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Published by , 2015-12-03 15:02:21

Winter Newsletter 2015 for booklet

Winter Newsletter 2015 for booklet

Fall 2015

NEWSLETTER
Dear Friends, Events Calendar
For many of its 53 years the New York Youth Symphony has followed a schedule which
includes auditions in September, lots of weekend rehearsals, and concerts beginning in Orchestra
November at Carnegie Hall. This year, however, we decided we could do more; be more;
and increase our presence in the community. The McCrindle Concert
Instead of waiting until auditions were over, the NYYS dove right into the season with
performances onstage at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park as part of the Public Sunday, Mar. 6, 2016, 2 PM
Theater’s Public Works production of The Odyssey. Meanwhile, down in Trinidad, six NYYS Carnegie Hall
students were sent to participate in a cultural exchange program called CONNECTT under
the direction of conductor Kwamé Ryan, sponsored by the US Embassy. Steven Lin, piano
Following the acceptance of our 240+ students into our award-winning programs – the featuring
orchestra, jazz band, chamber music, composition, and conducting – the students departed
for a weekend retreat on the Long Island Sound, where composers and instrumentalists Tchaikovsky’s
bonded together through rehearsals, yoga, and a bonfire. That bond took them to the Piano Concerto No. 1
opening of the Microsoft Flagship store on 5th Avenue, and to ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live,
where they performed with Misty Copeland and the American Ballet Theatre. And that just The Spring Concert
takes us through October….
To say our programs are unique is somewhat bold, but also somewhat of an understatement. Sunday, May 29, 2016, 2 PM
Our students are extraordinary so we strive to match their talents with the strength of our Carnegie Hall
offerings. As an organization we are committed to providing tuition-free music education to MasterVoices
students between the ages of 12 and 22. But on a deeper level, our goal is to provide our featuring
students with the best musical education, memories, and experiences that will last them a
lifetime, no matter where they roam. Mahler’s Symphony No. 2,
We are so proud that many of our 5,000+ alumni have chosen to remain in the arts – myself “Resurrection”
included! – and that they have made an enormous impact on the arts. In this newsletter we
feature five alumni who are living examples of why arts education is so important, especially Jazz
at this crucial point in our students’ age range.
We are thankful for all of you who support us and the work we do. There is much more Classically Inspired
ahead of us and we hope you will join us on our journey!
Sincerely, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015
7:30 & 9:30 PM
Shauna Quill, Executive Director
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola,
Welcome 2015/16 students! Jazz at Lincoln Center
Robin Eubanks, trombone
The annual Kickoff weekend was held at Camp DeWolfe on the Long Island Sound from
September 18-20. Over 140 people traveled to the retreat, including students from the Dedicated to the Diz
orchestra and composition programs, artistic directors, chaperones, and staff.
Monday, Mar. 14, 2016
7:30 & 9:30 PM

Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola,
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jon Faddis, trumpet

Swing into Spring

May 16, 2016
7:30 PM

The Appel Room,
Jazz at Lincoln Center

New York Voices,
vocal ensemble

2015 Summer Highlights

NYYS students travel to Trinidad

Fresh off its immensely successful, first-ever international tour to Argentina in July, the NYYS broadened its reach even further by
sending six students to a cultural exchange program called CONNECTT in Trinidad. While there the students joined with musicians
from the National Youth Orchestras of France and Great Britain, the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, the Freiburger Musikhochschule,
Germany, and local Trinbagonian musicians. Under the direction of conductor Kwamé Ryan, this international group of musicians
performed repertoire including the Vivaldi and Piazzolla Four Seasons, and a newly commissioned work by composer Kala Ramnath.
All performances were free and open to the public. The musicians also performed a series of private shows for local children and
hospices, and participated in a number of cultural exchanges. Musicians representing NYYS were current students and alums from
the orchestra and chamber music programs: Joseph Morag and Katherine Liu (violins), Sophia Sun (viola), Emma Schmiedecke and
Matthias van der Swaagh (cellos), and Olivia Kapell (bass).

