The Capitol Symphonic Youth Orchestras
March
March
Dear TCSYO Families, Friends, and Supporters:
We are delighted to present this concert to you today. We’ve been hard at work in rehearsals, refining musical skills such as intonation, rhythmic accuracy, listening, blend, and group dynamics. We’ve been growing together as an ensemble, and the students have begun to work more cohesively.
We are looking forward to the rest of the season. We’re especially excited for String Ensemble’s collaboration with BYOV on April 13th, and the final concert of the season on May 11. Be on the lookout for audition materials for the 2024-2025 season and information about summer camp!
Thank you for your continued support and attendance today - enjoy the performance!
Sincerely,
Diana ChouApr 13, 2024: String Ensemble & BYOV @LBSS
9:00am-1:00pm. String Ensemble rehearses and performs with members of the Bay Area Youth Orchestras of Virginia at Lake Braddock Secondary School.
May 3, 2024: Chamber Music Concert
Grace Presbyterian Church, 7pm: Quartet, Trio, Duo, Sextet
May 11, 2024: Concert
Schlesinger Center: 3:30pm. All 5 orchestras and Percussion Ensemble
June 7-8, 2024: 2024-2025 Auditions
Symphonic and Chamber Orchestra will audition in-person. String Ensemble, Concert, and Prelude will submit video auditions. Check our website for more infomation!
June 24-28, 2024: Summer Camp @TBD
A week long day camp- 9am-noon.
Add our calendar (www.tcsyo.org/calendar.php)
to stay up to date on TCSYO events:
The Capitol Symphonic Youth Orchestras (TCSYO) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Fairfax County, Virginia. In 2010, TCSYO’s founders Dr. Cheri Collins and her husband, Mr. Michael Czuczor, organized a two-week long strings summer camp which has since grown into our current organization. Our orchestral program includes five orchestras from beginner to advanced levels and offers a place for all young musicians who want to play in an ensemble setting with other young musicians from around the DMV region.
In addition to our orchestras, TCSYO also features a growing chamber music program which focuses on music composed for small ensemble playing (i.e., string quartets). Percussionists in Symphonic Orchestra receive additional training and performance opportunities as members of the Percussion Ensemble. Symphonic Orchestra members are also eligible to participate in our annual Concerto Competition.
Chamber Orchestra (Mr. Austin Isaac, conductor) introduces young musicians to the masterpieces of the string orchestra repertoire from the Baroque era to current day. Chamber Orchestra focuses heavily on utilizing listening skills across sections to create the blend and balance in the orchestral sound. Students explore various styles of music as they are challenged to a more detailed oriented and mature level of music making. A variety of bowing techniques and historical styles are introduced. Advanced control of rubato, phrasing, and musicality are implemented as musicians focus on preparing for advancement to Symphonic Orchestra. Recommended for students with 4+ years of private instruction, VBODA Level 5-6/Suzuki Book 5+.
Symphonic Orchestra (Mrs. Anne Rupert, conductor), TCSYO’s most advanced orchestra, is composed of some of the best young musicians in the DMV region. Symphonic Orchestra introduces woodwinds, brass, and percussion sections and is dedicated to performing the greatest and most challenging works in the symphonic repertoire. Students are expected to show strong musicality, advanced technical skills on their instruments, and the discipline necessary to perform at an advanced level. Students will have regular sectional rehearsals with professional coaches who are among the finest performers and teachers in the area. Rehearsals are carried out with high expectations and students are expected to carry themselves in a professional manner. Recommended for students with 6+ years of private instruction, VBODA Level 6/Suzuki Book 6+.
