Spring 2023 ESYO Program Book

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

It is my pleasure to invite you to celebrate Empire State Youth Orchestra’s 43rd season of joyful music making. This year we are thrilled to return to a familiar pattern of rehearsals and performances, including perennial favorites such as the Frost Valley Retreat, Melodies of Christmas, the Young People's & Senior’s Concerts, and our signature, crowd-pleasing, Crossgates Mall Playathon. After two years of pandemic disruptions, it is wonderful to look forward to a more “normal” season packed with performances, enriching musical experiences, and opportunities to forge life-long friendships. And ESYO has much to anticipate. Outstanding conductors, teaching artists, and coaches working side-by-side with enthusiastic and talented young musicians to create wonderful, magical moments to share with our community. A thriving CHIME program, providing youth free music instruction and performance opportunities. A new cohort of Young Leaders, already mobilizing to apply their insight, expertise and innovation to accomplish great things. And beyond this season, we look forward to taking up residence in our new, “forever” home.

The quest for ESYO’s home began more than two decades ago. Past opportunities that were identified--like the Goldilocks tale--proved either too large, or too small, too costly, or simply too impractical. But the 8-acre campus at 45 Mac Arthur Drive, is "just right." Young musicians will be inspired by the creative space, graced with natural light and acoustically designed rehearsal rooms. Families will gather in lounge areas during rehearsals, enjoying conversation and building community. Our new home will allow us to expand our scope to include daytime programming for early learners, homeschool ensembles, accessible experiences for young people with disabilities, summer camps, as well as to develop extended day programming in partnership with local school districts.. These new offerings will help strengthen regional school music programs and introduce students to musical instruments at a younger age. Cooperative education programs, such as advanced theory, offered in partnership with Capital Region BOCES Arts in Education Initiative, will expand academic opportunities for young musicians interested in pursuing a career in music. To learn more, and follow our progress as we work to secure the resources to make this vision a reality, go to our website: https://esyo.org/news-concerts/esyo-center-formusical-youth

Yes, we do indeed have much to look forward to, not the least of which is celebrating together with you, our friend and supporter. Thank you for being here at this performance, cheering on our musical youth. Thank you for believing in the power of music to transform, to delight, to enrich and to inspire. Enjoy today, and come back again soon to hear us again!

Becky Calos Executive Director

MESSAGE FROM THE MUSIC DIRECTOR

I would like to warmly welcome you to the 2022-2023 season, my first as Music Director. I'm so excited to embark on this journey together with the young musicians of ESYO and with all of you!

We live in challenging times and I believe that coming together to play music with urgency, to embrace vulnerability, to listen and explore the depths of emotions, is crucially important. It is through this experience that we create new connections and a sense of belonging. This season is about discovering new and meaningful connections - connections to nature, to ourselves, and to one another. Gabriella Smith's Field Guide, in Symphony Orchestra's opening concert, invites us to connect to nature through her music, and, later in the season, the Festival of Young Artists will feature music celebrating Earth. Music can connect us to our own nature, our bodies, for example in Ludwig Van Beethoven's 7th Symphony that centers around dance. And there will be more dancing when several of ESYO's ensembles connect and play together in joyful encore pieces that feature movement, for example in the joint concert of Repertory Orchestra, String Orchestra and Concertino Strings on November 13!

More connections: we are partnering with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to present a side-by-side performance at EMPAC in April, featuring a new music visualization tool called Music:Eyes - See what you Hear. And the young musicians at our free after-school program CHIME will create musical connections to their emotions and lived experience as part of a in a project called Amplify Our Voice. And we are excited to move to a new place of belonging, ESYO’s Center for Musical Youth. This new home will allow for many new connections and ways of making music together!

I'm also thrilled to launch MusicNOW, a multi-year endeavor that focuses on nourishing dimensions of music making that are often underdeveloped and that is grounded in the conviction that music can only come to life in the present—in the NOW! In a MusicNOW spirit, ESYO students develop excellence not only in playing their instruments but also in breathing and embodying music together, in telling musical-emotional stories collectively with a sparkle in the eye, in intently listening and relating to each other and in thinking and being expressive outside the box, in a spirit of improvisation and creation.

At the launch of MusicNOW, we had the great privilege to welcome Walter Thompson for a weeklong residency. Walter is the inventor of an innovative instant composing sign language called Soundpainting, which he introduced to our young musicians in ensemble rehearsals and at the fabulous Frost Valley Retreat. You will encounter Soundpainting in various shapes and forms throughout the season in performances and collaborative workshops!

Thank you for all the support you have given our young musicians over the years and I'm very much looking forward to celebrating this season with you!

Etienne Abelin Music Director and Conductor of the ESYO Symphony Orchestra

2022-2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Omar Williams

Board Chair

Barry Richman

Vice Chair

Heather Chan Secretary

Dee Adkins Treasurer

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Rebecca Calos

Executive Director

Lisa Stulmaker

Finance Director

Sue Lascoe

Operations Director & Repertory Orchestra Manager

Anne-Marie Gorman Doyle

Development Director

CONDUCTING STAFF

Etienne Abelin

Music Director & Symphony Orchestra

David Beck

Repertory Orchestra

Joseph Gumpper

String Orchestra

Leo Milman

Concertino Strings

Dr. Robert S. Hansbrough

Wind Orchestra

CHIME STAFF

Rossiluz Caceres

Site Manager

Lin Polster

Site Manager

Cathy Gatta

Lead Teacher

Monica Roach

Lead Teacher

Nikola Tomic

Lead Teacher

Lia Bourque-Mooney

Teaching Artist

Robert Altman

Brian Axford

Robert Bengraff

Vic Bernstein

Randall Ellis

Henk Elzenga

James Haertel

Stefon Harris

Andrew LaCoppola

Kara Lais

Peter Lauricella

Caitlin Mochrie

Brian Quiara

Brian Sacawa

Chris Shiley

Elizabeth Silver

Dr. David Bebe

CHIME Conductor, Curriculum & Enrichment Coordinator

Andrea Restrepo

Operations Assistant, Librarian & Symphony and String Orchestra Manager

Zoë Auerbach

CHIME & Young Leaders Director

Diana Chabai-Booker

Marketing & Publications Manager

Mary Rose Petrozola

Membership Services Coordinator & Administrative Assistant

Richard Albagli

Youth Percussion Ensemble

Mark Foster

Youth Percussion Ensemble

John Antonio

Repertory Percussion Ensemble

Genoveffa Vitale

Chamber Percussion Ensemble

Dr. Peter Bellino

Youth Jazz Orchestra

Keith Pray

Repertory Jazz Orchestra

Julie Taylor

Concertino Wind Choir

Scott Hopkins

Concertino Brass Choir

Rae Jean Teeter

Concert Chorale

Hannah Dick

Concertino Percussion

Jessica Bowen

Teaching Artist

Aidan Doyle

Teaching Artist

Lydia Flynn

Teaching Artist

Teresa Gatta-Norton

Teaching Artist

Tara Hanish

Teaching Artist

Ye Hu

Teaching Artist

Matthew Johnson

Teaching Artist

Cara Miner

Teaching Artist

Andrea Restrepo

Teaching Artist

Bridie Schnore

Teaching Artist

Nick Smith

Teaching Artist

Aaron Zhang

Teaching Artist

SECTIONAL COACHES

Throughout the season, ESYO Symphony and Repertory Orchestra members are coached and mentored by a group of dedicated musicians and teachers from the Capital Region and beyond. We are grateful to our team of coaches for offering their guidance and expertise, inspiring our youth to pursue musical excellence.

