short amount of time.  We will update you more as the orchestra completes their first performance of the tour tomorrow.

You can listen to our latest phonecast here:

Thinking of you,
Corey

Kossuth Museum ship

Another audio update from the YSO! Click the link to play it now.

Budapest

Click here to play the first audio blog from Steven Karidoyanes and the Youth Symphony as they embark on their European Tour!

Young Sounds of Arizona was established in 1971 by Professional Musicians of Arizona, local 586, of the American Federation of Musicians “to provide further training, performance opportunities and artistic growth” for young Valley musicians. The program serves youth ages 13-19, according to musical director Barb Catlin.

Young Sounds includes two big bands and one jazz combo. Middle and high school students are selected through an audition process. Once accepted, they enjoy “weekly professional instruction and music clinics with masters of the genre.”

The young musicians “learn about music as a profession from professional musicians.” Catlin, who’s served as musical director of Young Sounds for eight years, proudly shares that the group is “the first and oldest of its kind.”

Why jazz, I wondered as we spoke. At the time Young Sounds formed, says Catlin, there were no similar training and performance opportunities for young people within this genre. Today, she says, “they are a fantastic nationally recognized group of young musicians who represent Arizona at the highest level.”

As much as my children enjoyed hearing the Phoenix Symphony perform when they were young (we often attended their family-friendly selections), I don’t think anything ever replaces the excitement a child or teen feels when they hear a peer playing an instrument—especially when they play with real skill and genuine sensitivity.

Young Sounds will perform at one of my favorite Valley venues—the ASU Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale—both this month and next. They perform at Kerr at 3pm on Feb. 21st and at 10am on March 18th (I’m told tickets are very reasonably priced).

My children have performed many a piano recital there, so we know firsthand of its warm and welcoming nature. It’s a small space that feels both casual and elegant—with seating that allows the audience to see and hear the music up close.

Young Sounds alumni will perform at Symphony Hall in Phoenix on April 29th at 7:30pm. Catlin expects that about 20 to 30 musicians, some local but many from other parts of the country, will form the special jazz combo that performs that evening. The concert will feature works commissioned for Young Sounds through the years.

Catlin notes that auditions for the upcoming season will likely occur in June (the dates are yet to be determined). I asked about trends she’s seen over the course of her time with Young Sounds. Sadly, she notes that fewer and fewer young musicians are auditioning as arts funding for music education at the elementary school level continues to decline.

It got me wondering (and worried). If kids don’t get involved in music during elementary school, where will our middle and high school students develop an interest in music? If our graduates aren’t playing music, how will college and conservatory programs continue to thrive?

And in the absence of robust higher education opportunities in music, can we really expect to continue enjoying an abundance of high quality musical performances in our communities? It’s a “trickle up” effect—and it’s not good.

So what’s the answer? Make time to attend live music events with your family—not just the concerts of the latest teen sensations, but the concerts featuring teens from our own towns.

Check with your local schools, community colleges and universities for opportunities to see and hear student musicians, and faculty members, perform.

Sign up for e-alerts from organizations featuring young musical performers (Phoenix Youth Symphony, Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Phoenix Girls Chorus, Phoenix Boys Chorus, Phoenix Children’s Chorus and such), so you’ll be the first to learn about upcoming concerts and special events.

Take your kids to hear grown-up musicians—Symphony of the Southwest–as well as many others, too. You can bet they won’t like it if they never try it.

When you consider after-school activities, think not only of athletics, but also of the arts. There’s no reason your child can’t play a mean sax and a mean game of soccer!

“Young musicians deserve our support,” says Catlin. “They’re not just great on their instruments. They’re amazing human beings.” Catlin describes the 40 youth of Young Sounds as “fun, helpful, kind, humble and hard working.”

As a mom whose three children spent many years involved in music, I can attest to the power of musical training and performance to enhance those ever so important life skills like discipline and persistence.

Tomorrow’s post will feature a personal perspective on Young Sounds by a relatively new member, who’ll share some of the challenges and joys she’s experiencing as a young musician.

Stay tuned…

–Lynn

Coming up: The making of a MIM–the Musical Instrument Museum opening in Phoenix on April 24th

The American Youth Symphony has attained a reputation as one of the nation’s most prestigious artistic institutions for young people, a rigorous training program for some of the country’s best pre-professional musical artists and one of Southern California’s most honored cultural treasures. Talent and potential are the only criteria for admittance to the orchestra. Countless AYS alumni are currently members of some of the finest professional orchestras worldwide.

Under the musical direction of Alexander Treger, the American Youth Symphony continues to flourish and nurture young musicians while holding them to the very highest artistic standards.

Please enjoy this blog and feel free to submit comments and help start some conversations.

Don’t forget to check out www.aysymphony.org and listen to some of the fantastic music we love playing so much. You can pick up some tickets and come and see us live and make a donation to help us keep youth orchestra alive and well in Los Angeles.

See you soon!

The AYS Team

A recent article by the Sheboyaganpress.com highlights the efforts of the Sheboygan Area Youth Symphony in their cruise preparations.  Read about their creative fundraising and day of making grocery shopping chic at “Vittles and Vivaldi”.