BYSO Summer Campers at the BAM Artsfair!

Mark your calendars for the 2010 Bellevue Art Museum's Artsfair running July 23-25. Artsfair is the most prestigious juried fine arts and crafts event in the Northwest, and the largest free community event on the Eastside. The event will feature over 300 artist's booths with mediums ranging from painting and sculpture, to wearables and wood. You can stop at the Kidsfair which features hands on projects before heading over to the Sound and Movement Stage to see our session 2 campers perform on 7/23 at 3:15pm. Stay to hear performances by the Bellevue Philharmonic and others.

For a complete listing of performers check the Eastside Arts Coalition's website here: http://www.eastsidearts.org/fair/index_html

Composition Contest Winners

In 2008 BYSO established the C. Keith Birkenfeld Composition Contest with funds from the C. Keith Birkenfeld Memorial Trust in conjunction with the Seattle Foundation. This annual contest's purpose is to inspire students and showcase young talent by offering them the challenge of creating an origional composition for orchestral instruments that is suitable for professional level performance, and for the benefit of each division of BYSO, which we know spans various skill levels and age groups.

Mr. Birkenfeld was known in Bellevue for his community involvement as an educator at Bellevue High School for over 20 years, and administrator with Bellevue Public Schools, and as a board member of the Bellevue Art Museum. Mr. Birkenfeld established the Trust at the Seattle Foundation before he passed away in September of 2005. Among Mr. Birkenfeld's known attributes -educator, world traveler, and philanthropist -was his great appreciation of classical music.

This year's competition judges were Samuel Jones, of the Young Composers Workshop of Seattle Symphony, for the Youth Symphony; Alan Futterman of Music Academy Northwest and former BYSO music director for the Sinfonia division; John Paul Lowrie for the Dubut String Orchestra; and Paul Taub of Cornish School of the Arts for the Flute Orchestra. The winning composers worked with the judges to fine-tune their compositions and met with BYSO students to talk about their experience in the creative process.

This Years winners are:
Kyle Hanks: "Rhapsody" for Youth Symphony
Jason Wang: "March Overture" for Sinfonia
Ethan Paik Marzban: "The Chase" for Debut String Orchestra
Brendan McMullen: "Hortus Pulcher" for Flute Orchestra

You can see these amazing pieces performed live during our final Showcases of the season on 5/17 for "The Chase" and 5/24 for "Hortus Pulcher," "March Overture," and "Rhapsody" at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue. 7:00pm. Visit our website for more details.

Right in Our Own Backyard

An article in the Seattle Times reminded us that there really are a lot of enriching, unique music performances and experiences in the Seattle area. Sometimes it can be easy to forget that the UW offers, not only, interesting student performances, but brings in world renowned guest artists and performers, often at very affordable ticekt prices.



You might want to bookmark http://www.artsuw.org/ so the next time you are making family plans for the weekend you can see what's happening right in our own backyard.

Youth Symphony at Crossroads

The Youth Symphony performed to a packed house at Crossroads this spring!

Pictures courtesy of BYSO Board Member and Parent, Jeff Keith.

It's Not Just About the Music...

Okay, well BYSO Summer Camp is a lot about the music, of course, but have you been? It's also about water balloon wars, trying out new music, and making new friends. Seriously, can you think of another time your conductor is cool with practicing out on the grass?

Details of BYSO's Summer Camps

BYSO Summer Camp Program

BYSO Camps
Fees and Tuition
After July 1, Please register with full tuition payment.
Summer Camp for 2010:
Session One: July 12-16 for ages 6-10, $265.00
Pay by check or through PayPal
Session Two: July 19-23 for ages 10-13, $290.00
Pay by check or through PayPal
Session Three: July 26-30 for ages 14-19, $325.00
Pay by check or through PayPal
(Early Bird discount does not apply with PayPal payments)

All sessions will be at Jubilee Reach Center, Bellevue
For a complete summer brochure, go to www.byso.org

Space is limited, therefore early reservations are encouraged.

Financial Aid
To apply for a scholarship, please contact the BYSO office at 425.467.5604 for information. All scholarships are based on proven financial need.

Calling All Parent Photographers & Videographers!

Do you have photos or videos from recent BYSO concerts? If so, please send to marketing@byso.org. We are always looking for more photos from our concert, and would love to add some video of our amazing students in action to our blog, website, and Facebook page!

Please consider sharing your photos and/or videos today!

Guest Blogger!

We always love to hear from guest bloggers, and this week our very own BYSO Board Treasurer, Scott Lampe, dropped by to share with us why he continues to support BYSO with his work on the board:

As a member of the BYSO board of directors for the past seven years and treasurer for the past two, it has been a pleasure to watch the organization see consistent robust growth and to see the valuable musical experience afforded hundreds of Eastside youth. Given the strong correlation of the skills and discipline required in music with success in other academic pursuits, it is gratifying to see the overwhelming support by so many Eastside families and to see their children grow in their musical talents based on their positive experiences with BYSO.

The board of directors is committed to the continued success of BYSO and encourage anyone to feel free to contact any of the board members with questions about the organization - we also are always interested in folks who may have an interest in serving with us!

Scott Lampe
BYSO Board Member and Treasurer

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Thanks Scott! Are you interested in becoming a BYSO Board member? If so, email info@byso.org for more information