NYYS performs in The Odyssey with Public Theater

This past September, musicians from the NYYS performed in the Public Theater’s Public Works breathtaking new musical adaptation
of The Odyssey. Inspired by the historical pageantry movement of the early 1900s, Obie Award-winning director Lear Debessonet
and lyricist/composer Todd Almond, the team behind the acclaimed Public Works’ productions of The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale,
joined forces again for The Odyssey. It was an honor for the NYYS to be included in this ambitious project of participatory theater in
partnership with community organizations from all five boroughs of New York City.

NYYS Annual Gala

2015 Annual Benefit Gala - A Great Success!

The New York Youth Symphony’s 53rd Annual Benefit was held at Tribeca Rooftop on Tuesday, October 13, 2015, hosted by Elliott
Forrest of WQXR. More than 250 guests attended the event, which raised almost $270,000 for the NYYS’s Annual Fund. Maestro
Alan Gilbert of the New York Philharmonic was honored with the Theodore L. Kesselman Award for Arts Education, presented by
Alec Baldwin, and Roy G. Niederhoffer was honored with the Johanna and Leslie Garfield Award for Arts Philanthropy, presented by
David Bernard. Music Director Joshua Gersen and the NYYS Orchestra performed excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings
to complete the evening.

2015 Fall Highlights

NYYS on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Facts you may not know about Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC’s late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!: he plays clarinet really, really well;
he loves to dress up and perform; and, he’s from Brooklyn! On October 19th the NYYS was thrilled to perform with Misty Copeland,
Jimmy Kimmel, his sidekick Guillermo, and the American Ballet Theatre on Jimmy’s show taped at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Stage size limitations only allowed for a small group to appear on television so the full orchestra recorded the music the day prior to
the show at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. It was a huge honor to be part of a national television show and to hear Jimmy
thank the NYYS as part of his show! What a fun experience!

NYYS performs at Microsoft’s flagship store grand opening

Members of the NYYS Chamber and Composition programs performed at the grand opening of Microsoft’s Flagship Store on October
26th. Prior to the event the composition students, Ben Yee Paulson and Ben Vanden Heuvel, were given Surface tablets and trained
on the new music application called “Staff Pad.” In store, they demonstrated how to write music on the app. The Elektra String
Quartet then performed both composers’ string quartets and works by Mozart and Beethoven. It was the first of several appearances
the NYYS will be making at the store this season to demonstrate how technology can successfully contribute to the arts.

More NYYS Highlights

NYYS returns to United Palace

Now in its second year at the United Palace, the NYYS performed a free, community concert at the former Vaudevillian theatre in
Washington Heights on November 22nd. Sponsored by the Ford Foundation, the NYYS’s commitment to music for all will continue
throughout the year with side-by-side rehearsals with the Harmony Program and the Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s, both El Sistema-
inspired training programs.

NYYS Jazz Band to tour Brazil

The NYYS Jazz Band will travel to Brazil from March 17-24, 2016 for its first-ever international tour. The band will perform at the
Auditorio Ibirapuera and Bourbon St. club in São Paulo, and in Guarujá. In addition to the concerts, the students will participate in
sight-seeing tours, and invaluable cultural exchanges with students in São Paulo.

Guarujá Auditorio Ibirapuera

NYYS featured in children’s book

Musicians from the NYYS are featured in Welcome to the Symphony! by Carolyn Sloan, parent of NYYS student Samuel
Zagnit. Focused on Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, the book is a perfect introduction to classical music for students of all ages!
Use code SYMPHONY to get 20% off your purchase at http://www.pageaday.com/store/product/welcome-to-the-symphony.

NYYS Alumni Spotlight

Since its inception in 1963, the New York Youth Symphony has strived to create and support the next generation of musical citizens
through exceptional training and performance opportunities. Whether our students go on to careers in music or other professions,
we hope that their experience in the NYYS will help them gain a deeper appreciation of music, plus friendships, connections, and
experiences to last a lifetime. We are proud to feature below just a selection of our outstanding alumni who can attest to the impact
that the NYYS had and has on their lives.

