Our NEW Youth Orchestra Conductor

AMAZING NEWS! We finally have our new Youth Orchestra conductor! Mr. Andres Moran is the director of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Symphony Orchestra and a horn teacher. He was a resident conductor of the El Paso Symphony and also music director of the El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestras. Mr. Moran has a Doctorate of Music from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Music from New Mexico State University. Our coaching team and hiring committee met with Mr. Moran several times before making our decision and we are all excited about having him join our team next season. He brings with him a great passion for music education, wonderful ideas about engaging our community, and impressive technical skills on the podium. "I'm very excited to be joining the Fox Valley Youth Symphony team!” says Mr. Moran. “Throughout the hiring process, I was impressed with the level of commitment and passion that the staff and board have for this program. I can't wait to start working with our young musicians in the fall, and I look forward to getting to know more members of the Fox Valley community through our performances." Please join me in welcoming Mr. Moran to the Youth Orchestra!

Art from the Classroom to the Concert Hall

Students across Appleton have been diving deep into the music of our upcoming concert.  Big Arts in the Little Apple is a community collaboration coordinated in partnership with The Building for Kids Children’s Museum and the Appleton Area School District to give students the opportunity to explore the intersection of music and the visual arts. 

As part of the program, elementary students at 17 schools learned about and listened to this autobiographical tone poem by Richard Strauss, and then took that inspiration to their visual arts classrooms to create art in response.  Over 600 of these students submitted their work for consideration and the top 50 to be featured at the Saturday, November 19^th concert when the symphony performs this epic piece.

In addition to the elementary students, high schoolers at the Appleton Career Academy participated in a Music and Art Fusion Seminar developed by Elyse Lucas.  After a few days exploring the piece of music in depth, these students wrote proposals for the creation of three dimensional works of art made with repurposed instruments.  These sculptures will

Don’t miss this opportunity to see the creativity of our local students and experience Ein Heldenleben in person with your Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, November 19^th.  Buy your tickets online today.

Every now and then, we get a letter in the mail that makes us smile. I just had to share this one! Love it!

Dear Fox Valley Symphony,

We could not carry a note if it possessed the proverbial handle on its back. We have never been exposed to symphonic music, until my suddenly out-of-town boss gave us his tickets to a FVS performance about 15 years ago.    Quite frankly we were surprised we enjoyed it.  I believe we felt the need to play The Grateful Dead extremely loud on the way home, just to be certain we were okay.

We have been season ticket holders for about a decade now and have learned not to be the first ones to applaud.  We enjoy your humor and obvious connection with both the audience and the musicians.  I have found tears rolling down my cheeks, and have seen my other half with tilted head and closed eyes trying to deceipher each instruments' contribution. 

The Celebrate Spring concert was truly one of our favorites.  While Nazer Dzhuryn was amazing, Copland's Appalachian Spring Suite gave sound and substance to unspoken sorrow of loved ones gone, yet later providing hope of their legacy within those remaining.  Ravel's Bolero was quite fascinating to hear unfold, growing in strength and depth along the way. 

While the music sheets you command will always be written in a foreign language to us, we appreciate you building a place which is warm and welcoming for all to experience this music.

Thank you!

No, thank YOU, M, for truly making our day (week, month)! :)

A View from the Stage: Progress in Philharmonia

(This week's guest blogger is Adam Brown, Fox Valley Symphony Youth Orchestra's Philharmonia conductor.)

This is my third year as conductor of the Philharmonia, and each year has offered its own unique combination of successes, challenges, and opportunities for the students to grow as an orchestra. When I first entered the position in late spring 2012, the students had already gone through their auditions and I hadn’t met or heard them (beyond the ones who were there for my interview, many of whom were in the previous year’s ensemble). I had to rely on Greg Austin’s (Concert Orchestra conductor) experience listening to them try out, as well as his experience with the Philharmonia-level repertoire, to help me prepare for the early fall retreat and the first concert. Greg was, and continues to be, a tremendous resource of expertise and insight into the past performances of pieces in the FVSO library. By around the time the students were preparing for their spring “mini-tour,” I was finally starting to feel like I knew what I was doing, more or less! I also knew from my years of teaching that I would soon have to start from scratch, listening to many new members auditioning in (or up, to Concert Orchestra). It was a bittersweet time, offering congratulations and well wishes for good auditions that, if successful, would mean that I would no longer be working with those students.

For the second year, I wanted to build on what I saw as a successful first year while offering some different experiences, especially for students who had been in Philharmonia the year before. I tried to offer more solo opportunities, and watched students step up to leadership roles as they challenged themselves to learn these. I also programmed a piece by a living American composer (Magen Miller Frasier), and made the bold statement that the orchestra could do a “distance rehearsal” using software like Skype, even before I had tried to contact the composer! Thankfully, she was very generous with her time and praise of the students, and even requested permission to put their performance of her piece on her website. It was a great moment for the students to have a direct connection with the music-making process that I hope they always remember.

As this year began with the auditions, I was stuck by two things: how the orchestra overall seemed a bit younger, and how incredibly violin-heavy it was! This presented a challenge selecting repertoire that I thought would complement the sounds and strengths of the other sections, while also being appropriately difficult and different from the previous years. For the first time, I chose pieces that feature guest percussionists, a role that has been graciously filled by members of the Youth Orchestra percussion section. I’ve also seen the smaller viola, cello, and bass sections rise to the occasion and play with a strong, confident sound that allows for better balance. 

On days when the orchestra has sectionals (three times for each concert cycle), I move from room to room to hear how everyone works together, and I have been continually impressed with the maturity and work ethic the students have shown. The coaches have expressed this much as well, and have appreciated how much is able to be accomplished. I feel like all the hard work and progress is helping make this first concert of the 2014-2015 season become even more polished and excellent-sounding than the past two years!

A View from the Stage: Collaborative Education

(Written by guest blogger Nancy Kaphaem, Cellist for Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra and FVSO Education Quartet)

One of the best things that I get to do as a professional cellist and teacher is to play with the Fox Valley Symphony's Artistic Adventures education program for elementary age children.  Collaborating this year with the Trout Museum and the Fox Cities PAC was fantastic.  To consider that a string quartet this fall played in 22 up-close performances for over 700 children total is astounding and incredibly meaningful.  

Experiencing live music can lead to deeper understanding, joy, and a rich emotional range that is beyond words.  I am so privileged to work with other enthusiastic members of the Fox Valley Symphony in this educational outreach and in all of our symphonic concerts.  

Every year I cherish these rich times that bring for all of us, performers, students and our symphonic audience at the PAC alike, priceless experiences of community and deep connection. 

“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.” 

― Khalil Gibran

“Music . . . can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” 

― Leonard Bernstein