VIOLIN & VIOLA

Matthew Johnson, Viola

Leo Milman, Violin

Natalya Milman, Violin

Jamecyn Morey, Violin

Hilary Cumming, Violin

Stephani Emery, Viola

Shelly Tramposh, Viola

Heather Braun-Bakker, Violin

CELLOS & BASSES

Luke Baker, Bass

Dr. David Bebe, Cello

Andrea Restrepo, Cello & Bass

Andre O'Neil, Cello

Rachele Prawdzik, Cello

John Marshall, Bass

Patrick O'Connell, Bass

PERCUSSION

John Antonio, Percussion

WOODWINDS & BRASS

Michael Blostein, Brass

Paul Riggio, Brass

Edward Marschilok, Woodwinds

Jaqueline Wright, Woodwinds

Susan Gierthy, Oboe

Julie Taylor, Clarinet

Michelle McLoughlin, Bassoon

John Fatuzzo, Trumpet

Jessica Cunningham, Horn

STRING CHAMBER

MUSIC COACHES

Dr. David Bebe

Etienne Abelin

Jessica Belfower

Jamecyn Morey

WIND CHAMBER MUSIC COACH

Susan Gierthy

CONCERT PROGRAM

Carl B. Taylor Auditorium at SUNY Schenectady

Tuesday, February 14, 2023, 7:30PM

STRING ORCHESTRA & YOUTH JAZZ

STRING ORCHESTRA

JOSEPH GUMPPER, CONDUCTOR

CAPRICCIO ESPAGNOL

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, arr. Sanda Dackow

I. Alborada

II. Variazioni

III. Scena e Canto Gitano

IV. Fandango Asturiano

SUMMERTIME

Music and Lyrics by George Gerswin, Du Bose and Dorothy Heyward and Ira Gershwin, arr. Bert Ligon

YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA

DR. PETER BELLINO, CONDUCTOR

SECRET SMILES

Mike Tomaro

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Bob Mintzer

TAKIN' IT TO THE CHURCH

Shelton Berg

SENORITA BLUES

Les Hooper

THE STAR-CROSSED LOVERS

Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn

YA GOTTA TRY

Sammy Nestico

STRING ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

VIOLIN I

Ruchir Bollapragada

Adalyn Fanning

Victoria Gentile

Pavithra Jayakumar

Ci-Le Lee

Angela Li

Xingchen Lin

Vincent Liu

Ciarra Miller

Angelina Molina

Olamide Oladimeji

Isabella Xu

Gianna Zhang

Joelene Zheng

Thomas Zhong

VIOLIN II

Kevin Bao

Micah Chen

Victoria Chung

Ann Hu

Leyao Huang

Navin Huskie

Andrew Kim

Emily Kim

Elena LaFaver

Luen Lee

Giuliana Palmieri

Ivy Smith

Rowan Spencer

Christina Sui

Joanna Zhao

VIOLA

Austin Cao

Margaret Stuart

Simran Utturkar

CELLO

Annabelle Brin

Kaiden Bubenik

Andrew Cunningham

Alanea Geweye

River Henriksen

Jacob Hong

Emma Shao

Alexander Skuza

Mia Sun

Albert Zhang

YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

SAXOPHONE

Bohdan Kinal

Alto

Kevin Lu

Alto

Angelo Delaney

Tenor

Nathan Yan

Tenor

Anthony Guo

Baritone

DOUBLE BASS

Gabriella Clark

Abigail Edgar

TRUMPET

Conor Costello

Landon Kinal

Andrew Comparetta

Lara Luczak

TROMBONE

Luyanda Pieterse

Dean Simons

Alis Fruehstorfer

John Wasula

RHYTHM SECTION

Grant Harding

Piano

Henry Reichman

Piano

Benjamin Quist Bass

Sam Wagner

Guitar

Kiemon Noel

Drums

CONCERT PROGRAM

Clayton A. Bouton High School

Wednesday, February 15, 2023, 7:00PM

CONCERTINO STRINGS & REPERTORY ORCHESTRA

CONCERTINO STRINGS | LEO MILMAN, CONDUCTOR

RONDEAU

Henry Purcell, arr. Deborah Baker Monday

PLAYFUL RONDO

W. Green, arr. Leo Milman

UKRAINIAN DANCE

Modest Mussorgsky, arr. Deborah Baker Monday

A MILLION DREAMS

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, arr. James Kazik

REPERTORY ORCHESTRA | DAVID BECK, CONDUCTOR

OVERTURE TO IDOMENEUS

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

SLAVONIC DANCES, OP. 46, NO. 4

Antonín Dvořák (1842-1904)

Tempo di Minuetto

SINFONIETTA NO. 1 “SILVER”

Bob Good (b. 1959)

I. “Serenata”

II. “Let Me Tell You How It Started”

III. “After The Storm”

NIGHT IN MEXICO FROM “AIRBORNE SUITE”

Paul Creston (1906-1985)

Performing Arts Center

CONCERTINO STRINGS PERSONNEL

FIRST VIOLIN

Mackenzie Cady

Haley Clark

Amelia Hicks

Matthew Huang

Delphine Mann

Kenton Pack

Theigen Plumley

Clare Snyder

Ivan Zhang

Lyra Lenigk *

SECOND VIOLIN

Anna Barnes

Jonah Chen

Bella Crowe

Ariana Elguero

Sophia Hemmid

Bhavyanshu Kandlakunta

Hannah Keegan

Tallulah Mann

Sianna Orr

Tienzen Plumley

Aydia Raiff

Anushka Senapati

Violet Stasi

Vince Trimm

Glenjanee Robertson *

VIOLA

Augustin Bebe

Brianna Harding

LaurenRose Mele

Angela Page

Josephine Smith

Xrysanthi Sokaris

Anika Sohn *

Alina Song

Ben Xu

Alis Fruehstorfer *

CELLO

Rileigh Barton

Lilianna Cartier

Ilan Kogan

Laina Mo

Mark Shao

Adele Zebrowski

Natalie Teal *

BASS

Olivia Meka

Manager – Kathryn Sokaris

* Guest

REPERTORY ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

FIRST VIOLIN

Elise Silfer

Concertmaster

Charlotte Chen

Assistant Concertmaster

Annalise Bourassa

Sarah Byun

Rohan Huskie

Rose Janicke

Everest Kuang

Lauren Lee-Chung

Lyra Lenigk

Daniel Lin

Jeanne Lu

Juan Manrique

Esti Simcoe

Tallis Wild

Annabelle Zhang

Stella Zhang

SECOND VIOLIN

Emily Tribou

Principal

Daniel Byon

Assistant Principal

Ratna Bandaru

Vidhu Bulumulla

Catherine Cheng

Madeline Epping

James Gong

Tarun Jacob

Isabelle Mason

Marisa Mazzacco

Chloe Myat

Annika Polk^

Lucy Quoma

Olana Schillinger

Lily Scicchitano

Ankur Senapati

Selena Tang

VIOLA

Anika Sohn

Principal

Samuel Wang

Assistant Principal

Yuna Chung

Caleb Gascoyne

Matthew Kim

Anya Miller

Michael Wu

CELLO

Natalie Teal Principal

ZiWei Daniel Liu Assistant Principal

Alice Chen

Sonja De Piro

Ulka Jerabek

Justin Mo

Andrew Ngai

Gio Ok

Emily Winans

Sophia Xin

Young Xu

Brendan Yan

Chloe Zhang

BASS

Katie Myers Principal

Finley Jones

Assistant Principal

Michael Jantson

Alexander King

Avery Subik

FLUTE

Inari Sohn

Coco Yang

Nini Yang

Sara Bubenik^

PICCOLO

Inari Sohn

OBOE

Adam Judson

Emily Shim

ENGLISH HORN

Adam Judson

CLARINET

David Lichtenwalner

Madeleine Rocheleau-Holmes

BASSOON

Jeanine Cao

HORN

Brennan Hawkins

Anthony Padula

TRUMPET

Harlow Kung

David Zhao

TROMBONE

Brendon Cao

Alis Fruehstorfer

Maeve Newkirk

Luyanda Pieterse

TIMPANI

Austin Ernst

PERCUSSION

Tim Kelsey

^ On Leave

CONCERT PROGRAM

Mainstage at Proctors

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Wednesday, March 8, 2023, 1:00PM

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

ETIENNE ABELIN, CONDUCTOR

SPRING FESTIVAL OVERTURE

Li Huanzhi (China, 1919 - 2000)

