BYSO in 2012

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A Nod to Audrey Chen

It's that time of year again; Time to announce the 2011 Concerto Competition Contest Winner!

The Concerto Competition is an annual contest the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO) hosts. Each year a young performer is selected to perform a solo piece with the Youth Symphony at the Masterworks Concert II. This year Audrey Chen, a freshman at Interlake High School, won the honor to perform her solo at this concert on Sunday, March 20th, 2011, at the Theatre at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue.

Four years ago Audrey began playing with BYSO in Sinfonia and within a year moved to the Youth Symphony. This year Audrey chose to play a piece that was not only close to her heart but popular amongst chamber music fans. The first movement of Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B-Minor and Audrey's years of practice won the hearts of the judges and lead her to this victory.

Audrey began playing piano at six and took up cello in the fourth grade with Mr. Kai Chen. Over the years Audrey has been a part of many orchestras and ensembles. Joseph Kempisty and Dr. Teresa Metzger Howe (the conductors of Sinfonia and the Youth Orchestra) have been huge inspirations. Through their guidance and her own discovery she has found that while practice makes perfect, "efficiency is better than quantity." She rehearses with BYSO every Monday evening for two hours and practices a maximum of two hours every other day. She uses a systematic method to practice, starting with scales to warm up and then tackling each piece section by section. If there is something she believes needs extra attention, she will practice that part again and again-even after she has perfected it, just to be safe.

Not only has Audrey shone in BYSO, but she also sits first chair in the Interlake Freshmen Orchestra. While it does increase her workload, she enjoys all of the opportunities that have opened up to her because of it. On top of winning the 2011 Concerto Competition her Chamber Group at Interlake (comprised of 4 BYSO string players and one pianist) was one of the top ten finalists for the KING FM Ten Grands Competition-the grand prize for which is performing at Beneroya Hall on April 1st, 2011. She also a participant of the All-Northwest Orchestra, a large group of dedicated and talented high-school musicians from the Pacific Northwest that performed last February.

Audrey acknowledges that her parents have been huge supporters of her musical career and are in agreement for her to continue in future years. As with many passions, she hopes to make it her life by majoring in music when she moves along to college. She has even considered a double major to allow her to continue to play. She plays, she listens, and she performs, and gives us all a taste of something lovely. Join us on March 20th to witness Audrey's talents on her new French Buthod cello loaned by the Carlsen Cello Foundation.

The Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra is a non-profit organization established to provide a positive and stimulating musical environment for students. BYSO uniquely complements and builds upon both school music programs and private instruction. BYSO encourages the development of musical skills and self-confidence, as participants in all ensembles rehearse orchestral literature which appropriately challenges their skills. For over 45 years our program has provided instrumental music experience to match the ability levels of talented youth from early elementary grades through their college years.

To purchase tickets to the March 20th Concert, please follow this link.

Valerie Doerffeld-All over the Puget Sound!

Valerie Doerffeld, the conductor for our Debut Orchestra, has three upcoming performances this weekend. For almost a decade Valerie has been involved with BYSO and three years ago became a primary conductor. On the side she teaches private lessons, plays regularly with Northwest Sinfonietta, and is raising two children. From February 11-13th you have the opportunity to hear her beautiful music and show her your appreciation and support. Each performance will featur Rossini's La Scala di Seta, Overture, Firsova's "Freedom" Clarinet Concerto (world premiere), Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor.

Friday, February 11th 7:30PM
Benaroya Hall, Seattle
Tickets from just $19!
1.886.833.4747 or
Buy Online

Saturday, February 12th 7:30PM
Rialto Theater, Tacoma
Tickets from just $19!
1.800.291.7593 or
Buy Online

Sunday, February 13th 5:00PM
Pioneer Park Pavilion, Puyallup
Tickets from $25 (cabaret seating)
1.800.838.3006 or
Buy Online

Really, what could be better?

Save the Date!

Thursday, February 3rd, at 8PM our very own Brian Yarkowsky will be featured on 98.1 KING FM.

Brian has been a phenomenal coach for the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra percussion students for more than a year now and for more than three years Brian has been a member of the SMQ Percussion Quartet. Alongside three other talented percussionists, the group has created a uniqe arrangement of music displaying the versatility of percussion instruments. Now they will bring those lovely sounds to the ears of Seattle listeners on air. At 8PM tomorrow, Thursday the 3rd, you can hear their recording of Maurice Ravel's String Quartet in F Major Movement II: Assez vif - tres rythme. Either tune in or stream the station live by clicking here.
To attend future performances by the SMQ Percussion Quartet follow this link. And last but not least, for a sneak peak of their special sound and a tune we all know and love, take a listen:


Big round of applause for these four gentlement on such an accomplishment!