Kenneth Mirkin

New York Philharmonic Violist
The year was 1972, and it was my first rehearsal of the New York Youth
Symphony, my first real orchestral experience. I was sitting last chair in
the viola section and the piece was Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. I couldn’t
even come close to playing all the notes and keeping up with the rest of
the section, all of whom seemed like great players. I was in tears after
the rehearsal and I remember coming home and telling my parents
that I would never be good enough to play with a group like that. They
encouraged me to keep trying, and I was eventually able to figure out
how to blend with the section, even if I couldn’t play all the notes. I
was in awe when we got to perform the piece in Carnegie Hall, my first
time ever on that great stage. It was a live radio broadcast, and a screw
came loose on my music stand, and the whole thing came crashing down
during one of the quietest moments of the piece. I could not have been
more horrified. Ten years later, I joined the NY Philharmonic, and I always
get a little bit of a sick feeling when we play Firebird. I can play the notes now, but I clearly remember how insecure I felt back then.
Firebird is still really hard, but it no longer makes me cry. And our music stands are a little better now. The most important thing I’ve
ever learned is to never focus on how much better you think other players are. Love of music, constantly striving to improve your
musicianship and performing at your personal best are all that matter. And of course having fun.

Majid Khaliq

Music Teacher, KIPPS Academy; Violinist
“You have been accepted!” are the words that defined the start of my
New York Youth Symphony experience. Getting into the NYYS, to me,
was like winning the lottery. I just could not imagine that I would have the
opportunity to join the ranks of some of New York’s most accomplished
young musicians.
During the summer of 1991 at Interlochen Arts Camp, my friend Hilan
Warshaw spoke of the existence of an elite New York based youth
orchestra called the New York Youth Symphony. As a member of the
NYYS, Hilan explained, that this ensemble hosted some of New York’s
most extraordinary young musicians. I found out that in the prior season,
the orchestra had performed the “Rite of Spring” in the world renowned
Carnegie Hall. I was both intimidated and inspired to work toward an
audition for the ensemble’s upcoming season. The audition came and I
played a movement from the De Beriot Concerto for Violin and Orchestra as best as I could. After the audition, Maestro Samuel Wong
asked me, “how much do you practice?” My response to Maestro Wong was “as much as I need to complete any piece.” Mr. Wong
responded, “You will need to practice that much and more.” That’s the point where I realized that I had a lot of hard work ahead of
me and that I had been accepted.
That season was extremely enriching with NYYS. As a member of the violin section, I received sectional coaching from Michael
Gilbert (retired New York Philharmonic Second Violinist); I performed with famed piano soloist André Watts and had an opportunity
to perform the Bartók Concerto for Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. I remember every minute of my magical time with NYYS. I was living
a dream!
My time with the New York Youth Symphony decisively solidified my love for music. From that point on, I had to dedicate my every
waking moment to pursuing my love and passion for creating the finest music. As a member of the NYYS, my every experience with
the orchestra has contributed to my inevitable success in music. NYYS helped has me nurture a true sense of what discipline, desire
and dedication are.
Thank You New York Youth Symphony for your contribution to my life.
Music Is Why I Live!

NYYS Alumni Spotlight

Jessica Ruiz

Manager of Artistic Planning, Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Being a member of New York Youth Symphony was such an incredibly
rewarding experience – for a talented young musician, there’s
really nothing more enthralling than playing classical music’s great
masterworks with equally driven colleagues in one of the world’s most
iconic and acoustically perfect concert halls. In addition to attracting top
talent, NYYS’s continuing efforts to engage world class soloists, emerging
composers and exceptional young conductors sets it apart from most
other youth orchestra programs – I certainly will never forget playing
Beethoven 9 under the baton of Miguel Harth-Bedoya in Carnegie
Hall, it remains one of the highlights of my life! For me personally,
that foundation of working with such high caliber artists has helped
me throughout my professional life as well. While I ultimately ended
up pursuing a career in arts administration rather than performance,
maintaining that standard of excellence has been a goal that I always
strive for. We never know where the future will take us, but if we can find a way to channel the same hard work, focus, and dedication
that helped us get to Carnegie Hall (or any of the other excellent venues NYYS members perform in!) into everything that we do,
success will always be within our reach!

