S T A M E L L 18 Kellogg Ave Amherst, MA 01002 www.stamellstring.com STRINGED INSTRUMENTS Violin • Viola • Cello • Bass Makers • Dealers • Appraisers • Restorers
april 13, 2023 spring concert 3 FROM THE DIRECTOR Welcome to the PVSYO Spring Concert! This has been an exciting year of regeneration for the Youth Orchestra, bringing back events and initiatives that had been on hiatus since the pandemic. Perhaps the most exciting of these was the PVSYO School Tour. Several weeks ago, the orchestra took our show on the road, venturing out to three local schools to perform mini-concerts on a Friday. What a fun day! For the musicians, it was a great exercise in building confidence and a sense of professionalism––with each performance we grew more solid and cohesive. It was also inspiring to the audiences to witness a live performance of Bach and Beethoven, played entirely by students just like them! As school music programs work to regain ground lost during the pandemic, these glimmers of inspiration are invaluable; I was so proud of our YO musicians for putting themselves out there and generously sharing their hard work more widely. We are also so grateful for the broader community of support that surrounds us. This year has also seen the restart of the Youth Orchestra Council, working hard to support behind the scenes. Their efforts made the school tour and today’s concert possible. Thank you, YO Council! Tonight’s program is a winking take on “The Three B’s.” Over the past several months, the YO has had such rich musical experience covering those three towering figures of the classical canon in Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. However, it has been equally rewarding to expand that circle of recognition outward and to represent women who belong in that canon, too––commendations to our five students in the Chamber Ensemble, along with their coach Hannah Smeltz, for bringing the work of Amy Beach to life here tonight! Finally, we’ve included a nod to the rich musical legacy that exists outside the world of written music, with melodies by a few British lads who couldn’t even read a note. Whether you are a parent or family member of a performing musician, a friend, a teacher, or simply a supporter of young musicianship, thank you for being here and for supporting the efforts of some wonderful young musicians! Nell Wiener
4 PVS YOUTH ORCHESTRA 10th season Proud to be the “Official Chocolatier” for the Pioneer Valley Symphony HandmadeChocolates andSpecialtyCandies Lorem ipsum 500 Greenfield Road (Route 5 & 10), Deerfield, Massachusetts 413-772-0443 RichardsonsCandy.com
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april 13, 2023 spring concert 7 Founded in 2013 in Greenfield, MA, The pioneer valley symphony youth orchestra (PVSYO) includes musicians from schools across the region, including Hampshire and Franklin counties, and southern New Hampshire and Vermont. We are an ensemble of talented, hard-working elementary-, middle-, and high-school-age musicians. We have an orbiting team of dedicated family members, professional musicians, and educators, including Director Nell Wiener and YO Manager Casey Gilman. The PVS Youth Orchestra performs with the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra in at least one concert each season. In addition, the Youth Orchestra also has an independent concert each semester and takes part in a school performance tour in the spring. CHAMber ensembleS: The Chamber Ensembles provide additional performance and musical opportunities to students ready for a more rigorous commitment. Chamber Ensembles are led by musician and educator Hannah Smeltz and other professional coaches, and rehearse weekly through the school year. Chamber Ensembles perform at Youth Orchestra concerts, community outreach concerts, and other special events. The Pioneer Valley Symphony offers additional programming for youth musicians through group workshops, summer intensives, MASTERCLASSES, and private lessoNS offered through our partnership with Artspace Community Arts Center, Greenfield. Workshops include theory, history, technique, and small and large ensemble playing and optional afternoon supervised free play with music and arts activities. Tuition is on a sliding scale. To learn more about these music opportunities, please visit our website at pvsoc.org, or directly contact programs manager Casey Gilman at [email protected] or 413.773.3664. ABOUT THE YOUTH ORCHESTRA
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april 13, 2023 spring concert 9 marketing • advertising • sales development Room 221, 351 Pleasant Street Northampton, MA 01060 413-237-4209 • www.goffmedia.com David and Yolanda Goff congratulate all the students participating in a great season of wonderful music.
