Joseph Kempisty, conductor of Sinfonia, is completing his tenth year with the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra. He is the only current conductor to have worked under all three music directors since the Bellevue Eastside Youth Symphonies merged with Youth Philharmonic Northwest in 1999. We caught up with him at his office at Chinook Middle School, yesterday, where he is the assistant principal. We asked him to comment on the changes that have happened at BYSO and to compare and contrast the three music directors in the last ten years. He replied, “Each director brought their own unique strengths, and each was an integral part in developing the high quality music education program that BYSO has become. Alan Futterman (1994-2001) is still involved in our young composers’ composition contest and does a wonderful job of mentoring these young composers. Adam Stern (2001-2005) brought a vast amount of professionalism and experience that raised our expectations and gave us an exciting new perspective on who we could be. Dr. Teresa Metzger Howe (2005-present) is taking the next step leading BYSO with a skilled hand and attention to integrating BYSO into the greater community. I feel very privileged to have worked with each of these people, and I am glad that I am a part of what they helped to shape – a vibrant youth orchestra program that continues to grow!”
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