Want to Play a Solo at Beneroya Hall?

KING FM has been a leader in Seattle's music community and a strong advocate of local arts for more than six decades. To kick off 2011 they are hosting a competition ideal for all of our talented young musicians between the ages of 6 and 18.

The Ten Grands Competition asks students who play acoustic instruments as well as ensembles (up to 6 people) to create a 5 minute maximum audition video and post it on YouTube. Originally these were due a few weeks ago but the deadline has been extended to February 1st, so there is still time left!

In mid-February the submissions will be reviewed and 20 finalists will be posted for the public to vote on. The top ten finalists will play at the Ten Grands Concert at Beneroya Hall. The grand prize winner will play a six minute solo on stage that evening.

If that isn't incentive enough, the grand prize winner will also recieve a $1,000 scholarship.

For more information about entering your own video, follow this link. To cast your own vote, check KING FM's website between February 7th and February 11th. Everyone is encouraged to participate-whether you are feeling brave or would like to lend your support to fellow musicians in the Seattle area.

Good luck and have fun!

Martin Luther King Day Rehearsal Monday, January 17th, 2011

Due to Monday's school closures all rehearsal times and locations have been changed. All students are required to bring their own music stand to this rehearsal only. Saturday rehearsals will be held as normal at Hammond Ashley on January 22nd. Please read below for your rehearsal time and location for this Monday:







Cadet, Premiere, and Flutes: NO REHEARSAL

Debut: 6:30-8:15
Sinfonia: 6:30-8:45PM

Lake Sammamish Foursquare Church
14434 NE 8th St
Bellevue, WA 98007

Please bring your own music stand to this rehearsal.
















Youth: 6:15-8:45PM

Newport Presbyterian Church
4010 120th Ave SE
Bellevue, WA 98006

Please bring your own music stand to this rehearsal.















Please contact paige@byso.org or call (425) 467-5604 during office hours (10AM-4PM Monday-Friday) for questions and concerns.

BYSO and BPO Team Up

We are pleased to announce our first concert of the year on Sunday, January 23rd at Meydenbauer Theater in downtown Bellevue. The most exciting aspect of this performance, aside from the recent addition of more than 40 new members to our six orchestras, is the coming together of Bellevue’s finest. Our own Youth Symphony is first up, then directly following us will be the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra featuring soloist Anastasia Solomatina playing Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra.

This union is the first of the century, joining the two largest eastside professional and non-professional symphonies. Both organizations were originally founded in the 60’s, BYSO in 1964 and BPO in 1967, and have been providing Washington State residents with beautiful music for over four decades. We encourage all BYSO families to attend this memorable occasion and support the arts in our community.

The first performance by our young musicians is free of charge to all BYSO families. To attend BPO’s 2 o’clock performance tickets are required but are available for 50% of the cost to the general public. Please call (425) 455-4171 to order your tickets at the discounted price. For those unfamiliar with Meydenbauer Theater, please follow this link for detailed directions and parking information. To sum it up:

Where: Meydenbauer Theater

111000 NE 6th St
Bellevue, WA 98004

When: Sunday January 23rd, 2011
BYSO at 1PM
BPO at 2PM

Ticket Prices:
BYSO: Free of Charge
BPO: Adults: $10
Students: $5

We Welcome Paige and Wish a Fond Farewell to Kimiko

As 2010 is coming to a close, our beloved administrative assistant, Kimiko Goldberg, is moving on to tackle full-time graduate studies. We welcome Paige Spicer, our new administrative assistant who will lead us into 2011. A little about her:

"Music has been a large part of my life as far back as I can remember. My grandfather was the band director at WSU for 25 years, so all through my childhood I attended concert band and big band performances. Everyone on my father's side of the family played some kind of band instrument and it was presumed that I would follow in their footsteps.

I did play piano from ages 5-9, but when it came time to choose my instrument I surprised everyone by picking the violin. I proceeded to play for seven years until a muscular injury interefered with my ability to continue. In that time I also took drum lessons for 2 years and learned bass guitar with my dad. Since my involvement with music is now mostly limited to listening, I was very excited to become a part of this organization and increase my involvement in the community.