CONCERTO FOR VIOLA AND ORCHESTRA II. Second movement

Béla Bartók (Hungary, 1881 - 1945)

APPALACHIAN SPRING

Aaron Copland (USA, 1900 - 1990)

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

This performance is made possible in part by the generosity of MVP Healthcare

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

FIRST VIOLIN

Abby Mercier 1,2

Co-Concertmaster

Caitlin Weinheimer 3

Co-Concertmaster

Gordon Amodeo

Darren Cheng

Hyunseo Eric

Isabella Hu

Fay Hu

Tyler Jung

Megan Lai

Abby Lee

Sungwon Lee

Arthur Leung

Tiffany Ma

Kai Vernooy

Xuning Ying

SECOND VIOLIN

Cael Sullivan 1,2

Co-Principal

Lilian Rodgers 3

Co-Principal

Sean Calhoun

Chloe Dai

Andrew Hwang

Andrew Kim

Yuni Kwon

Nguyet-Vien Le

Natasha Nugent

William Vartuli

Emily Yang

Iris Yang

Catherine Yang

Lauren Zhu

VIOLA

Yu-Heng Wang

Principal

Thomas Ahl

Saurev Bavdekar

Lisa Chen

Matthew Kenyon

Christiane Richardson

Peyton Roach

Bowen Yu

CELLO

Trey Coughlin

Principal

Bryan Chae

Christina Cheng

Emily Donohue

Casey Gao

Ani Gregori Asadourian

Ian Gu

Adeline Hubbell

Ian Jin

Kyle Markham

Hanh Nguyen

Abigail Norsworthy

Aman Patel

Liam Sullivan

Lucas Tong

William Wu

Vincent Zhang

DOUBLE BASS

Orin Carlson-Lee

Principal

Ariel Chen

Jaehyun Lee

Kim Mazzacco

FLUTE

Emily Dupuis 1,2,3

Lucy Lee

Renee Zhang

PICCOLO

Renee Zhang

OBOE

Susan Gierthy* 3

Olivia Petti

Alicia Prieto

Andrew Watkins 1,2

CLARINET

Regan Doherty

Hailey Lotz

Julia Spretty 1,2,3

BASSOON

Aryeh Korevaar 1,2,3

Edward S. Marschilok*

FRENCH HORN

Winter Hubbell

Cyrus Joo-Schwaber

Cole Martin 1,2,3

Joseph Viscio

TRUMPET

Elyse Roepe 1,2,3

Nikola Tomic*

TROMBONE

Kevin Lee

Nicholas Lynch 3

Ronan Tiu 2

Anthony Zhang 1

PERCUSSION

Clara de Long

Thomas White

TIMPANI

William Lauricella

PIANO

Brian Axford* 3

HARP

Elizabeth Huntley* 3

PRINCIPALS

Huanzhi 1

Bartok 2

Copland 3

*Guest

CONCERT PROGRAM

Massry Center for the Arts

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Sunday, March 12, 2023, 3:00PM

WIND ORCHESTRA & REPERTORY JAZZ ORCHESTRA

WIND ORCHESTRA | ROBERT HANSBROUGH, CONDUCTOR

BRASS CHOIR

GALLARDE LA ROCQUE

Pierre Phalese, arr. Colin Kilpatrick

NUN DANKET ALLE GOTT

J.S. Bach, arr. Mark Prowen

WOODWIND CHOIR

FINALE (FROM SYMPHONY IN Bb)

Franz Schubert, transcribed by Nilo Hovey

WIND ORCHESTRA

RENAISSANCE SUITE

Tielman Susato, arr. James Curnow

I. La Mourisque

II. Mille Regretz

III. La Bataille

BEACONS

Tyler Arcari

MARCH OF THE BELGIAN PARATROOPERS

Pierre Leemans, arr. Michael Brown

THE ASH GROVE

Sam Baltzer

MARSCH (FROM SYMPHONIC METAMORPHOSIS)

Paul Hindemith, transcribed by Keith Wilson

PROGRAM CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE

TO BE SELECTED FROM:

HOME COOKIN

Hilton Ruiz

SO LONG ERIC

Charles Mingus

LA NEVADA

Gil Evans

BROOKLYN

Youngblood Brass Band

WIND ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

PICCOLO

Kathleen Guo

FLUTE

Kathleen Guo

Ari Caine

Abbigale Rossman

Olivia Lee

Christina Zhang

Karissa Gu

Ann Furlong

Sofie Guo

Ahana Gandhi

Abigail Brennan

Sinjin Facchetti

Srinidhi Thattai

OBOE

Kaylee Gutmaker

CLARINET

Sophia Hu

Wyatt Pierce

Lily Burgess

Bonnie Diefendorf

Gianna Montagna*

BASS CLARINET

Stephen Kowalski*

BASSOON

Jeanine Cao

Aryeh Korevaar

Hikaru Matsue

ALTO SAX

Holden Spock

TENOR SAX

Tyler Wills

BARITONE SAX

Jake LaBate*

FRENCH HORN

Cole Martin

Brennan Hawkins

Anthony Padula

TRUMPET

Elyse Roepe

Jada Wesenberg*

Olivia Montagna*

TROMBONE

Aidan Doyle*

Daniel Korevaar

Ethan Meeks

Luqman Ahmed

EUPHONIUM

Anthony Zhang

Eli Stanwicks

TUBA

Casey Cole*

PERCUSSION

Dre McElhinney

Jane Lapati

Jesse Doan*

Stephen McClain*

* Guest Performers

Manager – Jane Padula

Student Manager – Casey Cole

REPERTORY JAZZ ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

SAXOPHONES

Shriyan Ahuja

Alexis Berry

Gideon Goldberg

Hubert Huho

Teresa Rodrigues

Dylan Slater

TRUMPETS

Shawn Chaney

Emery D’Arcy

Rafi Magdon-Ismail

VIOLA

Anika Sohn

RHYTHM SECTION

Nolan Valero

Piano/Vibraphone

Tianyi Zhang

Piano/Vibraphone

Ethan Bowden

Guitar

Nolan Linck

Drums

Zoltan Arthur Percussion

CONCERT PROGRAM

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Sunday, April 2, 2023, 3:00PM

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

ETIENNE ABELIN, CONDUCTOR

SPRING FESTIVAL OVERTURE

Li Huanzhi (China, 1919 - 2000)

VIOLA CONCERTO, OP.POSTH (COMPLETION BY SERLY)

I. Moderato

II. Adagio religious

III. Allegro vivace (Played without pause)

Béla Bartók (Hungary, 1881 - 1945)

Yu-Heng Wang, viola

Intermission

SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN E MINOR, OP. 64

III. Valse

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russia, 1840 - 1893)

APPALACHIAN SPRING

I. Very slowly

II. Fast

III. Moderate

IV. Quite fast

V. Still faster

VI. Very slowly

VII. Calm and flowing

VIII. Moderate Aaron Copland (USA, 1900 - 1990)

We dedicate this performance to our dear friend, Professor Kevin Shanley, who passed away on January 12, 2023. Kevin's presence at nearly every ESYO concert for the last many years, full of enthusiasm, warmth and encouragement for all involved, provides deeply moving memories for all of us. Kevin was a staunch supporter of our young musicians and delighted in tracking their progress. Special moments include his exuberant conducting of our Symphony Orchestra at Playathon, and his infectious enthusiasm for all things "Jazz." Today, we honor his friendship, his musical passion, and most especially, his laughter. Cheers, Kevin!

