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The Score
March 2015
The Official Newsletter of the Nation’s Youth Orchestra
From the ED’s Desk
Recent Events
Elizabeth Schurgin, Executive Director
February was a great month for our
students! Highlights include a tour to New
York City, a joint Youth Orchestra and
Philharmonic Concert at the National
Cathedral and a private performance for
the President and First Lady at the White
House! Congratulations and thank you to
all the students, staff, parents and volunteers that were involved in these successful
events. Please see “Recent Events” for
more information.
Congratulations to Melissa Jones, Emilia
Marshall, Cameron Coachman, Mikayla
Todd, Lalah Choice, William Simmons,
Kamoni Smith, Michael McLeod, Malin
Moeller, Zaria Nabinett and Angeleana
Phill who performed at the White House
for their Black History Month celebration on February 26th. They also had the
pleasure of performing for the President
and First Lady led by Elise Cuffy. It was a
day to remember and one that will go
down in DCYOP history!
I am pleased to tell you that this summer,
DCYOP will pilot two new programs –
Summer Music and Summer Intensive.
Both programs will take place from July
20th – July 31st at Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School by Union Station. We are
excited to begin our partnership with this
arts-integration school!
Summer Music is open to all DCYOP
students grades 1 – 6. The purpose of this
program is to provide students with a fun,
enriching and engaging summer music
program focused on teamwork through
ensemble learning. In addition to learning a musical instrument and playing in
an orchestra, students will select from a
series of other fun non-musical activities.
With a focus on chamber music, DCYOP’s
Summer Intensive for DCYOP students in
grades 7-12 will be grounded in best
practices of enriching summer learning –
high intensity, intimate learning environments, differentiated instruction, high
quality instruction and alignment with
school-year curricula. The Summer
Intensive is free for all accepted students.
Save the Date
The Youth Orchestra beat the snow on
February 21st to travel to New York City
to perform Forever Free alongside the
legendary Denyce Graves at the Great
Hall of City College (in photo below
with YO trombonist Jeremiah Rodgers).
While in NYC they ate at Carmine’s and
attended On The Town, a musical by
Leonard Bernstein on Broadway. Thank
you to the Manhattan Girls Chorus for
hosting us and to Luke Frazier and
Nouveau Productions for creating the
performance!
SpringFest, March 28, 9 am—3 pm,
Eastern High School, FREE Join us for
SpringFest 2015, a day of inter-level
activities including Orchestra Idol (think
Battle of the Bands meets DCYOP),
faculty, and alumni performances.
Beginner Levels A & B Concert, May 2, 4
pm, Eastern High School, FREE
Youth Orchestra Spring Finale, May 6, 6
pm, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Terrace Theater, FREE
Intermediate Ensembles Concert, May 9,
Times TBA, THEARC Theater, FREE
Chamber Music Ensembles Concert,
May 23, Time TBA, Mexican Cultural
Institute, FREE
DCYOP Benefit Dinner, June 5, 6 pm,
Morton’s The Steakhouse (1050 Connecticut
Avenue NW) Join us for this special
evening including dinner, live music
with DCYOP musicians, and a silent
auction benefiting DCYOP. The benefit
evening is $125/person. To rsvp, contact
Kate Scafidi at [email protected] or
202-955-5997.
For more information on our summer
programs, please contact
[email protected]. We hope to see many
of our students participating in our
summer program!
Also on February 21st, the Youth
Philharmonic Violin Quartet performed
a recital at a private birthday party.
pg. 1
Music Director Mariano Vales said,
“They sounded great!” Congratulations
to Melissa Jones, Pablo Ronderos,
George Kent and John Joire! To close
our month of exciting performances, on
February 25th, the Youth Orchestra and
Philharmonic performed as part of the
10th Annual High School Choir Festival
at Washington National Cathedral.
