Online Newsletter of Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras

TEMPOVolume X Winter ‘12

Con Forza, Fuoco y Passione...

MCYO |

Become a Friend of MCYO! Your contribution ensures that our young musicians, regardless of financial circumstanc-es, have access to a full orchestral experience. Participation stimulates their musicial growth and provides them with unique performance opportunities. Donate to MCYO and become a “Friend” in one of our member clubs.

Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras is a 501(c)(3) Non-profit Corporation and is eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributi-ions.

Please make checks payable to MCYO and mail your donation to:

Maryland Classic Youth OrchestrasThe Music Center at Strathmore

5301 Tuckerman LaneNorth Bethesda, MD 20852

Donate Online!

Concert Program Advertising 2011-12 Seasons!!

Advertising in the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras program booklets is a great way to show your support for youth arts in our area. There are 2 remaining concerts this year, with a distribution of approximately 1,500 programs each time:

Concert Dates: March 14, May 20

LAST MINUTE AD FOR MARCH 14 ARE STILL BEING TAKEN!

Find MCYO on Twitter and Facebook!

MCYO Staff and Board of Directors Staff

Executive Director...............Cheryl Jukes Operations Manager.................John Park Artistic Adviser....................Jonathan Carney Associate Executive Director...Christine Cox Director of Music Ed...........David Levin Accountant.................................Julie Hamre

ConductorsDavid Levin, Jason Love, Jorge Orozco, MaryAnn Poling, Pablo Saelzer, Kristofer Sanz

Chamber Ensemble DirectorsAlbert Hunt, Carolyn Oh, Janese Sampson, Monika Vasey

ManagersLinda Fong, Ben Kepler, Elizabeth Peterson, Ashleigh Townsend, Holley Trittipoe, Paula Wheeland

Board of Directors Chair......................................Bill Ford Vice Chair..................................David Phillips Secretary................................Nan Cooper Treasurer....................................Denise Miller

Directors-at-LargeJerry Breslow, Bette Eberly-Hill, Dianne Felton, Erickson Foster, Michael Lemov, Jamie Schneider

Tempo Newsletter www.mcyo.org

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Contents | MCYO

www.mcyo.org Tempo Newsletter 1

Table of Contents

2 Letter From the Board Chair

3 Frequently Asked Questions

4 Busy MCYO Musicians

5 MCYO and School Music

6 Conductors’ Musings

8 Upcoming Events

10 Relive the Winter Semester

11 MCYO Financial News

MCYO | Letter From the Board Chair

2 Tempo Newsletter www.mcyo.org

Dear MCYO Members and Friends,

It has been an outstanding start to the 2011-2012 season with the unbelievable performances at the De-cember 4th concerts. I know our conductors and young musicians are working very hard to make the final two concerts just as successful. The MCYO Board has also been very busy. All members of the Board are highly committed to the MCYO’s mission to “nurture and develop young talented musicians and enrich the community with a quality orchestral experience”. We take our role very seriously. Many of you already know what the function of a nonprofit Board is, but I’d like to take this opportunity to explain to you how we see our role. Our responsibilities are to: 1. Establish strategies to achieve the MCYO’s mission. 2. Tie the strategies to the budgeting and planning processes. 3. Oversee organizational governance including Board competency and integrity, financial management and executive / administrative staff performance. 4. Help strengthen programs by removing obstacles to progress and ensuring adequate financial resources.

To meet these responsibilities, this year we have: 1. Expanded the Board with well rounded, highly regarded and committed members – many of our mem-bers do have music backgrounds, but others have legal, business and financial experience. 2. Focused on strategies to achieve the MCYO mission – we have conducted one offsite strategy session and are planning another on March 3 to dissect the meaning of the MCYO’s mission statement with the ob-jective of developing relevant and actionable strategies. 3. Our Board Committees have very specific goals this year including: a. Completing non-profit governance policies handbooks. b. Updating our financial planning and investment processes. c. Developing social media opportunities to enhance the public’s knowledge of what the MCYO has to offer. d. Developing policies around special trips and performances.