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

FIRST VIOLIN

Abby Mercier1,2

Co-concertmaster

Caitlin Weinheimer3,4

Co-concertmaster

Gordon Amodeo

Darren Cheng

Hyunseo Eric Kim

Isabella Hu

Fay Hu

Tyler Jung

Megan Lai

Abby Lee

Sungwon Lee

Arthur Leung

Tiffany Ma

Kai Vernooy

Xuning Ying

SECOND VIOLIN

Cael Sullivan1,2

Co-principal

Lillian Rogers3,4

Co-principal

Sean Calhoun

Chloe Dai

Andrew Hwang

Andrew Kim

Yuni Kwon

Nguyet-Vien Le

Natasha Nugent

William Vartuli

Emily Yang

Iris Yang

Catherine Yang

Lauren Zhu

VIOLA

Yu-Heng Wang

Principal

Thomas Ahl

Saurev Bavdekar

Lisa Chen

Matthew Kenyon

Cristiane Richardson

Peyton Roach

Bowen Yu

CELLO

Trey Coughlin

Principal

Bryan Chae

Christina Cheng

Emily Donohue

Casey Gao

Ani Gregori Asadourian

Ian Gu

Adeline Hubbell

Ian Jin

Kyle Markham

Hanh Nguyen

Abigail Norsworthy

Aman Patel

Liam Sullivan

Lucas Tong

William Wu

Vincent Zhang

DOUBLE BASS

Orin Carlson-Lee

Principal

Ariel Chen

Jaehyun Lee

Kim Mazzacco

FLUTE

Emily Dupuis1,2,3,4

Lucy Lee

Renee Zhang

PICCOLO

Renee Zhang

OBOE

Olivia Petti 2,3

Alicia Prieto 1,4

Andrew Watkins

CLARINET

Regan Doherty

Hailey Lotz

Julia Spretty 1,2,3,4

BASSOON

Aryeh Korevaar 1,2,3,4

Edward S. Marschilok*

FRENCH HORN

Winter Hubbell

Cyrus Joo-Schwaber

Cole Martin 1,2,3,4

Joseph Viscio

TRUMPET

Elyse Roepe1,2,3,4

Themba Pieterse*

Nikola Tomic*

TROMBONE

Kevin Lee

Nicholas Lynch3

Ronan Tiu 2

Anthony Zhang 1,4

PERCUSSION

Kingston Czajkowski

Clara de Long+

Thomas White

TIMPANI

William Lauricella

PIANO

Brian Axford*3

HARP

Elizabeth Huntley*3

PRINCIPALS

Huanzhi1

Bartok2

Copland3

Tchaikovsky4

* Guest + On leave

FEATURED PERFORMER

YU-HENG WANG VIOLA

Yu-Heng Wang, 18, is a senior at Shenendehowa High School. Currently in his 5th and final year in the ESYO Symphony Orchestra, he first auditioned into the ensemble in 8th grade, at the youngest grade level in the orchestra at the time, and served as Assistant Principal violist for his first two years in the orchestra. Since his Sophomore year, Yu-Heng has held the principal position.

Yu-Heng picked up the viola in 4th grade, as his first and primary instrument. Since then, he has been an active member of the school music community, participating in the Middle School Chamber Orchestra starting in 6th grade, and then the High School Chamber Orchestra. He has also participated in a variety of regional festivals, including All-County, Suburban Council, and Area All-State.

With the arrival of the COVID pandemic and the sudden abundance of free time, Yu-Heng was able to extensively practice and improve at the viola, and in his high school years, has seen a dramatic increase in both skill at the instrument and love for music. In 2021, he successfully auditioned into the New York All-State Orchestra, and had the distinct honor of successfully holding the principal position, which he held again in the 2022 All-State Orchestra. In addition to All-State, Yu-Heng was also the Concertmaster of the Saratoga Youth Symphony for the 20212022 season on violin and the Principal Viola of the Zone 7 Area-All State Orchestra in 2019. The summer of 2022, Yu-Heng participated in the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute, a prestigious, full-tuition summer program hosted by the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C. for a 4 week residency at the Kennedy Center. He was 1st chair violist in the Institute Orchestra.

In addition to orchestra, Yu-Heng was the June 2022 WMHT Classical Student Musician of the Month, performing the Vieuxtemps Viola Sonata, and now a two-time finalist of the Uel Wade Music Scholarship Competition in both 2021 and 2022. He is a founding member of the Tetrauq quarteT, consisting of 4 members of ESYO that rehearse and perform around the area, having the privilege of working with members of the Ying and Emerson Quartets in the past year.

Yu-Heng currently studies with Brian Hong at the Bard Conservatory of Music. His past teachers include Michael Emery, Sue Nazzaro, Keegan Donlon, and Nina Merulla. He would like to thank all his amazing teachers for transforming him into who he is as a player today.

PROGRAM NOTES

SPRING FESTIVAL OVERTURE LI HUANZHI

A classic celebratory piece to stir the senses and welcome the new year, the Spring Festival Overture sets the stage for our concert with its enthusiastic and cheerful tone. Written in 1955-56, the overture is the first movement of the larger Spring Festival Suite by Li Huanzhi. This piece is often performed at Lunar Year concerts in mainland China. It is deemed such a model of Chinese orchestral composition that a recording was broadcast in space during China’s first lunar probe in 2007.

Li Huanzhi is considered one of the most important Chinese composers of the 20th century. Born more than a century ago in Hong Kong, he studied at the National Conservatory of Music in Shanghai (now the Shanghai Conservatory of Music). When the Second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937, Li joined the revolution, then studied at Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Yan’an. He went on to produce a large body of work inspired by traditional Chinese melodies. He was the first director of the China National Traditional Orchestra, founded in Beijing in 1960.

Word of Bartók’s desperate situation finally reached Serge Koussevitsky, the visionary music director of the Boston Symphony, who did as much as any conductor in the 20th Century to commission and premiere important new works. In 1942, upon hearing that Bartók was both ill and destitute, Koussevitsky doubted Bartok would be up to the strain of writing a major work, but also knew that Bartók would not accept charity. Koussevitsky commissioned Bartók to write a showpiece for the Boston Symphony, and Bartók was so overjoyed at the opportunity that he quickly forgot his problems and embarked on the writing of his Concerto for Orchestra, a joyous and brilliant piece universally acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of the 20th Century.

VIOLA CONCERTO BÉLA BARTÓK

William Primrose, maybe the most important violist of modern times, asked the then-ailing Bartók to write a concerto for his use in 1945. Since emigrating from Hungary to the US in 1940, Bartók had endured a period of terrible neglect, poverty and homesickness. Howard Hanson, the reactionary and xenophobic president of the Eastman School of Music, had turned away Bartók’s application for a teaching position in spite of his reputation as possibly the most important living composer and ethnomusicologist of his day.

After this, Bartók’s creative powers returned to full strength, even as his body started to fail. Commissions began to pour in, and Bartók turned to work on a 3rd Piano Concerto, a Sonata for Solo Violin and the Viola Concerto. By 1945, his health was rapidly failing, and it became clear while working on the 3rd Piano Concerto and the Viola Concerto that he would not finish either work. Bartók hoped the Piano Concerto would provide a source of income for his wife, the pianist for whom it was written, and so made a great push to complete the work before succumbing to leukemia. Bartók entrusted the completion of the Viola Concerto to his friend and former pupil Tibor Serly, who also completed the 3rd Piano Concerto.

Like the Concerto for Orchestra and the last Piano Concerto, the Viola Concerto is a profoundly lyrical, spiritual and life affirming work. In those sad, final years Bartók found within himself a capacity for expressing warmth and joy that listeners continue to marvel at 50 years later. The first movement is the most complete and fully developed and shows Bartók at the height of his musical powers. The lyrical second movement is deeply spiritual in

feeling, but the folk-music inspired fire of the finale is no less full of life. Sadly, the finale shows the most evidence of Serly’s hand- in spite of the richly promising musical material the movement is less completely developed that one would expect in a mature work of the master. Still a brilliant conclusion to the greatest work in the viola repertoire, its slightly weakened musical finish is a poignant reminder of the fate of its creator, who did not live to complete it or hear it performed.

