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