Sponsor
GREAT NEWS!!
Our legislators heard us and took action! Thanks to the combined efforts of SOGO volunteers and people from all across the state coordinated by Inspire Washington, the legislature eliminated the sales tax on our tuition effective July 1. Thank you to everyone who reached out to your legislators on this issue.
Milt Harper, President
SOGO Celebrates...
The SOGO Spring concert will be a celebration of all the good work each orchestra and each orchestra member has done throughout the 25-26 season with the support of their fine Teaching Artists and Conductors. Highlights will include a salute to our graduating seniors: SOGO alumni and soloists Dillon Welch (2009) and Elliot Weeks (2011); “buzzing” Conservatory flute section members (Gracie Park, Serenia Thibodeaux, Karina Bone, and Karlotte Meuse) playing Flight of the Bumble Bee with their Flute Teaching Artist Erin Happenny accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra. The Conservatory Orchestra will bookend its performance with Fanfare 250 by Noah Taylor and Berlioz’s Hungarian March to send us all out in a festive mood. In the middle will be What a Wonderful World and “Shelter for My Child.”
The Philharmonic and Academy Orchestras, along with the Brass Choir, will complete the program with expressive performances of classical gems and adventurous contemporary works.
And, a reminder that the fine work by the Debut Orchestra will be celebrated in the Black Box at their 2:30 p.m. concert with MOJO groups!
I attended last year’s League of American Orchestras conference in Salt Lake City. World-renowned soprano and arts
advocate, Renée Flemming was a keynote speaker. The topic was Music and the Mind and the positive effects of music and music making for all of us mentally, socially, and physically. As I listened to speakers and panel discussions around that topic, the composer Lucas Richman and the Paths to Dignity Project kept being referenced. Those of us in the music education community have been very aware of the research linking the positive effects of music and learning to play an instrument for decades. This project is allowing us at SOGO to put that knowledge into practice. We plan that this will be only the beginning of conversations and collaborations between homeless advocacy organizations and our local musical institutions as well as a continued focus on the intersections of music and health.
We are so very excited and proud to share the students’ work on May 17. It is a great joy to be involved with so many wonderful students and their families and we never take it for granted. I know I speak for all of the SOGO artistic faculty, administrative staff, and board of directors when I say we are thankful beyond words to be involved in this good work creating beauty together - so, let the music begin!
Where words fail, music speaks. ~ Hans Christian Anderson
Meet the Soloist!
SOGO is delighted to welcome home professional violinist Dillon Welch, a SOGO 2009 alum. His musical path has taken him from concertmaster roles and symphony positions across the country to a fellowship with the New World Symphony, performances with the Louisiana Philharmonic, and now the Louisville Orchestra.
On May 17, Dillon will solo in the third movement, “Shelter for My Child,” from Paths to Dignity by Lucas Richmond. In the week leading up to the concert, he’ll visit senior centers, schools, Panorama, and the Olympia Union Gospel Mission, sharing the music and the composer’s intent with the wider community. Making music accessible in unexpect-
ed places is central to Dillon’s love of performing.
Offstage, he’s an avid reader, cyclist, trivia regular, Oscar-film watcher—and remarkably good at the New York Times Crossword. We’re so proud to have him back on our stage.
DILLON WELCH
SOGO Alum
SOGO 2020 ALUM - Jaymes - Enjoying the Portland Music Scene!
Jaymes Klein graduated from SOGO and OHS in the spring of 2020 amidst a fullblown pandemic. Prior to that time, he was a soloist on several occasions with the orchestra. In December of 2019, just before all rehearsals and concerts were shut down, he was the featured piccolo trumpet soloist in the Messiah Sing-Along, performing “The Trumpet Shall Sound”. Despite the disappointment of missing the last few months of his senior year, Jaymes’s time with SOGO, under the mentorship of Greg Allison and Ed Sandor, provided an invaluable foundation for his emerging musical career.
Call the Center’s box office at 360.753.8586 or go online using the QR code.
SOGO 2026 GRADUATES!
They’re heading in wildly different directions - civil engineering, pastry arts, fish ecology, architecture, the Air Force, the Navy, music therapy, teaching, and beyond—but they carry the same lesson with
TSince graduating, Jaymes has become proficient on keyboards, vocals, guitar, bass and drums and has recorded a series of original
songs playing all instruments, in addition to writing the lyrics, and performing the vocals. He has also assembled a group, called Jaymes Band, that performs his work and he has taken on the role of organizing shows featuring his band and other local groups at multiple venues in the Portland area. In addition to performing with his own band, Jaymes plays as a side man in other Portland-based groups. He has recently produced an album, titled “Makeup Marathon”, that was released in March of 2026.
Among other benefits, SOGO has given Jaymes the building blocks to collaborate successfully with other musicians and to confidently perform in public. He is incredibly grateful for his time with SOGO and will undoubtedly continue to build on that experience. More to come!
hank you to all the foundations and grantors for their support during this season: Act1 Theatre, Arts Fund - Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Charneski Charitable Fund, Community Foundation of South Puget Sound, David & Sally Allen Family Foundation, Dawkins Charitable Trust, Goldberg Family Charitable Foundation, Inspire Olympia, Nisqually Indian Tribe, WA State Arts Commission, WA State Federation of Music Clubs.
them: SOGO changed how they see themselves and how they connect with others.
The 2026 seniors describe SOGO the same way you’d describe a favorite relative: a little loud, a little dorky, endlessly supportive, and impossible not to love.
Most string bows are made from pernambuco, a special tree that grows only in Brazil. For many years, these trees have been threatened by deforestation and illegal cutting, which puts the species at risk.
In 2025, leaders from around the world met to decide how to better protect pernambuco. Some worried that strict rules might stop musicians from traveling with their bows.
Luckily, a balanced solution was reached.
New rules will help track and protect pernambuco wood, while still allowing musicians to travel with their bows for concerts, lessons, competitions, and repairs. Buying or selling bows across countries will need extra paperwork, but playing music will not.
This matters because music depends on healthy forests, and forests need thoughtful care. Protecting pernambuco helps ensure
Hunter Downing, bass, learned that not being the best is sometimes the best place to be. Sitting next to people who know more means you never stop learning. Isabel Arslanian, violin, discovered that a little practice every day can carry you through life and that you should always talk to the stand partner who might become your closest friend!
Riley Cuddeford, cello, sums it up in one word: fun. Ray Sterlin-Stephens treasures not one big moment, but the steady rhythm of rehearsals and friendships built over time. Alexander Jon McBride found that persistence works for French horn and croissants alike!
Emmilia Brooks emphasizes that music is a creative outlet for self-expression, and Kyan Porter has learned from it that he wants to lead his life with passion and energy. For Samuel Reymer, his dream was to be in the top SOGO orchestra, and he still remembers the moment he made the Conservatory Orchestra and felt truly seen.
In the end, they learned what they said from the start: music really is beauty made together!
that future musicians can keep making music with great bows, while also caring for the natural world that makes them possible.
In 2011, SOGO brought a special story to life with The Little Pernambuco Tree, written by R.L. Ray and beautifully illustrated in watercolor by students. This charming book celebrates music, creativity, and the spirit of young artists. Be sure to pick up your copy at the May 17 concert - available for just $12.95!
Pictured: Front Row L-R Emmilia B., Isabel A., Ray S., Jaela D. Back Row L-R Hunter D., Noah H., Kyan P., Samuel R., Myah G., Riley C., Matthew S., Karlotte M., Alex M. Not pictured: Jo B., Simon D.
SOGO 2020
2026