Program notes by Kenneth

Woods

SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN E MINOR, OPUS 64 PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY III. VALSE

Tchaikovsky came of age at a turning point in Russian music, a time when composers argued passionately over the direction their art should take: should they pursue a uniquely Slavic approach, emphasizing folk tales and melodies, or should they embrace the Western European classical tradition? Tchaikovsky drew on both Russia and the West, resulting in an ambiguity that (many critics have argued) hampered him in writing the Westernstyle symphony. But more recent scholars argue that just because Tchaikovsky does not fully adhere to rigorous sonata form does not mean that his symphonies lack structure or development. Tonality and ambiguity play large roles in driving an emotional narrative.

The third movement is a light-footed waltz, as elegant as any of Tchaikovsky’s, that begins in the string section and is answered by the reeds. After an exciting scherzo and a return to the waltz themes, Fate once again delivers a low, ominous warning, disguised in the same courtly rhythm.

Program notes by Joule Zelman

APPALACHIAN SPRING AARON COPLAND

In the 1930s, Aaron Copland wrote that he was making a significant change in his style. “I felt that it was worthwhile to see if I couldn’t say what I had to say in the simplest possible terms.” Additionally, he was committed to creating a distinctive American voice in music. “It was Copland’s genius for finding the memorable, evocative musical phrase that moved him from the avant-garde maverick to the voice of America.” (Barbara Heninger, program note annotator) He succeeded brilliantly. Composer Virgil Thompson called him “The President of American Music.” His music in this regard was so effective, so endearing, so comprehensible, so identifiable as ours that he singularly defined the American spirit in music. On one occasion, the composer recalled that an audience member, after hearing Appalachian Spring in 1981, came up to him and said, “Mr. Copland … when I hear your music, I can just see the Appalachians and I just feel spring. …” Mr. Copland concluded, “Well, I am willing if they are!”

Appalachian Spring (for chamber orchestra) began as “Ballet for Martha,” referencing Martha Graham’s ballet troupe. According to Copland, the music was based on his friendship with Graham herself. “I was thinking primarily about Martha and her unique choreographic style, which I knew well. Nobody else seems quite like Martha: she’s so proud, so very much herself. And she’s unquestionably very American: there’s something prim and restrained, simple yet strong about her which one tends to think of as American.” Copland met Martha Graham in the early 1930s at a concert that featured his Piano Variations. She told the composer she wanted to dance to it; Copland told her that was “impossible.” Proving him wrong, she created the dance Dithyramb. Copland was thunderstruck. “Surely only an artist with an understanding of my work could have visualized dance material in such a rhythmically complex and thematically abstruse composition.”

The composer began work on Appalachian Spring in 1943, commissioned by the Foundation of Arts patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, who paid him $500 “for a dance piece.” Martha Graham (who actually titled the work) had been inspired for a ballet by Hart Crane’s poem, “The Dance,” which included these words:

O Appalachian Spring! I gained the ledge; Steep, inaccessible smile that eastward bends

And northward reaches in that violet wedge

Of Adirondacks!

The ballet received the Pulitzer Prize in May 1945. Copland orchestrated the chamber score, and the Suite for Orchestra premiered in 1945 with the New York Philharmonic.

The setting is the early 19th century, on the site of a Pennsylvania farmhouse that was a wedding gift to a young couple. Copland wrote, “The bride-to-be and the young farmer-husband enact the emotions, joyful and apprehensive, which their new domestic partnership invites. An old neighbor suggests, now and then, the rocky confidence of experience. A revivalist and his followers remind the new householders of the strange and terrible aspects of human fate. At the end the couple are left quiet and strong in their new house.”

The ballet had 14 segments; the orchestral version eight. The composer kindly provided the following road map:

Very slowly. Introduction of the characters, one by one, in a suffused light. Fast. Sudden burst of unison strings in A Major arpeggios starts the action. A sentiment both elated and religious gives the keynote to this scene. Moderate. Duo for the Bride and her Intended — scene of tenderness and passion.

Quite fast. The Revivalist and his flock. Folksy feeling — suggestions of square dances and country fiddlers.

Still faster. Solo dance of the Bride — presentiment of motherhood. Extremes of joy and fear and wonder.

Very slowly (as at first). Transition scene to music reminiscent of the introduction. Calm and flowing. Scenes of daily activity for the Bride and her Farmer husband. There are five variations on a Shaker theme. The theme, sung by a solo clarinet, was taken from a collection of Shaker melodies compiled by author Edward D. Andrews, and published under the title “The Gift to Be Simple.” The melody most borrowed and used almost literally is called “Simple Gifts.”

Moderate. Coda. The Bride takes her place among her neighbors. At the end the couple are left “quiet and strong in their new house.” Muted strings intone a hushed prayerlike chorale passage. The close is reminiscent of the opening music.

The above became iconic American music, deeply embedded and embraced in our culture. The seventh section, “Simple Gifts,” sometimes tends to “steal the show.” In response, Copland made a separate arrangement for orchestra, titled “Variations on a Shaker Tune,” which has also become part of our American musical heritage.

Program notes by Marianne Williams Tobias, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, 2017

CONCERT PROGRAM

Saturday, May 6, 2023, 3:00PM

STRING ORCHESTRA & REPERTORY ORCHESTRA

STRING ORCHESTRA | JOSEPH GUMPPER, CONDUCTOR

MANNHEIM SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN G MAJOR

Johann Stamitz (1717-1757)

I. Allegro

BROOK GREEN SUITE FOR STRING ORCHESTRA

Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

I. Prelude

II. Air

III. Dance

KYRIE - REQUIEM K626 FOR STRING ORCHESTRA

Wolfang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1781) , arr. Gerald R. Doan

REPERTORY ORCHESTRA | DAVID BECK, CONDUCTOR

SYMPHONY NO. 8 “UNFINISHED” IN B MINOR, D.759

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

I. Allegro moderato

CELLO CONCERTO NO. 1 IN A MINOR, OP. 33 Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)

III. Molto allegro

Liam Sullivan, cello

2023 Lois Lyman Concerto Competition Second Place Winner

SUMMER DANCES

Brian Balmages (b. 1975)

RADETZKY MARCH

Johann Strauss Sr. (1804-1849)