I was born and raised in Issaquah so I am very familiar with the area, though I recently moved to Seattle. I have three years of retail experience in Bellevue as well as a multitude of organizations I have volunteered for. Mainly I focused my time on mediating for the city of Bellevue as well as teaching crafts to children at the Bellevue Art Museum. I love working with people and need a creative outlet. In my free time I love to crochet, do bookbinding, take photographs, felt wool, and read.

I had the good fortune of being able to attend the Winter Wonderland concert on December 13th which only increased my excitement about the position. To all of those in Cadet, Debut, and Premiere, you're enthusiasm and skill is inspiring. I can't wait to hear all of the symphonies play and get to know each and every one of you.

I wish Kimiko the best in her studies and look forward to the coming year. Happy Holidays."

Our Next Round of Auditions: Jan. 8, 2011

We at BYSO offer auditions in January for students wishing to join us for a half-season. If you know anyone who wants to join, but missed our major auditions in early September, it is not too late! We also allow any current students who have their current conductor's permission, to re-audition for higher placement. You can sign up on our website under "auditioning" at http://www.byso.org/



Nervous? Looking for tips? Check out our previous blog posts for helpful advice. We also found a helpful link about orchestral auditions at violinist.com, entitled "Orchestra Auditions, What Judges are Looking For" http://www.violinist.com/discussion/response.cfm?ID=3389

A Few New Photos

Here are a few new behind-the-scenes photos from Showcase 1 courtesy of Donna Fisher:

Bellevue City Council

This week we would like to begin with a note on advocacy that we, like so many other non-profits, rely on for survival. Attached is a clip of one of our board members, Jennifer Lee, who attended City Council on November 15th, along with others, to advocate for funding for arts programs in our community. There are lots of ways to let your representatives know that you are passionate about access to arts education for local students. My personal favorite? E-mail. It has never been easier to get your voice heard. Here are the email addresses for Arts and Education sector staff members with Senator Patty Murray and Senator Maria Cantwell in Washington, DC:

Travis Lumpkin with Senator Murray - travis_lumpkin@murray.senate.gov
Janel George with Senator Cantwell - janel_george@cantwell.senate.gov

Tips while on tour

Part of being a working musician means "taking that show on the road." We wanted to offer some tips from staff who have lived to tell the tale, beginning with our Executive Director Ruth Brewster.
"I have been on many many tours, both as a performer and as a director. I have traveled in fifteen states, three provinces, and eleven other countries as a touring musician -on busses, cars, trains, planes, and subways. I have toured as a singer and soloist with both student, professional, and church groups. I have played timpani in Sweden, and handbells in Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Finland. I even toured with a small opera company for the Swedish government.
Hopefully I have learned a couple things to make traveling easier for a musician. Here are some tips for when you are on tour:

1. Don't complain. About anything. Unless you can fix the problem, your complaining just makes things worse.
2. Take care of yourself -a sick musician is no help to anyone. Eat right -limit the fast food. Sleep right -staying up late and getting up early to meet the bus the next morning is hard on your health.
3. Remember you are part of a team. This isn't about you. It is about your mission, in your case, it's about the music.
4. Pack light. Whatever you bring you carry yourself. You really CAN make due with a small bag. If you are carrying an instrument, never leave it in a hotel room unsecured. Sometimes you need purchase invoices for your instrument. This is for when you come back through customs. You may need to prove where you bought it. Do your homework before you leave.
5. Remember to enjoy the sights. Think: "will I ever be back in (wherever you are...)"
6. Even if you don't like different types of food, try the local cuisine. You may be suprised.
7. Take lots of digital pictures. Take an extra flash drive to store them, and extra batteries!
8. Leave your laptop at home.
9. Write. Text or e-mail lots of messages back home. Get international service for your phone.
10. Purchase only the ammount of souvenirs that you can carry, or can afford to ship. No one else will carry them for you.
11. Before you go, try and learn a few phrases like "please," "thank you," "can you help me?" in the local language.
12. Understand the money conversion between Dollars and Euros, or Pesos, or whatever else.
13. And again -Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy."

Thanks Ruth. If you have any touring stories to share please post them in the comments section.

Our Masterworks I Guest Speaker Steven Lowe

We are very proud to host Steven Lowe as Guest Speaker as we kick off our first ever stand-alone concert series for the phenomenal Youth Symphony led by Dr. Teresa Metzger Howe. We wanted to offer up a little information on Steve's distinguished background, and many accomplishments.