Libertango Astor Piazzolla (1921–1992)
Sylvia Danner Joseph Stafford
Bailey Pavitt-Graff Immanuel Sun
Russlan and Ludmilla Overture
Three Norwegian Pieces
I. Intermezzo
II Springdans (Spring Dance)
III. Brureslatt (Bride’s Song)
Emerald Falcon
Mr. Kenneth Law, Director
String Sextet, No 2 Op 36
I. Allegro non troppo
Alexander Romanov, violin
Benjamina Bolger, violin
Adriana Bartoe, viola
Kerala Ryan, viola
Scheherazade
I. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship
II. The Story of the Kalendar Prince
IV. Festival at Baghdad. The Sea. The Ship Breaks against a Cliff Surmounted by a Bronze Horseman
Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)
Katie LaBrie (b. 1982)
Richard Meyer (b. 1952)
Johannes Brahms (1833 -1897)
Emma Howard, cello Jack Whiting, cello
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
Mrs. Anne Rupert, ConductorBenjamina Bolger, principal
Ruby Jarvis
Grace Kim
Jua Kim
Margaret Kisner
Talia Koubayati
Gabrielle Nguyen
Emily Pan
Aurelia Scogna
Santiago Talbot
Bora Yoon
Emily Zhou
Simone Ng, principal
Sophie Adolphs
Emmett Aiken
Alexandra Deacu
Eunhye Gray
Alyssa Hovis
Nathalie Kowalsky
Sagan Krezel
Gautam Murthi
Sarah Roelke
Kunwoo Yoon
Maya Smith, principal
Miya Crosby
Sophie Deacu
Evan Miranda
Jeremiah Yeh, principal
Jaxon Chan
Jason Cook
Shirlee Halstead
Colin Ko
Sophia Martinez
Alexander Misleh
Emelyn Royster
Jack Shield
Andy Ye
Kai MacQuarrie, principal
Benjamin Bethke
Ram Chaganti
Ramona Ban, concertmaster
Yewon Ahn
Cameron Chan
Alyssa Chen
Erin Choi
Eli Ethington
Eva Florio
Ashlee Halstead
Ryan Hong
Claire Kim
Leanna Leung
Mira Nair
Christopher Sung
Alanis Tiea
Matthew Webb
Sean Wittmer
Ivy Xu
Kerala Ryan, principal
Coco Ahn
Adriana Bartoe
James Braxton
Miya Grimard
Caelan Heron
Josephine Koh
Seolhee Park
Willie Straker
Beth Williams
James Chung, principal
Piper Anderson
Joanna Douthwaite
Zoya Ghantiwala
DJ Halstead
Mackenzie Hayden
Bill Huang
Emily Kim
Celina Liu
Amelia McCrann
Madison Moon
Claire Moon
Sarah Park
Alara Reza
Isaiah Royal
Siwen Shen
Ethan Yoon
Christine Hwang, principal
Isabelle An
William Choi
Andrew Halstead
Emma Howard
Kate Johnson
Lillian Kwon
Olivia Michael
Joon Woo Suk
Jack Whiting
Daniel Foote, principal
Ben Bailey
Reed Clifton
Srimaye Peddinti
Wylie Poist
Diego Tablett, principal
Luke Bradley
OBOE
Maya Moses, principal
Luke Sun
CLARINET
Andy Zhang, principal
Franco Abud
Gabi Konde
Calvin Qi
BASSOON
AJ Cotto-Rivera, principal
Alex Childs, principal
Noah Roberts
Juniper Jones
Alexander Romanov, principal
Arda Alpan
Ruku Day
Miriam Jesse
TROMBONE
Donovan Chong, principal
PERCUSSION
Bailey Pavitt-Graff, principal
Sylvia Danner
Joseph Stafford
Immanuel Sun
HARP
Marlena Lambrecht, principal
"Piazzolla was born in Argentina, but moved with his parents in 1924 to New York City, living in Greenwich Village, immersing himself in the musical culture and atmosphere of the great city. Jazz, classical music, the blues - all were his métier - all the while his family exposed him to traditional Argentine music at home. And although he and his Argentine accordion, rather like a concertina), it was indeed in New York City that hi from a pawnshop, little Ástor’s first bandoneón. All the w classical music, simultaneously composing his first tangos. A meeting with the tango immortal, Carlos Gardel (of Por una Cabeza fame), cemented his life-long dedication to the genre.”