Zankel Music Center, Skidmore College

STRING ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

FIRST VIOLIN

Ruchir Bollapragada

Adalyn Fanning

Victoria Gentile

Pavithra Jayakumar

Ci-Le Lee

Angela Li

Xingchen Lin

Vincent Liu

Ciarra Miller

Angelina Molina

Olamide Oladimeji

Isabella Xu

Gianna Zhang

Joelene Zheng

Thomas Zhong

SECOND VIOLIN

Kevin Bao

Micah Chen

Victoria Chung

Ann Hu

Leyao Huang

Navin Huskie

Andrew Kim

Emily Kim

Elena LaFaver

Luen Lee

Giuliana Palmieri

Ivy Smith

Rowan Spencer

Christina Sui

Joanna Zhao

VIOLA

Austin Cao

Margaret Stuart

Simran Utturkar

CELLO

Annabelle Brin

Kaiden Bubenik

REPERTORY ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

FIRST VIOLIN

Lyra Lenigk, Concertmaster

Lauren Lee-Chung, Assistant

Concertmaster

Annalise Bourassa

Sarah Byun

Charlotte Chen

Rohan Huskie

Rose Janicke

Everest Kuang

Daniel Lin

Jeanne Lu

Juan Manrique

Elise Silfer

Esti Simcoe

Tallis Wild

Annabelle Zhang

Stella Zhang

SECOND VIOLIN

Emily Tribou, Principal

Lily Scicchitano, Assistant Principal

Ratna Bandaru

Vidhu Bulumulla

Daniel Byon

Catherine Cheng

Madeline Epping

James Gong

Tarun Jacob

Isabelle Mason

Marisa Mazzacco

Chloe Myat

Annika Polk

Lucy Quoma

Olana Schillinger

Ankur Senapati

Selena Tang

VIOLA

Michael Wu, Principal

Anika Sohn, Assistant Principal

Caleb Gascoyne

Matthew Kim

Anya Miller

Samuel Wang

Yuna Chung *

CELLO

Brendan Yan, Principal

Natalie Teal, Assistant Principal

Alice Chen

Sonja De Piro

Ulka Jerabek

ZiWei Daniel Liu

Justin Mo

Andrew Ngai

Gio Ok

Emily Winans

Sophia Xin

Young Xu

Chloe Zhang

BASS

Michael Jantson, Principal

Avery Subik, Assistant Principal

Finley Jones

Alexander King

Katie Myers

FLUTE

Sara Bubenik

Andrew Cunningham

Alanea Geweye

River Henriksen

Jacob Hong

Emma Shao

Alexander Skuza

Mia Sun

Albert Zhang

DOUBLE BASS

Gabriella Clark

Abigail Edgar

Inari Sohn

Coco Yang

Nini Yang

OBOE

Adam Judson

Emily Shim

CLARINET

David Lichtenwalner

Madeleine Rocheleau-Holmes

BASSOON

Jeanine Cao

HORN

Brennan Hawkins

Anthony Padula

TRUMPET

Harlow Kung

David Zhao

TROMBONE

Brendon Cao

Alis Fruehstorfer

Luyanda Pieterse

Maeve Newkirk *

TIMPANI

Austin Ernst

PERCUSSION

Tim Kelsey

* On Leave

CONCERT PROGRAM

Bethlehem

Central Middle School

Sunday, May 7, 2023, 3:00PM

CONCERTINO STRINGS, WINDS & BRASS ENSEMBLES

CONCERTINO STRINGS | LEO MILMAN, CONDUCTOR

BRANDENBURG CONCERTO NO. 3

J.S. Bach, arr. Richard Meyer

I. Allegro

LULLABY TO THE MOON

Brian Balmages

SARABANDE

Carl Bohm, arr. Leo Milman

M TO THE THIRD POWER

Carold Nunez

CONCERTINO WOODWINDS | JULIE TAYLOR, CONDUCTOR

BEETHOVEN TRILOGY arr. Joseph Pappas

IRISH TUNE FROM COUNTY DERRY

Percy Grainger, arr. Frank Erickson

JUPITER SYMPHONY

W.A. Mozart, arr. Bruce R. Smith

Minuetto from Symphony No. 41

THREE SUSATO DANCES FROM THE DANSERYE

Tielman Susato, arr. David Marlatt

La morisque

Les quatre Branles

La Battaille

CONCERTINO BRASS | SCOTT HOPKINS, CONDUCTOR

THE ENTERTAINER

Scott Joplin, arr. Andy Clark

KANON

Johann Pachabel, arr. David R. Thomas

TURKISH MARCH

W.A. Mozart, arr. Jeremy Corcoran

UPTOWN FUNK

Mark Ronson, arr. Scott Hopkins

CONCERTINO STRINGS PERSONNEL

FIRST VIOLIN

Mackenzie Cady

Haley Clark

Amelia Hicks

Matthew Huang

Delphine Mann

Kenton Pack

Theigen Plumley

Clare Snyder

Ivan Zhang

Yuni Kwon *

SECOND VIOLIN

Anna Barnes

Jonah Chen

Bella Crowe

Ariana Elguero

Sophia Hemmid

Bhavyanshu Kandlakunta

Hannah Keegan

Tallulah Mann

Sianna Orr

Tienzen Plumley

Aydia Raiff

Anushka Senapati

Violet Stasi

Vince Trimm

Esti Simcoe *

Glenjenee Robertson *

VIOLA

Augustin Bebe

Brianna Harding

LaurenRose Mele

Angela Page

Xrysanthi Sokaris

Alina Song

Ben Xu

Anika Sohn *

CONCERTINO WOODWINDS PERSONNEL

FLUTE

Abigail Fazziola

Clare Kowalski

Adelyna LaFountain

Peyton Latta

Ellieanna Pettinger

CLARINET

Fiona DeSimony

Schuyler Klee

Parker Skipp

SAXOPHONE

Kaitlyn Patneaude

Valentino Stano

James Sweeney

BASSOON

Emma Padula

Joseph Zitofsky

CONCERTINO BRASS PERSONNEL

FRENCH HORN

Emma Miller

TRUMPETS

Caleb Devernoe

Jonah Clermont

Liam McElwey

Bailey McShane

Andrew Padula

Matthew Syta

Daniel Woo

TROMBONES

Crosby Belisle

Kyle Foster

Spencer Lampman

Silas McAneny

Declan Pogue

Kendall Rochler

EUPHONIUMS

Adam Hawrylchak

Zoletta Palmer

CELLO

Rileigh Barton

Lilianna Cartier

Ilan Kogan

Laina Mo

Mark Shao

Adele Zebrowski

Natalie Teal *

BASS

Olivia Meka

* Guest Manager – Kathryn Sokaris

CONCERT PROGRAM

Brown School

Sunday, May 7, 2023, 7:00PM

PERCUSSION ENSEMBLES

CONCERTINO PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE | HANNAH DICK, CONDUCTOR

MAMBO SCHMAMBO (1999)

Chris Brooks

DUET

Ignace Pleyel, Arr. Anthony Cirone

CHAMBER PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE

JOHN ANTONIO, CONDUCTOR | GENOVEFFA VITALE, CONDUCTOR

TEAMWORK

Lynn Glassock

DRUMS OF MORIA ( 2019)

Nathan Daughtrey

ALLEGRO FROM CONCERTO GROSSO NO. II, OP. 6 (1653-1713)

Corelli, Arr. Ruth Jeanne

REPERTORY PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE

JOHN ANTONIO, CONDUCTOR | GENOVEFFA VITALE, CONDUCTOR

HIGHLIFE (1988)

Phil Faini

POWER STRUGGLE

Nathan Daughtrey

YOUTH PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE

RICHARD ALBAGLI, CONDUCTOR | MARK FOSTER, CONDUCTOR

SEXTET FOR PERCUSSION (1970)

Zita Carno

I. Fast

II. Quiet, sustained

III. Moderately fast, strongly rhythmic

(IT’S JUST) TALK (1987)

Pat Metheny, arr. Steve Houghton, Tom Warrington

Clara de Long, Vibraphone soloist

CONCERTINO PERCUSSION PERSONNEL

Ryan Ford

Lucas Griffin

Nathaniel Hoffman

Lizzie Tallman

Ryan Zhang

CHAMBER PERCUSSION PERSONNEL

Ryan Cartier

Sophie Freed

Sophie Gatzen

Elijah Ketzer

Liam MacFee

Mia Montross

Jahan Trivedi

REPERTORY PERCUSSION PERSONNEL

Declan Armbruster

Jeremy Cintron

Noah Florussen

Nadia Hawrylchak

Sophie Ho

Liam Johnson

Sarah Martino

Matthew Pallone

Angelina Pidgeon

Liam Smith

Max Zheng

YOUTH PERCUSSION PERSONNEL

Kingston Czajkowski

Clara de Long

William Lauricella

Thaddeus Mangione

Issah Marsico von Lutz

Tommy White

THE ESYO EXPERIENCE

Founded by parent and music teacher Barry Richman in 1979, Empire State Youth Orchestra (ESYO) challenges and inspires more than 600 of the most talented youth from the Capital Region of New York, Western New England, and all walks of life. These youth achieve musical excellence through intensive instruction and highlevel performance. Through twelve performing ensembles and ESYO CHIME, ESYO is igniting a lifelong love of music in the youngest members of our communities, and breaking boundaries between communities and backgrounds to grow the future of music.

ESYO’s progressive program nourishes students in elementary through high school, growing with them as they expand their musical and personal capabilities. But the ESYO experience is about more than exceptional music. Through ESYO, young people build confidence, practice teamwork, and cultivate personal drive, giving them the skills to achieve success in music, college, and beyond. ESYO alums go on as leaders in fields as diverse as engineering and art. They can also be found in all areas of the music industry, from national orchestras and recording studios to music classrooms.

ESYO also seeks to expand its impact beyond its membership, believing music can be a catalyst for social change in the communities in which ESYO musicians live, learn, and play. This belief is why ESYO has helped raise more than $8 million for Albany Medical Center’s pediatric oncology program through

the Melodies of Christmas concerts. To further expand its impact, ESYO launched CHIME in 2015. Through free, daily music instruction and mentorship, CHIME provides young musicians in Schenectady and Albany schools with comprehensive support from elementary through high school. The CHIME team places children on the path to musical excellence and cultivates skills needed to succeed in all areas of life, including collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking.