DCYOP Summer Music Program, July
20-31, Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School
Music for Young People
The Score
March 2015
The Official Newsletter of the Nation’s Youth Orchestra
Student Profile
Melissa Jones - Violin,
Young Artists Orchestra
Aidan Keys, 18 (Violin - Youth Orchestra)
Melissa Jones, a seventh grader and first
violinist of the Young Artists Orchestra,
loves to read. Her favorite genre is
adventure, which she views as a chance
to explore different universes and
problem solve, "[Adventure] gives you
an opportunity to see other worlds. So
you see that [characters are] escaping
the challenges they face, and you see the
rewards from doing so." Jones finds
parallels with the books she's read and
her experience at the DCYO. For
instance, she has found one similarity
with the DCYOP in Veronica Roth’s
Divergent. She says that seating is like
the factions of Divergent because both
seating and the factions place people
according to different skills.
Like the characters in the adventure
books she loves, Jones is on the lookout
for new experiences and opportunities.
DCYOP helps her find some of these
opportunities. Jones, who has played in
the program since she was 6 years old,
has played at a variety of venues. Her
favorite venue is the Organization of
American States, because she enjoys
playing for the South American
delegates who occasionally make
appearances at concerts. Jones enjoys a
challenge, so, she loves to play Latino
music because of the rhythms. And, she's
teaching herself to program video
games. She likes programming because
“you can create something yourself with
few resources," she says. In a way, that's
also what the DCYOP is all about.
pg. 2
What do Conductors
actually do?
A Message from the
DCYOP Parent Group
Evan Solomon, Program Director
Conductors do much more than stand
in front of an orchestra and wave the
baton to keep everyone on the same beat.
From the first day of rehearsal until the
last note of the final concert, the conductor is responsible for interpreting the
musical score, efficiently organizing and
executing rehearsal, ensuring that an
orchestra plays as one harmonious unit,
and through all this, conveying the power
of music to the audience. Many conductors are more than just musicians.
Frequently, conductors also serve as
representatives of their orchestra. They
address the audience at concert performances, speak to the community about
the orchestra and music in general, and
participate in collaborations with many
other organizations.
Cheri Meadows and Erika Singer,
Parent Group Co-Presidents
Last month we welcomed Amy Nathan
and Toyin Spellman-Diaz for a talk on
how to support our kids in music.
Before there were conductors, orchestras
were typically lead by the first violinist (the
concertmaster), or a keyboardist
(frequently a famous composer like
Haydn). Some of the earlier conductors
used a large staff which they banged
against the ground to keep tempo instead
of the baton we see today. One such
conductor (and famous composer), Jean
Baptiste Lully, died when he banged his
staff into his toe and refused to have his
gangrenous foot removed. Many of the
world’s most famous composers were also
famous conductors including Gustav
Mahler, Johann Strauss Jr., and Leonard
Bernstein.
Here at DCYOP, we are lucky to have
talented conductors who not only conduct
our orchestras, but are significant members of the DC musical community! Elise
Cuffy is a member of the critically
acclaimed fusion group SynchroniCity,
Kenneth Whitley is the director of the
Children’s Orchestra Project at Garrison
and Turner Elementary Schools, and
Richard Scerbo is the Managing Director
of National Orchestral Institute.
Amy is the mother of two musical
children. One became a composer; the
other chose to study political science,
while also playing saxophone in his
college jazz band. Her recent book, The
Music Parents’ Survival Guide, is based
on interviews with many other parents,
and children -- from those who have
become internationally known musicians to those who pursued other
careers but still enjoy playing and are
grateful for the personal benefits of
their musical education.
Toyin, who once played for DCYOP, is
now a member of the Imani Winds
Quintet; her experience and insights
are featured in the book.
The Music Parents’ Survival Guide
presents a variety of strategies to help
kids succeed including three chapters
devoted to practice. Amy believes
parents need to be flexible; there is no
one approach that fits all kids. Her
book is available on Amazon, as is her
Young Musician’s Survival Guide, which is
written for students.
Achievement for Life