CYSO- News

Donate a Car..
To donate a car to CYSO, call...
303.423.CARS

If your have an unwanted vehicle, CYSO can make a few dollars from yourdoantion of the car to CYSO when you call the number above. They will pick up your car and tow it away and credit CYSO with the proceeds. Your donation of a vehicle may be tax deductable.

Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestras
News Update

From our Executive Director

November 2005

I was recently reading a review in the New York Times of the New York Youth Symphony's performance on Sunday, November 27. The critic opened the article by saying, "The New York Youth Symphony is the kink of invaluable organization that was plentiful in the 1950's and 60's, but seems anomalous today, when young people supposedly have no interest in classical music." He went on to retell the rich history of the nearly 50 year-old organization and gave a glowing review of the performance. I was delighted, however, to see three days later a letter in the editorial section from Henry Fogel, President and EO fo the American SYmphony Orchestra League. In his letter, Mr. Fogel thanked the New York Times for their coverage of a youth orchestra, but graciously pointed out that "readers might be encouraged to know that youth orchestras in this country are not only alive and well, but thriving. In the 1994-95 season, the League reported that there were approximately 300 American youth orchestras. Only a decade later, we are now aware of at least 485 active youth orchestras across the country, which doesn't even begin to account for school orchestras, all-city, all-county and all-state groups, or summer camps and institutes." He goes on to estimate that over 60,000 young musicians are given the opportunity to develop their individual musical skills along with a knowledge of teamwork, self-discipline and individual expression. WOW! What great news!

May 2004

I have just past my one year anniversary as Executive Director of CYSO. What a ride! As with any worthwhile endeavor, we have experienced both successes and failures this past year. And, as with any worthwhile endeavor, I prefer to focus on the successes! Who can forget the magnificent performances in the beautiful Gates Concert Hall? We were moved by Dr. Golanís amazing performance of Vivaldi's Winter from The Four Seasons and our guest vocalists who recreated the scene from La Boheme on our Afternoon at the Opera concert in March. How fulfilling to see our Sinfonia players creating music as an ensemble- many of them for the very first time! The sheer beauty of the music when our Philharmonia Orchestra played "May It Be" at our Fall í03 Concert gave me goose bumps! Yes we had a very good year and we are looking forward to another magnificent season in 04-05.

As we look toward our future, Iím sure that you are asking yourself, "What can I do to help CYSO?" Well, allow me to make a few suggestions to both students of CYSO and parents.

Stick with CYSO
. We need YOU to play your part. You are important to us and to the continued success of our organization. Talk to us. Let us know what you think. Sure, it may not be exactly what we want to hear .and we may not be able to change it right away (or at all for that matter). but your opinions count and you deserve to be heard.

Invite your friends.
Believe it or not, YOU are our very best advertisement. We want our programs to grow and you are out there with prospective orchestra members each and every day. Share CYSO with them by inviting them to our concerts or even a rehearsal! What better way to show them what CYSO is all about?

Practice, PRACTICE, P-R-A-C-T-I-C-E.
Do you ever get tired of hearing us tell you that? One of the top complaints on our year-end evaluations that orchestra members filled out was that "too many orchestra members donít practice their music." The old metaphor that "a chain is only as strong as the weakest link" holds true in orchestras just like anywhere else. Make it your business to not be that link. Quality is contagious!

Donate
. Your contributions count. Did you make a gift to CYSO last year? Last year, families (including grandparents of members) gave a total of $2,920 to CYSO in outright donations. WOW! Thanks! We are so grateful for your support! Could we do better? You bet. Average per capita giving for families of CYSO was only $21.31. Therefore, 100% of the giving was done by about 20% of the families. As we near the end of 2004, be sure to make your tax deductible contribution to CYSO.

Open Doors
. The corporations you work for are prime candidates for our Corporate Partnership programs. We have many sponsorship options available to fit the needs of virtually any business, large or small. If you think that your corporation may be interested in a Corporate Partnership with CYSO, please give me a call in the office at 303.871.6365.

Volunteer
. We have dozens of volunteer opportunities. Anything from licking, sticking and stamping envelopes to ushering at concerts to doing research on the internet. If you have a little extra time on your hands, let us find something for you to do!

The trajectory for success has been set. Letís get behind it now and follow through and make CYSO the very best organization that it can possibly be. I know we can do it!

Scott

From our MusicDiretor

This year, like all years in CYSO, features many new beginnings. In this organization nothing is stagnant, nothing is stale. We always strive to change, to grow, to improve, and to invent. There are so many new things this year I barely know where to start. I guess I'll start with the most important thing of all--our students. After all, the entire organization is for them, about them, and would be non-existent without them! This year we have 68 new students over all: 16 in Sinfonia, 26 in Philharmonia/Wind Ensemble, and 26 new students in Symphony. Working with all of these news students, and of course with our returning students, we have 4 new artistic staff members: Nancy Feiner conducting the Sinfonia, Rob Shelton working with the low strings of that group, Lara Jean O'Connor conducting the Wind Ensemble, and two new Assistant Conductors, David Dunbar and Jorge Glez. The Wind Ensemble itself is new. This year we decided that to best educate the young wind players of Philharmonia, we would create a wind ensemble that would provide more individual attention and instruction.

For our opening night concert on November 21st, we will be featuring new friends. The Symphony will be joined by the Colorado Honor Band in a 'side-by-side' concert of "The Planets" by Gustav Holst. In addition, that concert will feature the CYSO debut of the international solo artist Marco Schiavo of Italy, performing the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2.

In addition to all that I have previously mentioned, we are featuring a lot of new music. While just about everything we play, even if it is written by Beethoven or Mozart, is new for the students, many of the pieces this year are new for everyone--Colorado and/or U.S. premieres! The Holiday Concert will feature the U.S. premiere of Ian Garland's "Prophecy". The March "Heroes" concert will include Kimo Williams' "Symphony for the Sons of Nam". This piece has been performed in Colorado before but will nevertheless be new to many students and audience members. (Its new to me, too!) The final concert will feature not only the Colorado Premiere of Kyle Smith's "Three Dances for Orchestra" but also the winner of the CYSO Concerto Competition. Whoever wins will certainly be having a NEW experience!

All of these new beginnings keep things fresh and alive. I can't wait to see what's new for next year!