Steven Lowe, Public Information Specialist for Seattle Symphony from 1996 through January 2007, joined the Symphony staff after two decades as a psychotherapist and more than three decades as a freelance contributer to many different musical journals including High Fidelity/ Musical America, Stereo Quarterly, Keynote, and Classical magazines. He has also written for The Los Angeles Times, and The Wisconsin State Journal.

A Rockefeller Foundation Grant -Project for the Training of Music Critics- brought Steve to the University of Southern California in 1965 and led to a position on staff as a reviewer and assistant editor for High Fidelity/Musical America Magazine.

Steve currently provides program notes for Seattle Symphony, Seattle Chamber Music Society, the Northwest Sinfonietta, and the University of Washington's "World Series" chamber music concerts and piano recitals. Steve also serves frequently as pre-concert lecturer for several of those organizations. In the past he has lectured for the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Baroque and the Early Music Guild; he wrote program notes for the Virginia Symphony, New York Chamber Symphony, Stamford (Conn.) Symphony and the Northwest Chamber Orchestra.

Since 2007, Steve has given filled-to-capasity classes on classical music history for the Creative Retirement Institute through Edmonds Community college. He has been a frequent lecturer on classical music at the Stroum Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island and has also taught at North Seattle Community College.

We are so looking forward to Steve's speech on November 14th at Bellevue Art Museum. We look forward to seeing you there!

Meet our new Intern Extraordinaire

This week we would like to introduce our new Intern, John Gim. John joins us via Interlake High School's Gifted Program which places students with community organizations for year long internships each year. We asked John to introduce himself and write a bit about his personal musical experiences. So without further ado:

"Music is the language of the heart, or so they say. I'm not really sure who they are, but I certainly agree.

Today in Psychology 201 I watched a video on a Mr. Clive Wearing, a musician whose conscious long term memory was taken away by an accident. He could only remember what he was perceiving at the moment - what he was seeing, touching, hearing, tasting, smelling and paying attention to. What had happened moments ago, it meant nothing to him as if he just woke up from an eternal slumber. It was weird seeing him write in his diary, "I have just now woken up", over and over again at different times of the day. 8:57 he would write, and at 9:02, he would write the exact same sentence. In essence, Clive starts his life over again every moment. However, his heart, soul, mind are all intact. He could speak clearly, trade jokes, express emotion, behave normally, and even play solitare.

Why talk psychology on a music blog? Well, it turns out that Clive is an excellent musician, once the leader of a pre-eminent choir in London and still an accomplished pianist and vocalist. Despite his inability to remember what he ate for breakfast, he could play Chopin's Pathetique or Haydn's opera concerto without fault. Confused and dazed he may be elsewhere but within the music sphere where the notion of time is lost and all that is present is the soul, Clive feels safe and completely at peace.

Clive's experience just shows that music is not just notes combined with a rhythm. No, it is an incredibly intrinsic yet real experience that goes beyond memory and time. It is organic, above what humans can express with words. Music really is the language of the heart.

Perhaps that is why it is so prevalent in today's society. My parents forced me to start playing piano at an early age of 5, and I practiced everyday, 1 hour each. By sophomore year of high school, I had played for a solid decade and other things took higher importance in my life. As part of the Gifted Program at Interlake High School, I was able to start the International Baccalaureate a year early so that I would finish by the end of my junior year, not my senior year. Education was always the first priority in my family and thus I chose to quit piano in order to focus on the IB Program. For two years since, music and I were completely strangers.

This year as a senior, I had the chance to intern at a business of my choice. I chose BYSO. To be honest, I wasn't too excited about alphabetizing the hundreds of applications or entering numbers for BYSO's music catalogue. I just wanted to listen to their music. Indeed, in the first week of rehearsal, I got in as much listening as possible. I heard 6-year-olds struggling to play Joust and I heard the full Youth orchestra tackle a symphony of some sort. All in all, it was inspiring. It was like eating chocolate for the first time after wearing braces for a year.

So I, John Gim, am here at BYSO as an intern, learning what I can about the music industry, backstage production and whatnot. But really, I'm here on a free ticket to all of BYSO's concerts in exchange for a few hours in the office every week."

Thanks John!

Memorable Musical Experiences. This Week: BYSO Executive Director Ruth Brewster

In reflecting on the many musical experiences we recieve throughout our lives, we at BYSO realize that these experiences entail varying roles, places, and times. As audience members or performers, touring with a group, or attempting a solo performance, hearing a great song on the radio, or happening across a talented group of street performers, they are all enriching and fun to share. This week we hear from Executive Director Ruth Brewster about her favorite musical experience as a listener.