“He moved back to Argentina in 1936, and there ensued a long and remarkable career as composer of tangos and performer in myriad musical groups all the while pursuing a side interest in classical musical composition. Moving well ahead in his career, by the early fifties he was immersed in the study of Stravinsky and Bartók, studying composition with Ginastera, listening to lots of jazz, and composing “classical” music. In 1953 he won a major prize with a symphony that he had composed, and was off to Paris to study with the famed Nadia Boulanger teacher of such luminaries as Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, and Elliott Carter. Savvy woman that she was, she disabused Piazolla of dreams of becoming another Bartók, and insisted that he must acknowledge his brilliance in the tango, and to follow it for his success And so he did, but not without taking with him his deep engagement with the techniques of jazz, blues, and complicated contemporary art music. The result was his unique style, what is often called tango nuevo.”
“Libertango is one of Piazolla’s most popular compositions, recorded by artists in over five hundred releases. The title alludes to Piazolla’s conscious artistic shift -or liberation, if you will - from traditional tango style to the new “Tango Nuevo ” And that will be easy to hear in this alluring composition, which, while obviously preserving so many of the beloved musical elements of traditional tango, nevertheless strikes out in new artistic directions. Traditional rhythms are often eschewed for new ones, but without losing the innate intensity of the genre. Novel is the incorporation of Piazolla’s signature chromatic harmony, forming the foundation of for the soaring, romantic lyric lines intrinsic to the tango. It’s all a refreshing take on an old beloved style.” © 2017 William E. Runyan
“Before there was Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, RimskyKorsakov, and even Mussorgsky, there was Glinka The latter is the precursor of all the great Russian composers so familiar to today’s concertgoer, but ironically, in this country, he is known to audiences for only one composition: the sparkling overture to his opera, Ruslan and Lyudmila Composer of many songs, chamber works, and other compositions, his major contributions to m that opera (1842) and his earlier opera, A Life for the Tsar (1836). Both works are infused with Russian elements - musical and narrative - and are ample evidence of his position as the father of the Russian nationalist school.”
“A Life for the Tsar was a great success, and paved the way for his treatment of Pushkin’s Ruslan and Lyudmila. Pushkin was not able to collaborate with the composer, owing to the poet’s death in an ill-advised duel, but, Glinka worked with others, and the fantastic tale of magic, sorcerers, and the supernatural became his second opera. And it must be said, that in it a tradition that leads right through Rimsky-Korsakov and on to Stravinsky was born: innovative harmonies and scales, supernatural tales, brilliant orchestration all in the service of dramatic music. Unfortunately, the opera was not a great success, its structural weaknesses, complicated plot, and the rising popularity of Italian opera in Russia led to its relative obscurity. The overture did survive, however, and it became a worthy chestnut of the orchestral literature.” © 2015
"Richard Meyer is a highly sought after music educator and maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician. For 35 years he taught string students at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels in the public schools. For 22 of those years, he directed the orchestras at Oak Avenue Intermediate School in Temple City, California, growing the program from 29 string students to 200 and was in charge of the city’s elementary stringprogram.In2009,Mr.Meyerimplementedthe“GivingBach”programathis schoolwhichhasgarnerednationalattentionforitsinnovativewaysofusinginteractive concertstobringmusicintothelivesofspecialneedsandinner-cityschoolstudents throughoutSouthernCalifornia."
-AlfredMusic."RichardMeyer."https://www.alfred.com/authors/richard-meyer/
“TheEmeraldFalconisanexcitingoverturemeanttorepresentaclassicsuperheroand writteninthestyleofendcreditstoamovie.Dark,unexpectedharmonicshiftsdominate thepiece,writteninclassicABAform.Allsectionsoftheorchestraarefeaturedinthis tour-de-force,astherichmelodicmaterialisgenerouslypassedfrominstrumentto instrument.”
-Meyer,Richard.TheEmeraldFalcon.ConductorScore.Highland/EtlingPublishing,a divisionofAlfredMusicPublishing,2011.