The ESYO experience now includes concerts at Carnegie Hall, benefit performances, master classes with exceptional musicians like the Shanghai Quartet, DEKA Quartet, and the Musicians of Ma’alwyck, and international tours of Europe and Asia. All of this would not be accomplished without the support and the generosity of many individuals, corporations, and foundations whose gifts are an investment in the future of music.

ESYO envisions exceptional youth ensembles and orchestras that reflect the diversity of our vibrant communities, and that share a joyful passion for music making. ESYO values musical excellence as a joyful pursuit, accessible to all regardless of socioeconomic conditions.

ESYO is a community catalyst for artistic celebration and innovative collaboration.

For more about ESYO, audition information, or to pledge your support, go to esyo.org.

Photo by Hsiao-Fang Lin

THE ART OF LISTENING

Whether listening to a masterful piece by one of the classical giants or a lead-edge work by a living composer, orchestral music invites you into a musically daring adventure filled with excitement or stillness, joy or sadness, or triumph or loss. Your main job is to listen and be affected by what you hear. Let the music provoke you and inspire you.

Here are a few tips to help you master the art of listening:

LISTEN AS CLOSELY AS YOU CAN

You've most likely heard people describe orchestral music as a relaxing escape or a perfect soundtrack to daily life. Truth is, if you listen closely, you'll hear more, notice more, and appreciate the artful message woven between the notes.

HEAR THE UNIQUE QUALITIES OF THE PERFORMERS

A composer is a partner in the creation of a concert. They provide the blueprint for the performance while the orchestra builds the house and adds the ornaments and furniture. With the freedom of interpretation, no single piece sounds the same.

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

Music is organized sound, filled with patterns, themes, and moods. Close your eyes and try to visualize what you hear. Do you see colors, shapes, characters or dancers, places, or locations? What is the story that is unfolding?

As you are listening, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the mood, feeling, or character of the music? Is it staying the same or changing?

2. Is the music loud or soft? Does it suddenly change?

3. Timbre: What instruments are sounding together? What new sounds are created by different combinations of instruments?

4. What is the tempo of the music? Can you feel the beat in your body?

5. Do you notice recurring themes that you heard previously?

6. What are the other instruments doing if they don’t have the melody?

7. Musical conversations: Do different instruments or sections call or respond to each other?

8. Rhythms and emphasis: How are the rhythms different or complimentary?

MUSIC IS A TAPESTRY

When you take the time to listen and enjoy it, you will always hear something new or different. You don't need to be a musician or an aficionado to enjoy an ESYO concert. All you need is an open ear and an open mind. Let the music affect you, visualize what you hear, and connect it to your life. Most importantly, give yourself a break from email, social media, texting, and screens. Let the music speak to you, especially if it challenges you to listen differently.

ESYO YOUNG LEADERS

ESYO’s Young Leaders (YL) program provides opportunities for the next generation of musicians and arts leaders to gain hands-on experience and assist in the programs of an internationally-recognized youth orchestra. Young Leaders participate an average of 8-10 hours a month in a variety of ways, including professional development workshops and trainings; volunteering in special events, community projects, and administrative tasks; engaging as ESYO teaching assistants and ambassadors; and serving on ESYO's Board of Directors. Past student-led YL community projects have included an instrument and music supplies drive, volunteer music festival, outreach presentations in local schools, Soundwalk in Washington Park, and virtual collaborative music projects.

IS PROUD TO SUPPORT THE EMPIRE STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA

ESYO SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS

THE HARMONY IN MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP

ESTABLISHED BY THE KOLODZIEJ AND RESTA FAMILY

This scholarship supports the musical aspirations of talented young players who demonstrate financial need. In recognition of the challenges faced by larger families to afford enriching opportunities for all their children equally, this award favors applicants seeking to enroll more than one child in Empire State Youth Orchestra.

THE RICHARD ALBAGLI SCHOLARSHIPS

ESTABLISHED BY THE CHANG, HARRIS & PROVANCHER FAMILIES

These scholarships honor Richard Albagli’s more than thirty years of service to ESYO as percussion conductor, his deep commitment to music education and his compassion for others. These awards favor percussion applicants.

BARRY RICHMAN CAREERS IN MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP

ESTABLISHED BY BARRY RICHMAN

This scholarship is awarded at the end of each ESYO season to a graduating senior from any ESYO group who best exemplifies the goals and standards of their ensemble, serves as a role model to their peers, has made outstanding musical contributions, and plans a career in music.

THE ACCELERATOR SCHOLARSHIPS

These needs-based scholarships honor Roger Hannay’s unwavering desire to help those in need who are also willing to help themselves. These awards favor returning ESYO musicians who have been accepted into a more advanced ensemble and who reflect Roger’s grit, determination and dedication to hard work.

THE HELEN CHA-PYO SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Helen Cha-Pyo served as ESYO’s Music Director and Symphony Orchestra Conductor between 2002 and 2018. Under her extraordinary leadership, ESYO grew to become one of the preeminent Youth Orchestras in the nation. Helen’s vision guided the launch of ESYO’s CHIME in 2015 to provide a free, comprehensive music program for economically disadvantaged children, and her active community engagement sparked numerous collaborative projects both regionally and internationally. This award is given each spring to a senior who embodies Helen’s passionate commitment to music as a means to uplift and enrich the community.

THE HELEN CHA-PYO GOLDEN BATON AWARD

This award is given each spring to a senior who embodies Helen’s passionate commitment to music as a means to uplift and enrich the community.

Additional scholarship funds were made possible through the generosity of donors in response to ESYO’s Annual Appeal.

If you are interested in more information about funding a named scholarship, please reach out to Anne-Marie Gorman Doyle at amgormandoyle@esyo.org.

The Future of Music Is in Good Hands

wilsonelser.com

Wilson Elser is a proud supporter of Empire State Youth Orchestra. We share ESYO’s belief in the power of music, applaud the talented youth that participate in its programs and acknowledge the dedicated staff and volunteers both on and off stage whose efforts help bring such harmony to our community. Bravo! We wish ESYO a wonderful 2022-2023 season. Peter Lauricella Regional

Managing Partner

Helping businesses, professionals and individuals resolve their most complex legal issues and disputes.

© 2022 Wilson Elser. All rights reserved. 424-22

The Univeristy at Albany is proud to support the

Empire State Youth Orchestra

ENDOW A CHAIR AN ENDURING GIFT

Endowing a chair provides reliable, ongoing funding to underwrite key ESYO programs and retain outstanding musicians. Because endowed chairs are named in perpetuity, they offer a special opportunity to recognize your gift or honor a person or cause that is dear to you.

To discuss endowing a chair, contact Anne-Marie Gorman Doyle, Development Director at amgormandoyle@esyo.org or 518.382.7581.

ACCESS ESYO

ACCESS ESYO is an online “pay what you can” ticketing system that empowers audiences to participate at a level they can afford while safeguarding individual integrity. We want our ESYO families, friends and supporters to enjoy our youth performances without undue financial hardship.

ACCESS ESYO allows for the purchase of concert tickets for as little as $1 per seat, and is sustained through an ongoing “pay it forward” campaign that invites donors to contribute the “gift of music” to our online ACCESS ESYO ticket bank.

ESYO has never turned away a qualified musician due to economic hardship and annually awards more than $30,000 in scholarships and tuition assistance. Now, we are taking steps to ensure that we never turn away an enthusiastic audience member for the same reason.

Please take advantage of ACCESS ESYO to bring your entire family to enjoy the outstanding performances of our youth musicians. Please give generously, if you are able, to ensure that our Ticket Bank remains solvent throughout the season!

HOW DOES ACCESS ESYO WORK?