Timo Andres

Composer; Pianist
From working in-depth and long-term on chamber music in high school,
to writing a concerto for string quartet and orchestra in college, to quite
recently being on my first panel (!), New York Youth Symphony has been a
remarkable constant in my musical life, giving me the chance to try many
things for the first time. All of these have turned out to be cornerstones
of my professional life as a composer and pianist. Chamber music is my
home—it’s the majority of what I write, and much of what I perform.
Sometimes, when I’m coaching a group playing one of my pieces, I’ll think
back to my year in NYYS, working with Pamela Frank, Lisa Tipton, or Fred
Sherry—and to something big being slowly revealed to me.
I’m continually inspired by their work as an institution, and by how
effectively it seems to reach and help so many musicians at various stages
of their lives.

Elena Ruehr

Composer; Music Lecturer at MIT
“I received a commission from the New York Youth Symphony in 1992
when I was 29 years old. Written as one movement string quartet,
it eventually became the first movement of my first quartet. This
commission meant the world to me, I had just landed a job teaching
at MIT (where I still am so many years later!) and it was important for
me to build my resume. But mostly, writing for string quartet became a
great love of mine, because the experience NYYS was wonderful. The
performers were fantastic, and there was a full house at the premiere.
I also learned a great deal about string writing from my work with
the performers, and the recording helped me garner commissions for
the Shanghai (my second quartet), Borromeo (my third quartet), and
Cypress String Quartets (my fourth, fifth and sixth quartet). And these
commissions led to one of my most important artistic relationships: a
long standing mutual respect and admiration between myself and the
Cypress String Quartet. That collaboration has led to a recording “How
She Danced: String Quartets of Elena Ruehr” and the Cypress has played my music on many concerts around the world. I also wrote
two scores for silent film that included string quartet. All of these quartets have led to my working with some of the best musicians
on the planet, including both the Biava and the Lark Quartet (with Baritone Stephen Salters)—there are too many to name. And
there is more to come—I have upcoming recordings of my Second, Fifth and Sixth Quartets, and new pieces on my desk right now
for the Borremeo Quartet (with pianist Donald Berman) and the Arneis Quartet (with Baritone David Kravitz). What started as a
small commission from the New York Youth Symphony has led to a lifetime of work. I will always be very grateful for that early
commission.”

110 W. 40th St., Suite 1503, New York, NY 10018
(212) 581-5933 • nyys.org

New York Youth Symphony Judith M. Linden About the NYYS
Board of Trustees Patrick J. McGinnis
Ruth E. Pachman The New York Youth Symphony is one of the
Leslie J. Garfield, Chair Ian C. Schaefer most awarded youth program of its kind in the
A. Slade Mills, Jr., Vice-Chair Steven D. Shaiman nation, recognized for its innovative, tuition-
Robert L. Poster, Vice-Chair Carolyn Strashun free educational programs for talented young
Melissa B. Eisenstat, President Christine van Itallie musicians. Founded in 1963 as an orchestra to
Robert J. Levine, Vice-President Rima Vargas-Vetter showcase the metropolitan area’s most gifted
Suzanne K. Ponsot, Vice-President Marica F. Vilcek musicians ages 12-22, its activities have since
Jed H. Garfield, Treasurer Andrew Watson grown to encompass programs in chamber
Susan S. Rai, Secretary Anna Weber music, conducting, composition, and jazz, with
Cecile Antier Music Director performances at world class venues including
Jacob Bousso Joshua Gersen Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Through
Benson J. Chapman Director, Chamber Music its commissioning program, First Music, the NYYS
Rhea Graffman Cohen Lisa Tipton has commissioned over 140 works from young
Michael R. DiYanni Director, Composition composers since 1984.
Barbara E. Field Kyle Blaha
Elliott Forrest Director, Jazz Learn more about us at nyys.org
JoAnna Garfield Matt Holman
Barry Goldberg Executive Director Photo credits: Chris Lee, Marc Schreiner, Shauna Quill and Ching Chen Juhl
Executive Director Emeritus Shauna Quill
Julian A. Jadow
William A. Kapell
David P. Levin

The programs of the New York Youth Symphony are made possible by the support of: New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.


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