TCSYO is excited and honored to be collaborating with conductor, cellist, clinician, and composer-in-residence, Mrs. Katie LaBrie.
An educator at heart, Mrs. LaBrie spent the first 15 years of her career teaching orchestra in Fairfax County, VA In her capacity as an orchestra director she enjoyed creating a variety of fulfilling experiences for her students, from Fiddle Days to Rock Shows, Summer Camps to Trips around the East Coast, performances at the Virginia State Music Educators Conference and in collaboration with the Detmold Jugendorchester of Detmold, Germany. In 2022, she was honored as one of Yamaha’s “40 Under 40,” for her action, courage, creativity, and commitment to growth in the music education field.
Mrs LaBrie holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from St Olaf College and a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from George Mason University. Her primary conducting teachers include Anthony Maiello, Steven Amundson & Timothy Mahr, as well as David Carter on cello.
In addition to her love of teaching Mrs LaBrie is a published composer and arranger, and is the editor for the Orchestra Division of Randall Standridge Music Publications. As a composer, Mrs. LaBrie enjoys creating new music with the goal of being educationally sound, pleasing to audiences, and above all, fun for the players. She finds inspiration from many sources, including family and nature, but primarily draws from her students and her own experiences as a music educator Her compositions have received many accolades, including frequent selection as J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice, as well as performances at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Directors Clinic and at the American String Teachers Association National Conference.
Mrs. LaBrie is a member of NAFME, ASTA, and ASCAP. She is an active guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician. She has presented clinics on: New Music (VMEA 2015, VA DoE 2019), "Practicing with Purpose: What's the Big IDEA?" (FCPS 2017, VMEA 2017, ASTA 2021, NCMEA 2022 Midwest 2022), and “How to Win Rehearsals & Influence Students” (ASTA 2022, MMEA 2022, NCMEA 2022, VBODA 2022).
Mrs LaBrie is the founding conductor of the Fairfax Chamber Players and the cocreator of "the Big I.D.E.A." practice method (www.PracticeWithPurpose.net). She lives in Fairfax with her husband Joe who is a middle school band director, and their eight year-old budding musician, Liam.
More information can be found on Mrs LaBrie’s website: https://www.katieoharalabrie.com/
Brahms’ String Sextet No. 2 was composed betwe 1864-1865 and was first performed in Boston, Massachusetts on October 11, 1866. In the five ye between the completion of his first and second sextets, Brahms composed a number of important works that tracked his growth as a composer including the mammoth Piano Concerto No. 1. His second sextet puts on display the compositional growth and maturity he experienced in those years.
“The first movement, Allegro non troppo, opens with a quiet murmur accompanying a long, leaping melody. Its opening pairs of notes (each at the interval of five notes on the scale), also characterize some of the subjects of the later movements, giving a strong sense of unity to the whole work. After the flowing grace of the second theme, there is a complex, powerful passage that introduces an important new motive. The German letter-designations for its notes, A-G-A-D-B-E, almost spell "Agathe," the name of a young woman with whom he fell in love in 1858 and to whom he was secretly engaged. They did not marry, and the memory of their youthful attachment was an emotional burden on both of them for years. Brahms once pointed out the passage to a friend and said, "With this, I freed myself from my last love.””
