Tuesday, May 26, 2009

When Fashion is Music to Our Ears.

Big things are coming to the Eastside. BYSO is very excited about PACE (Performing Arts Center Eastside), "a 2,000-seat premier center for the performing arts, presenting for the first time nationally and internationally acclaimed music, theatre, and dance to audiences east of Lake Washington." BYSO is very excited because this is a great venue for our concerts!

Ruth Brewster, BYSO Executive Director, and Geri Spindrift, BYSO Advisory Board Director, recently attended the PACE Fashion Show, which was a fundraiser for PACE. We sat down with Geri to find out details about the show, and what PACE might mean for us at BYSO.

BYSO: What was the PACE fashion show like?

Geri: The fashion show was put on by the Act Two Guild for Performing Arts Center Eastside and featured thirteen stores from the Bellevue Collection. The event started with a three course lunch, followed by a short presentation by John Haynes, PACE Executive Director, then the show. The fast-paced show presented a range of spring fashions, from stores like 7 For All Mankind and Mercer to Eileen Fisher and Voletta Couture.

BYSO: What type of music did they play at the fashion show?

Geri: The music was lively and tailored to the fashions presented by each store. Lighting was also used to enhance the mood and highlight the clothes.

BYSO: What did you learn about PACE that will be helpful for BYSO?

Geri: The Campaign for PACE’s goal is to raise $160 million to build a performing arts facility on the Eastside. PACE will be a multipurpose facility with seating capacity from fewer than 750 to a maximum of 2,000. This facility, located at NE 10th Street and 106th Avenue NE, would be an excellent venue for BYSO. Visit their website, www.pac-eastside.org for updates.

BYSO: What else did you find interesting about the show or PACE?

Geri: This event had two purposes, to raise awareness and generate community support, and fund-raising for the Star Lounge (green room) Furnishings Fund. The show was successful on both. The event was well attended by community members who are key to PACE, and $30,285 was raised during the Fund-A-Need presentation.

BYSO: Sounds like so much fun! Thanks for sharing Geri!

Does performing at PACE sound like fun to you? Let us know! Comment on the blog or email us at marketing@byso.org

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Classissima is cool!

A while back we received an email from Classissima to let us know BYSO was listed in their directory of online classical music webpages. We decided to take a closer look at all that Classissima has to offer, and thought you might think it was pretty cool too.

Classissima.com offers, "musical news, a directory of more than 5,000 web sites on classical music throughout the world, hundreds of quotations, block calendar, and direct links to the Wikipedia encyclopaedia." Their website shares, " Classissima is entirely dedicated to classical music, to keeping it alive and kicking … Classical music exists in every country, Classissima is available in French, English, German, Italian and Spanish."

So if you enjoy all thing classical music related, this may be just the site for you!

http://www.classissima.com/

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Photos from Ten Grands!

A few weeks ago we shared info. on the Ten Grands event one of our Quartets were performing at, and here are some photos of the ensemble in action!


Here they are performing at Benaroya Hall! Kudos to you all!!!



Tuesday, May 5, 2009

A Chat with a 2009 Composition Winner


This week we wanted to share a little bit about one of our Composition Contest winners. In May these winner's works will be performed at the final Showcase Concert of the season.


Today we chat with Jason Wang, winner of the Debut composition:


BYSO: Jason, please share with us a little about your composition and your hobbies and interests?


Jason: The string quartet “Rondo in G” was originally composed in summer 2007. Although I have composed piano, piano trio, and cello works before, this is my first string quartet. I wanted to try something new. The BYSO project gave me the opportunity to explore new music perspectives. I used Rondo A-B-A-C-A-B-A form for this string quartet. This Rondo inspiration came from a Tarantella on piano I had played before. The principle theme “A” has a rather light and cute tune. It is contrasted with theme “B” which has minor inner-voiced tone and theme “C” with uncertain yet delightful melody. While working in preparation for the performance, I was very lucky to have a judge who helped me to improve continuity and expand my creative mind using music techniques. I like to compose music because it is a way to get away from the world, a way to express myself, and a way to explore new ideas of thought.


I am fourteen years old and a freshman at Roosevelt High school. I started to compose when I was in 3rd grade just for fun, but since last summer, I have been seriously learning the composition with Dr. Peter Mack. I have been study piano playing since 1st grade and I also take cello lessons. Currently I’m playing in Roosevelt High School Orchestra. In addition to music, I like watching nature and being outdoors, and I also enjoy playing tennis. In ten years I hope to be in a music school finishing my PH.D. and in twenty years I would like to be in New York doing music composition of some sort.