10 PVS YOUTH ORCHESTRA 10th season Mary Kay Hoffman moved to Greenfield, MA in 1974 where she dedicated herself to making the visual and performing arts accessible to all. If there is a music organization, initiative, or program in Franklin County, Mary Kay probably co-founded, led, or advised it, including directing the Franklin County Arts Council, advising the Mohawk Trail Concerts, founding and directing Artspace Community Arts Center, creating the Strings for Kids in-school music program, and being one of the driving forces behind the creation of the PVS Youth Orchestra. From the obituary written by her family: “When it came to the arts, Mary Kay didn’t accept conventional obstacles. She would often pick up and drive children to their music lessons or cheer them up with homemade pickles. Mary Kay’s passions and devotions to the community seemed limitless. She curated and catered trips to NYC, Jacob’s pillow, Tanglewood, and Boston for Art, Dance, and Music. But when asked what Mary Kay felt was her greatest achievement and legacy, she said it was the development of a Youth Symphony [through the PVSYO and the Strings for Kids programs for beginners] and the support it needed with both instruments and teachers. Mary Kay was a fierce personality that never gave up on her beliefs and dreams. She will be greatly missed as she is now organizing the afterlife where the music is in tune, on beat, and surrounded by beautiful flowers. There will be a memorial service per Mary Kay’s instructions in August 2023. It will be held in her flower gardens in Hawley with food and music.” Some of that music will be provided by current and former students of Strings for Kids and the PVS Youth Orchestra. IN LOVING MEMORY mary kay hoffman (1944-2023)
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april 13, 2023 spring concert 13 MEMBER FDIC MEMBER DIF Amherst - Florence - Greenfield Northampton - Northfield Shelburne Falls - South Hadley Sunderland - Turners Falls 877-682-0334 Music fills our valley with life Proud to Support the SYMPHONY BestLocalBank.com N Cooperative Bank GREENFIELD BestLocalBank.com | 877-682-0334 MEMBER FDIC MEMBER DIF
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april 13, 2023 spring concert 15 Pioneer valley symphony YOUTH ORCHESTRA SPRING CONCERT Thursday, April 13 • 6:30 pm Mohawk Trail Regional School Shelburne Falls, MA Children’s Album, Op. 36 Amy Beach (1867-1944) I. Minuet arr. Hannah Smeltz II. Gavotte III. Waltz IV. Polka PVSYO CHAMBER ENSEMBLE Juliette Rousseau, violin Charles Hopton, violoncello Lily Sheldon, violoncello Ella Wang, flute Brandenburg Sinfonia J.S. Bach (1685-1750) arr. Merle J. Isaac Academic Festival Overture J. Brahms (1833-1897) arr. Vernon Leidig Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 L. van Beethoven (1770-1827) II. Allegretto Best of the Beatles J. Lennon (1940-1980), P. McCartney (b. 1942) arr. Calvin Custer Michelle When I’m Sixty-four Get Back PIONEER VALLEY SYMPHONY YOUTH ORCHESTRA Nell Wiener, Director
16 PVS YOUTH ORCHESTRA 10th season VIOLIN I Zoë Ballou concertmaster Ian Barnhart Juliette Rousseau VIOLIN II Aisla Varnon principal Michaela Klempner-Siano Patrick Sullivan Summit Wicks-Lim Wendy Foxmyn* VIOLA Abigail Florence Goff principal Alex Miller^ VIOLONCELLO Fintan Jones principal Esteban Barreat Kenny Bailey Burman Grace Butler Charles Hopton Michael Liberatore Stefan Maitinsky Sandu Rager Lily Sheldon Isaac Tripp BASS Coleman L. Hartner principal Bryn Appel FLUTE Nancy Shinn* Hannah Smeltz* OBOE Cameron Gray-Lee BASSOON Alex Meade* CLARINET Harper Galligan HORN Victor Perpetua* TRUMPET Wendy LaValley* TROMBONE Ben Smar* PERCUSSION Eli Wool special thanks to the adult musicians who join the PVSYO onstage today! ^ PVSYO Alumnus * PVS Orchestra Musician
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18 PVS YOUTH ORCHESTRA 10th season Did you know that the Pioneer Valley Symphony provides low-cost, high-quality instruction and ensembles for musicians of all ages? We offer a fun and meaningful learning environment with professional teaching faculty. Private lessons are available for piano, guitar, strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and voice. We also offer masterclasses, multi-session workshops, performance ensembles, and week-long summer intensives. Most music instruction takes place at Artspace Community Arts Center in Greenfield. The PVS is a nonprofit community organization, and offering innovative and accessible educational opportunities is a core part of our mission. Group class and workshops fees are on a sliding scale, and tuition assistance is available for private lessons. Visit PVSOC.ORG/CLASSES for more information. Contact: [email protected] or (413) 773-3664 Did you know that the Pioneer Valley Symphony provides low-cost, high-quality instruction and ensembles for musicians of all ages? We offer a fun and meaningful learning environment with professional teaching faculty. Private lessons are available for piano, guitar, strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and voice. We also offer masterclasses, multi-session workshops, performance ensembles, and week-long summer intensives. Most music instruction takes place at Artspace Community Arts Center in Greenfield. The PVS is a nonprofit community organization, and offering innovative and accessible educational opportunities is a core part of our mission. Group class and workshops fees are on a sliding scale, and tuition assistance is available for private lessons.