-Burkat, Leonard Sextet No 2, in G major, Op 36 Program notes from NY Phil Shelby White & Leon Levy Digital Archives https://archives nyphil org/index php/artifact/53fc144f-6f2e-41cbb64c-ae9a5faa80ad-0 1/fullview#page/1/mode/2up
“Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s career stood in the very center of Russian musical life of the second half of the nineteenth century. His first career was in the Russian navy, but he soon garnered success in music. Known primarily for his fifteen operas, he was instrumental in the rising importance of that genre in Russia. In addition to his fame and influence as a composer, he was also head of the conservatory in St. Petersburg - his statue dominates the little park directly across the street from the conservatory and the famed Mariinsky Theatre. In the West, of course, we know him primarily for his symphonic overtures and the tone poem, Scheherazade. His ability as an orchestrator and teacher of orchestration is
one of his many legacies - Igor Stravinsky was one of his students. In fact, much of the marvelous musical atmosphere that audiences adore in Stravinsky’s early ballets, the Rite of Spring, Firebird, and Petrouchka, lead directly back to Rimsky-Korsakov and the orchestral style of his operas. And it is of no small interest that there are sections in Debussy’s La Mer and Ravel’s Daphnis et Cloé that seem lifted right out of Scheherazade. A fascination with the exotic, with non-Western subject matter was a prime characteristic of Romanticism, and Russian music of the late nineteenth century is exemplary of this predilection.”
“Scheherazade, completed in 1888, is a musical depiction of the well-known story, One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. The eponymous heroine must entertain her bridegroom, the murderous sultan, with continuous intriguing tales in order to forestall the arrival of the executioner who had beheaded a thousand previous wives the morning after their successive marriages. While Rimsky-Korsakov more or less disclaimed his well-known reputation for his evocative musical orientalism, his abilities therein certainly created a triumph of exotic atmosphere in Scheherazade. The four movements - following their titles, which Rimsky-Korsakov later withdrew - depict specific stories of Scheherazade, the Sultana. We can follow loosely the narrative, for Scheherazade is represented by the elaborate, highly figured violin solo that constantly weaves in and out of the texture as the stories unfold. The composer makes ample use of other solo instruments throughout the suite, combined with a rich, colorful orchestral texture that carries it all. The last movement ties all the tales and stories together by juxtaposing the principal themes from the preceding movements in a smashing climax.“
© 2015 William E. RunyanJake Harpster currently holds the position of Percussionist/Assistant Principal Timpanist for The United States Army Concert Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, D.C.
As a performer, Harpster is known for his diverse background. In the Broadway idiom, Harpster has presented concerts across the globe. He was the featured marimba soloist and percussionist of the Tony and Emmy award-winning production “BLAST.” With this show, he toured the United States, South Korea, and all forty seven prefectures in Japan. As a soloist and chamber musician, Harpster has won many awards and international competitions, and has presented concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. An enthusiast of contemporary music, he is actively commissioning and premiering many new works each year. Prior to his post in The United States Army Band, he served as a Percussionist in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and held the AACA Timpani Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival.
As an educator, Harpster has taught many notable ensembles and schools across the country. Prior to his position in Washington DC with TCSYO, Harpster taught the percussionists of the DCI World Champion, and Fred Sanford Percussion Award-winning Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps. He has also instructed at the University of North Texas, Coppell High School (Coppell, TX), Center Grove High School (Indianapolis, IN), and Marian Catholic High School (Chicago, IL), among many others.
Harpster received his Master of Music in Percussion Performance with related-field work in Contemporary Music Performance from the University of North Texas. He served as a Teaching Fellow throughout his graduate studies. He received his Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Upon graduating from IU, Harpster was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate.
Mr. Austin Isaac is the high school orchestra director at Lake Braddock Secondary School (LBSS) and is also the lead of the orchestra Collaborative team at LBSS. He has taught orchestra at the elementary and secondary levels in both public and private schools in Virginia. He received his B.M. from James Madison University with a concentration in instrumental education and his Master’s Degree in Education from George Mason University. He has been commissioned and has written works for string orchestra, full orchestra, and choir. In addition to being a published composer with Wingert-Jones Publications, Austin has served as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for honor orchestras and state assessment performances in various regions of Virginia.
As a double bassist, Austin has been an active performer in a variety of orchestras in the Northern Virginia area. He has co-presented on improvisation in the instrumental classroom at the Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA) in-service conference and has served on the VBODA Orchestra State Grading Committee. He has served as the regional orchestra representative for the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association (VBODA), the manager for the All Virginia Orchestra, and he also serves on the Council for Music Education for VMEA in addition to being the chairman of the orchestra sight reading committee for VBODA. Under his direction, the Lake Braddock Middle School Chamber Orchestra was invited to perform at the 2016 annual VMEA In-Service Conference and the Lake Braddock Symphony Orchestra was invited to perform at the 2020 Music For All National Orchestra Festival.