"Everyone can remember a performance that made a real difference to them. It may be the first time you yourself perform, the first time you hear a violin, the first time you hear Chopin, the first time you get to play on a professional stage. For me, one of the most important performances I have ever seen was the first time I heard Joan Sutherland on the opera stage. I was 18 and a freshman in college. I had made special arrangements to see the Seattle Opera's production of Delibes's Lakme, an opera in French but set in India.
I had never heard it, had never heard of any of the performers. But Joan Sutherland, an Australian coloratura soprano, was in the title role as Lakme, an Indian princess. I don't remember the other singers at all, nor the full story line, nor anything else about the production. What I do remember is that I was blown away by her voice, her presence, her comfort at doing this incredible music. It was like being invited into a private conversation with her, like sharing a secret. She had welcomed me into her living room -the stage- to make me at home with this music.
Her vocal technique changed the whole way I thought about technique, about scales, arpeggios, about legato line and phrasing. Her presence on stage was so comfortable -not nervous or tense, not pretentious or brash.
Subsequent performances that I have seen of her in other operas and recitals only stress again and again how a true artist can bring the listener to know that beauty and simplicity work together, that the hard work she must have done in the rehearsal room pays off in the gift she gave everyone in her audiences -all we had to do was enjoy."

Thanks Ruth! If you have a great music listening experience to share, please let us know!

New Pictures from the Fall 2010 Retreat

Here are a few great new retreat photos taken by Barbara Ethington. Thanks Barbara!

Fall Retreat

For those who may be new to BYSO, our bi-annual retreats are a point of pride for us, serving as an innovative way to round out our student's educational experiences with us.

The retreats were started nearly 10 years ago during a time when BYSO was growing and growing each year (as it is now) and conductors and staff wanted to put an emphasis on orchestra members getting together to function as a team. They noticed that our students were coming from so many different towns, with a variety of backgrounds and experiences, ages, and instruments of choice. They thought it would be a great idea to have students get together outside of the intense pace of regular rehearsals and participate in specialized coaching sessions in small groups, get extra time together as an orchestra, and have time to play games and socialize.

Our Winter Retreat will take place on January 22nd for Cadet, Debut, and Premiere, and January 29th for Sinfonia, Youth, and Flutes.

Here are a few of the excellent photos submitted by Donna Fisher of our fall 2010 retreat:

Look for more fun photos of our concerts and retreats here on the blog, or on Facebook!

University of Denver Pre-College Academy

June 19-July 3, 2011 The Lamont School of Music Summer Pre-College Academy is looking for students ages 14-18 who are interested in their summer music program. In state of the art facilities, students will participate in private lessons and master classes, as well as seminars on college preperation, performance anxiety, and careers in music, to name a few. If you know any pre-college age music students interested you can check out their website for more information: www.du.edu/lamont/summeracademy Participants will also be back in town in time to start BYSO summer camps which will take place every week between July 11th- 29th 2011!

Seattle Music Partners

Seattle Music Partners is a great non-profit organization that is now gearing up for another year of after-school music tutoring. They provide after-school music instruction to elementary and middle school students in low-income schools in Seattle's Central District. They are calling for high school volunteers that will commit one afternoon each week to teach one-on-one instrumental music lessons to beginning musicians. No prior teaching experience is necessary. This is a great opportunity for high school students to gain teaching/leadership experience while improving their own musical skills. They also ensure that volunteer time is credited for service learning and/or community service requirements.
Please contact Lindsey Harris at lindsey@seattlemusicpartners.org for application information.

Auditions begin this week

It is certainly that time of year again. Auditions will begin this week for BYSO's 46th season. We have had more students sign up this year than ever before and expect this season to be BIG. We know that for some this will be your first audition, so we wanted to offer up a few tips we found in "Strings" Magazine's archives.

Treat yourself well:

• Eat good foods and plan something fun for the rest of your day.
• Give yourself plenty of time on audition day.
• Stretch or exercize before your audition.

Play as much as possible:

• Balance auditions with concerts and playing just for fun.

Perform mock auditions:

• Its always a good idea to practice auditioning in front of family and friends.
• Practicing in a big space is helpful so you can get used to how you sound in a big room.

Listen to Music

• This is more of a general musicians rule, and pertains to music study as a whole, not just auditions. Frequently listening to music will sharpen your ears and always acts as inspiration.

Above all remember that music is mean to be fun! We love music for the joy it brings to us and others, and we're sure you all agree.

Do you have any tips on how to ace an audition? If so please add them in the comments section below.

Good Luck!