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20 PVS YOUTH ORCHESTRA 10th season Proudly Supporting the Fine Arts Since 1925 Coeducational day and boarding school serving kindergarten through grade 9 Instilling joy and creativity in a project-based learning environment Rigorous curriculum enriched by daily fine arts and athletics prepares students for competitive secondary school 94 OLD MAIN ST., PO BOX 8, DEERFIELD, MA 01342 413.774.7061 | bement.org b r at t l e b o r o m u s i c c e n t e r bmcvt.org l 802-257-4523 Lessons in voice, brass, winds, piano and stringed instruments for all ages. enriching lives through music BMC
april 13, 2023 spring concert 21 Nell Wiener is an educator, musician, and arranger based in southwestern New Hampshire. She brings 15 years of experience teaching instrumental and choral music across elementary, middle, and high school levels, working with students from their very beginning moments all the way through their development into confident, capable musicians. She enjoys weaving in elements of history and music theory into her teaching, inviting students to broaden their contextual understanding and engage more deeply with the music. Young musicians appreciate the upbeat and collaborative environment of her ensembles, along with the engaging musical programming she brings. Playing in orchestras has been a constant presence in Nell’s life since childhood; she’s been a proud member of the viola section in many youth and community ensembles over the years, and with the Pioneer Valley Symphony Youth Orchestra she is honored to work with the next generation of musicians within one of the oldest community orchestra organizations in the country! Nell holds a BA in Music from Wellesley College, where she studied music theory with Martin Brody and conducting with Lisa Graham. She worked for many years at Monadnock Waldorf School in Keene, NH, teaching music as well as serving in faculty leadership. Currently she teaches music at Gathering Waters Charter School in Keene and maintains a private studio teaching violin and viola. NELL WIENER PVS YOUTH ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR
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april 13, 2023 spring concert 25 OUR THANKS This concert is made possible in part by generous in-kind contributions from Greenfield Public Schools, Buckland Pizza, Falls Cable TV, Mohawk Regional School, and Richardson’s Candy Kitchen, by the musicians of the PVS Orchestra who joined the students tonight and have offered coaching and mentorship this year, by the extraordinary volunteer efforts of Lynette Varnon and the YO Council, and by all of the families who contributed snacks, rideshares, time, and support. The PVS Youth Orchestra’s 10th season is funded in part by Greenfield Cooperative Bank, the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, founding partner The Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation, and the business sponsors advertised in this program book. Music education programs like the PVSYO would not exist without the support of parents and families, the investment of regional schools, SCHOOLS Amherst Middle Amherst Regional High Bement Crocker Farm Elementary Dublin Four Rivers Charter Public Frontier Regional Gathering Waters Public Charter Great Falls Middle Greenfield Center Greenfield Middle Pioneer Valley Homeschools John F. Kennedy Middle Leeds Elementary Montessori School of Northampton Mohawk Trail Regional Northampton High Pioneer Valley High PVCICS Valley West PRIVATE TEACHERS Aaron Lakota Alison Hale Carl Schugart Carolyn Walker Catalina Arrubla Cecilia Berger Dan Prindle Grant Butler Hannah Smeltz Jake Bellows James MacDonald Jennifer Allen Julie Carew Keith Levreault Lynn Lovell Michelle Liechti Nicole Fizznoglia Rafael Wolman Rebecca Rose Robin Stone Sandy Van de Kauter Tim Atherton Van Kaynor
In our 29th annual Education Concert, the PVS Orchestra brings a unique live musical experience to nearly 1,000 3rd- and 4th-graders from Franklin County on April 13, 2023. The resulting video recording will be available to stream for free by the public beginning April 25th. In 2021, the PVSO shared an online premiere of this project, Mystery of the Missing Music, commissioned of composer Jordan Kuspa. Developed over several years with the PVS’ Music Director Tianhui Ng, this program is meant to build on the traditional menu of orchestral education concerts, such as PETER AND THE WOLF and CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS, to create a new classic that bring much-appreciated variety and diversity of perspective. Join actors, musicians, and a properly befuddled maestro online beginning April 25th to experience the story of two young detectives and their intrepid search for , linking students’ other subject area interests to their experience of music. Enjoy! Learn more about this and other music education opportunities at PVSOC.ORG/TICKETS and PVSOC.ORG/CLASSES. COMING UP AT PVS
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