Mr. Kenneth Law
Although cellist Kenneth Law enjoys a diverse career as performer, teacher and author, he considers himself first and foremost a chamber musician. He is a member of the Main Street Chamber Players and Trio Peridot, and cellist with the Ritz Chamber Players, Colour of Music Festival and Gateways Music Festival. Abroad, Mr. Law has performed chamber music concerts at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Holland and Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, as well as concerts in England, France, Scotland, Panama and Puerto Rico. In the US, he has performed at the Washington Performing Arts Club, the Italian and German Embassies in Washington, D.C., the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jazz at Lincoln Center Concert Series, Library of Congress in Washington, DC, Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York City. He has collaborated with such artists as Earl Carlyss (Juilliard String Quartet), Michael Tree (Guarneri Quartet), Ying String Quartet, Norman Carroll (concertmaster emeritus, Philadelphia Orchestra) and violinist Diane Monroe, and has recorded orchestral and chamber music for Albany Records, and the New Albion and Telarc labels. In March of 2006, Mr. Law was featured on the nationally televised NAACP Image Awards as a member of the Ritz Chamber Players. In his home state of South Carolina, Mr. Law has performed at the Piccolo Spoleto Music Festival in Charleston, SC, as a member of the Converse Trio, and subsequently as a member of Ensemble Argos and the Polaris Piano Trio.
Along with co-author Dr. Christina Placilla, the publication, We Are The Music Makers: Volume I: A Graded Guide to Chamber MusicString Quartets was published in 2013, and is the first in a multivolume set that will cover the myriad combinations of chamber music. The guide serves as a resource for chamber music coaches when needing to assign repertoire to an ensemble whose individual members are of varying levels of proficiency.
Most recently, Mr. Law was invited to join the faculty of the New England Music Camp in Sidney, Maine for the 2022 summer season.
Anne Rupert is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where she earned degrees in Cello Performance and Instrumental Music Education. Mrs. Rupert has enjoyed a very long and successful public-school teaching career in Fairfax
County Public Schools where she has taught at Oakton High School, Franklin Middle School, Rachel Carson Middle School and now Robinson Secondary School where she has been teaching the high school and advanced middle school orchestra classes since 2006. Additionally, from 1999-2011 and 2014 – 2017 she was the Music Director and Youth Symphony Orchestra director of the Youth Orchestras of Prince William (YOPW).
Mrs. Rupert's orchestras have consistently received Superior Ratings and Best Overall Orchestra Awards at District and National competitions in the United States and Canada. In June 2006, Mrs. Rupert made her Carnegie Hall conducting debut with YOPW’s Youth Symphony Orchestra, earning a Gold Rating at the New York Youth Orchestra Festival.
Since 1989 Mrs. Rupert has been a member of the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra cello section, where she also served as Music Librarian from 2003-2007. She performs frequently as a freelance cellist in the Washington D.C. Metro Area and maintains a small private cello studio in her home. Mrs. Rupert is the 1994 and 2010 recipient of the American String Teachers Association Virginia Chapter (VASTA) Outstanding Orchestra Director Award, the 2006 Kathleen Seefeldt Award for Musical Excellence in Prince William County, the 2007 Award for Outstanding Service to the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and the 2008and 2012-People’s Choice Awards at Robinson Secondary School.
Since 1994, Mrs. Rupert has served as guest conductor to many of the All County, Junior Regional Orchestra and Junior/Senior District orchestras in Virginia, North Carolina, and Connecticut, and the Junior All State Orchestra in Maryland. She has been on the conducting staff at various summer and special festivals including the Greater Washington Suzuki Summer Institute, the UNCG Summer Music Camp and JMU Spring
String Thing. She frequently adjudicates at State Orchestra Assessments and Solo and Ensemble Festivals across VA and in MD. Mrs. Rupert holds active memberships with NAfME, VBODA and ASTA.