PURCHASE your ticket(s) online through ACCESS ESYO for as little as $1 per seat. Remember, ACCESS ESYO is designed to make concert-going affordable, and exists for those who most need the assistance.

Suggested ticket prices: $10-$20

DONATE to ACCESS ESYO by contributing a “seat” for a future patron!

Madepossible,inpart,byaFuturesFundGrantfromthe LeagueofAmericanOrchestras,andbydonorslikeyou.

CONTRIBUTIONS | A YEAR OF GRATITUDE

Look what we came through & see what we’ve done! All this was possible because donors stood by our side. The following is a list of gifts over $500 received from Jan. 1 2021 to October 15, 2022. We apologize for any errors or omissions and would be grateful to have them called to our attention.

CORPORATE SPONSORS & COMMUNITY PARTNERS

$20,000 AND UP

Carnegie Hall Weill Institute

The Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation

New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the NY State Legislature

REA Charitable Trust

The Van Norton Family Foundation

$10,000 - $19,999

Albany Medical Center

The Belova Stetson Fund

Bender Family Foundation

The McCarthy Charities

M&T Charitable Foundation

The Review Foundation

The Schenectady Foundation

Seymour Fox Memorial Foundation

The Times Union*

$5,000 - $9,999

BBL Construction Services

The Berkshire Bank Foundation

The Henry M. Butzel Family Foundation

Community Foundation for the Capital Region

Barry Alan Gold Memorial

Advised Fund

Community Foundation for the Capital Region

Patton Fund

D’Addario Music Foundation

Sistema USA Presto Grant

$1,000 - $4,999

AYCO

Capital Bank A Division of Chemung Canal Trust Company

Capital District

Physicians’ Health Plan

Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region

Community Foundation

Red School House Fund

Community Foundation for the Capital Region

Foy Fund

Curtis Lumber

GE Matching Gifts Program

Global Foundries Matching Gifts Program

Janney Montgomery Scott

Richman

Network for Good

Pearl Grant Richmans

Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation

Prudential Matching Gifts

Schenectady County Initiative Program

SEFA United Way

The Stewart’s Foundation

Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Matching Gifts

The University at Albany Foundation

$500 - $999

Apple

Cap Com Federal Credit Union

Cengage Learning

Matching Gifts

Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region Paul & Alane

Hohenberg Fund

Fenimore Asset Management

The Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies

Pioneer Bank Foundation

WSP Foundation

*Includes In-Kind Donations

DONORS

TRANSFORMING

VIRTUOSO CIRCLE

($20,000 AND UP)

Roger & Sherley Hannay

MAESTRO CIRCLE

($10,000 - $19,999)

Shirley Miller

ENRICHING

BRAVO CIRCLE

($5,000 - $9,999)

Stefon & Shané Harris

Heather & David Manthey

Barry & Nancy Richman

Charles & Donna Slavik

George A. Vorsheim

FANFARE CIRCLE

($1,000 - $4,999)

Etienne Abelin

Kathleen & Richard Ahl

Robert & Patricia Altman

John & Beth Antonio*

Anastasia Arnold & Lee R. Boot

Al Aumick

Robert, Trish, & Griff

Bengraff

Kurt Bratten

Marlene Brody

Robert E. Brown

Eric Bryson & Gina Falzarano

Charles & Charlotte Buchanan

Jon & Rebecca Calos

Bianca & Philip Carter

David Casper

Sarah Cavanaugh

Helen Cha-Pyo & Daniel Pyo

Heather Chan

Robert & Mary Chase in memory of Erica

Chase-Salerno

Nicole Cherubini & Patrick Purcell

Paul & Mary Clyne

John Crable

Grace & Thomas Davitt

Patrick Doyle & Anne-Marie Gorman

Doyle

Suzanne Erb & Andrew

Bowd

Matie Flowers & Joe Visalli

James Fossett

James & Deborah Freis

Robin Gold

Maureen Gorman & Alan

Sykes

David & Patricia Gosda

John & Michelle Haller

Beverly Harrington

John & Harriet Hart

Walter Hayes & Jean

Brand Hayes

E. Stewart Jones & Kimberly Sanger Jones

Kathryn Lake

Kevin Lau & Karen Tan

Peter & Lori Lauricella

Susan & Michael Maloney*

Charles & Debra

McCambridge

Patty Michaelson & Walter Klisiwecz

Lee & Sharyn Miller

Paul D. Moore

Jagat & Jigisha Patel

Don & Lois Porter

Scott Provancher & Teresa Hoelle

Thomas F. Read

Brian Sacawa

Christopher Shiley

Larry Shore

Elizabeth Silver

Chang Sung & hang Byun

Liz & Noel Varghese

Marjorie & Russ Ward

Shu-lun & Dan Weinheimer

Omar Williams

Rory & Bonnie Wood

Rui Yang & Changlong

Zhong

Ellen Yu

Vicky Yu & Zhiqiang

Wang

SUSTAINING CONCERTMASTER CIRCLE ($500 - $999)

Nita & Rajesh Ahuja

Eric and Sharon Andersen

Anonymous

Alan & Eric Bare in memory of Lois Bare

Bernard & Margaret Bourdeau

Joan & David Brown

Ben & Sarah Chan

Haijun Chen and Dawei Liu

Barbara & Julian Cherubini

Alex & Christina Dell

Celeste & Marc Dickie

Lynn & Marc Edgar

Thomas & Alison Enokian

Anthony & Lucille

Esposito

Joanne & Jeffrey Gleba

Gareth Griffiths

Fred Hershey

Caitlin & Brendan Joyce

Kristin Knickerbocker & Jeffrey Bak

Michael Kolodziej & Regina Resta

Jill & Ted Kostyniak

Beatrice Kovasznay*

Ellen Liu & Martin Yan

Gaelen McCormick

Thomas McNamara

Joyce Michaelson

Craig Miller & Dalene

DeHaney-Miller

William & Elizabeth Moll

Kevin & Pat O'Bryan

Carlos Pesquera

Michael Range in memory of Sandrina Range

Thomas & Evelyn Read

Herbert & Cynthia Shultz

Alan Smith

Christopher Sohn & Sara Wengert

Lucinda Strasenburgh

Melissa Welch & Jason Kneaskern

Todd Wetzel

Ronghua Yu & We Zhang

Li Zhang & Claire Liu

Kathryn Zox

*Includes In-Kind Donations MAKE

THE JOYFUL PURSUIT OF MUSICAL EXCELLENCE

Our music is challenging and exciting, and offers endless opportunities for growth! We know that you understand the benefits ESYO brings to the Capital Region, and we are asking for your support as we continue to offer great musical opportunities to every child who wants them.

On average, our tuition covers just 40% of the actual cost of programming. Your donation supports musicians with financial constraints, and you are also supporting every ESYO musician. Your dollars allow us to continue providing amazing programming, master classes, teaching staff, touring and more. 57% of our contributions come from private donations from people like you. We quite literally cannot do it without you.

We need your support more than ever. Help us provide access to musical excellence and serious fun—for all children. We are so grateful for your gift!

Donate online at esyo.org, scan the QR code, or please return this form to:

Empire State Youth Orchestra

432 State St., Schenectady, NY 12305

Name ____________________________________________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________________________________________

E-mail ____________________________________ Phone ______________________________________

How would you like to be recognized in the ESYO playbill? _______________________________________

~ I would like to be anonymous

~ Enclosed please find my check in the amount of $ ___________

~ Please charge my credit card a total of $ ___________________

~ My employer will match my gift.

Card # ___________________________________________________

Expiration ______ / ______ Security Code _________________

Name as it appears on card ________________________________

Signature ________________________________________________

Your gift is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Thank you for your generous donation!

CHOOSE A SUPPORT LEVEL

TRANSFORMING

~ Virtuoso: $20,000 and up

~ Maestro: $10,000 - $19,999

ENRICHING

~ Bravo: $5,000 - $9,999

~ Fanfare: $1,000 - $4,499

SUSTAINING

~ Concertmaster: $500 - $999

~ Prelude: $100 - $499

~ Friends: Up to $99