Mrs. Rupert lives in Clifton, VA with her husband Greg and their family of five sons and furry friend, Rascal. She thanks you for the opportunity to serve you in this capacity and appreciates your support of these students’ musical endeavors. She is grateful to share her love of music with such talented and dedicated students and families.
Mr. Eric Hoang is a native of Falls Church, VA and earned his Bachelor of Music degree from George Mason University where he studied with Roger Behrend, Anthony Maiello and John Casagrande. He also holds a Master of Music degree in tuba performance from Ithaca College studying with Dr. Aaron Tindall.
Mr. Hoang started his teaching career as the assistant band director at Alexandria City High School in Alexandria, VA. He then served as Director of Bands at Gar-Field High School in Woodbridge, VA for four years and as associate band director at Robinson Secondary School. Mr. Hoang just completed his eighth year as Director of Bands at West Springfield High School in Springfield, VA. During his tenure at WSHS, the Wind Symphony performed as a featured ensemble at the Music for All National Concert Band Festival, the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference and the Mid-Atlantic Concert Band Festival. He was also the recipient of the 2016 West Springfield HS PTSA Teacher of the Year award.
Mr. Hoang has been involved in music education at all levels from elementary to collegiate during his career. He was also on the staff of the Youth Orchestras of Prince William serving as director of the Wind Symphony. He is a member of the National Association for Music Education, Virginia Music Educators Association, and Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society. Mr. Hoang currently resides in Centreville, VA with his wife Kailey and their beloved daughter Genevieve.
Kenneth Lee, clarinetist, is an independent studio teacher in Vienna, Virginia. He holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Economics from Cornell University, and has held a Graduate Research Fellowship with the Smithsonian Institution. He is a clarinet student of Leon Russianoff of the Juilliard School, and was a member of The United States Army Band, Solo Clarinetist of the Baroque Arts Chamber Orchestra, Friday Morning Music Club Orchestra, Arlington Symphony, and, as a member of the Anechoic Wind Quintet, presented Concerts in the Schools under the auspices of the Washington Performing Arts Society. He teaches over forty clarinet students privately and many of his students have been recognized at the national level. Graduating high school seniors have been awarded major scholarships in clarinet performance at prestigious institutions such as Juilliard, the Cleveland Institute, Eastman, Michigan, Oberlin, New England Conservatory, Rice University, and many other institutions. His students have been featured as Concerto Soloists with the National Symphony Orchestra and the United States Air Force Band. For 30 years he was Clarinet and Woodwind Specialist with James Madison High School in Vienna, Virginia. He has been awarded Permanent Professional Certification by the Virginia Music Teachers Association.
Mr. Lee has served twice as President of the Northern Virginia Music Teachers Association and the Virginia Music Teachers Association. In October 2000, he was designated by the Virginia Music Teachers Association as its nominee for the first national “Music Teacher of the Year” selection of the Music Teachers National Association. From 2001 to 2003, he served as National Chair of the Independent Music Teachers Forum of the MTNA, with bi-monthly columns appearing in The American Music Teacher. He is a frequent speaker at MTNA National Conventions. His article on “Developing the Independent Studio” appears in Woodwind Players Cookbook: Recipes for a Successful Performance, published by Meredith Press. He is the author of Clarinet Express, A Method for Clarinet, edited by Ben Ryer.
Ad Fontes Academy ♪ Battlefield High School ♪ Bonnie Brae Elementary School ♪ Bull Run Elementary School ♪ Canterbury Woods Elementary School ♪ Cardinal Forest Elementary School ♪ Centreville Elementary School
♪ Centreville High School ♪ Chantilly High School ♪ Cherry Run
Elementary School ♪ Churchill Road Elementary School ♪ Clearview
Elementary School ♪ Colgan High School ♪ Colin L. Powell Elementary School ♪ Cooper Middle School ♪ Cornerstone Christian Academy ♪
Courthouse Road Elementary School ♪ Courtland High School ♪ Daniels Run Elementary School ♪ Discovery Elementary School ♪ Dorothy Ham
Middle School ♪ Edison High School ♪ Fairfax High School ♪ Fairview
Elementary School ♪ Falls Church High School ♪ Flint Hill Elementary School ♪ Franklin Middle School ♪ Freedom High School ♪ Frost Middle School ♪ Gainesville High School ♪ Greenbriar West Elementary School ♪
H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program ♪ Hayfield Secondary School ♪ Herndon High School ♪ Hunters Woods Elementary School ♪ Irving Middle School ♪
James Madison High School ♪ John Champe High School ♪ Katherine
Johnson Middle School ♪ Keene Mill Elementary School ♪ Kilmer Middle School ♪ Kings Glen Elementary School ♪ Lake Braddock Secondary School ♪ Lake Ridge Middle School ♪ Langley High School ♪ Laurel Ridge
Elementary School ♪ Lees Corner Elementary School ♪ Liberty Middle School ♪ Longfellow Middle School ♪ Luther Jackson Middle School ♪
Madison High School ♪ Mantua Elementary School ♪ Marshall High School ♪ Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School ♪ McLean High School ♪
Meadowland Elementary School ♪ Mercer Middle School ♪ Meridian High School ♪ Mosaic Elementary School ♪ Navy Elementary School ♪ Nysmith School ♪ Oak Hill Elementary School ♪ Oak View Elementary School ♪
Oakcrest School ♪ Oakton Elementary School ♪ Oakton High School ♪
Orange Hunt Elementary School ♪ Osbourn Park High School ♪ Poplar Tree Elementary School ♪ Potomac Falls High School ♪ Rachel Carson Middle School ♪ Robinson Secondary School ♪ Rockville High School ♪ Rocky Run Middle School ♪ Rolling Valley Elementary School ♪ Saint John Paul the Great High School ♪ Sangster Elementary School ♪ South County High School ♪ South Lakes High School ♪ Spring Hill Elementary School ♪ St
Anthony of Padua ♪ St. Leo the Great Catholic School ♪ St. Louis Catholic School ♪ St. Mark Catholic School ♪ Stone Hill Middle School ♪ Sunrise Valley Elementary School ♪ Swanson Middle School ♪ Terra Centre
Elementary School ♪ The Heights School ♪ The Potomac School ♪ Thomas Jefferson Middle School ♪ Thoreau Middle School ♪ TJHSST ♪ W. T.
Woodson High School ♪ Wakefield High School ♪ Waples Mill Elementary School ♪ West Springfield High School ♪ Westbriar Elementary School ♪
Westfield High School ♪ White Oaks Elementary School ♪ Wittenberg Academy ♪ Wolftrap Elementary School
AspecialthankyoutoourBoardofDirectorsandstaff:
Lee Anne Bache Cheri Collins Michael Czucor
SarahGeiger JonathanLund
Barbara Dobberstein
Beverly Gowins
Catharina Meyers
Claire Allen
Lara Buchko
Hillary Ford
Gerald Fowkes
Danita Grundvig
Austin Johnson
Laura Kobayashi
Joshua Kowalsky
Harold Levin
Stephen Matthie
Brian Morton
Larry Oates
Hannah Price
Dereck Scott
Anna Sengstack
Holly Taylor
Thankyoutooursupporters:
Lake Braddock Secondary School
Katherine Johnson Middle School
Eastman School of Music
Foxes Music
George Mason University Dewberry School of Music
Houghton University Greatbatch School of Music
Ithaca College School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
James Madison University School of Music
Manassas Symphony Orchestra
NOVEC
Shenandoah Conservatory
Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Music
Donors
John Morris Alford
Jennifer Goeglein
John & Robbin Miranda
Lawrence & Courtnay Waite
SpecialthankstothefollowingKJMSteachers:
Charlie Burts
Kelly Harbison
Anna Sengstack
Gregory Stowers