The Board constantly considers new ideas from the Executive Director, Artistic Adviser Jonathan Carney and from the conductors and managers for how to make our students’ MCYO experiences the best and most worthwhile possible. It is quite a privilege to be a part of this organization and to work with the other Board members, staff and conductors to make participation in the MCYO an outstanding experience for our young musicians.

Bill Ford Chair, MCYO Board of Directors

MCYO Violin Concerto Competition Winner Announcement!

Congratulations to all the participants! The WINNER of the competition is Rhea Chung

Winner of the competition will give a performance at the Blackbox Theater in Strathmore on March 25th. And on May 20th concert, winner will perform

with MCYO Philharmonic Orchestra on the Strathmore Concert Hall.

Frequently Asked Questions | MCYO

www.mcyo.org Tempo Newsletter 3

MCYO FAQs: NEW WEBSITE

Q – So, what is “New”?A – In short, EVERYTHING except the content. From user interfrace all-the-way to colors. Biggest change is overall navigation. All page links are located in the “Top Navigation Bar” menu system. From here you can hover your mouse on an area of interest and select a page from the dropdown menu. Another big change is Calendar (link). We’ve made the calendar a lot more interactive. And also updat-ing from an iCal feed (download iCal file), which will keep events in the calendar up-to-date ALL the time.

Q – Where are all the “things” in the front page?A – The “things” are called widgets! Starting the from top. Slider Widget: We have a beautiful slider featuring images/news. We’ll try to have all the big up-and-com-ing events in this slider. On the bottom of each slider, is a caption which will give you more details. Notice Widgets: Right side of front page are couple boxes which will always update with Notices (rehears-al notices, weather notices, etc.) ALWAYS check these for up-to-date notices. Facebook Widget: Just underneath the Notice widgets is Facebook widget. This is a simple facebook sta-tus ticker, you can “LIKE” MCYO on Facebook and see which of your friends are fans of MCYO. Make sure you click “Like” and support us!

Q – Any “hidden” features?A – There aren’t any “hidden” features per se, but there are tiny details which you may not have noticed! Share Buttons: Just underneath our MCYO logo, you’ll find couple of tiny buttons. You can use these to “share” the page you are on. Please use this feature to share with friends and families. Search Bar: VERY helpful tool. Just underneath the share buttons, you can search for just about ANY-THING on our website. Give it a try. “Contact Us” Page: We’ve made it easy to contact just about ANYONE at MCYO. Find this page at the top menu bar.

Practice-a-thon makes Per fect! During the month of April, MCYO musicians from Prep Strings and Chamber Strings and Young Artists will be turning their music practice into dollars with a Practice-A-Thon fundraiser. With encouragement from their orchestra conductors, music teachers, family and friends, the musicians will be raising money by obtaining commitments from donors who agree to pay the musicians for each hour of practice on their instruments. Not only will the musicians improve their musical skills in preparation for the May 20th concert, they will be raising much needed funds for MCYO’s scholarship programs, free outreach concerts at venues like NIH’s Children’s Inn and senior communities, free master classes (which are open to the public) and much more. MCYO, along with its supporters, young musicians, and their parents, understand the transformative power of music in children’s lives. By providing a foundation for scholarship and community service, music helps students soar personally and professionally, today and tomorrow. There are many ways in which you can be involved in this valuable fundraising effort. Be a sponsor by making a pledge supporting the highest earner or for the most hours practice. “Adopt” an orchestra by making a matching pledge. Provide a corporate matching sponsorship or simply make a donation to MCYO.

MCYO | Busy MCYO Musicians!

4 Tempo Newsletter www.mcyo.org

Take a look at what MCYO musicians have been doing in the fall/winter semester:

November 8 – Kudos to the Evelyn Song of Symphony and Kelley Wallace of Chamber Orchestra for their terrific perfor-mance on November 8 at the Montgomery College’s Distin-guished Artist Chamber Music Series with Jonathan Carney, MCYO Artistic Adviser, and Igor Yuzefovich, BSO Assistant Concertmaster.

November 9 – Outreach Concert at Fox Hills Senior Center: Chamber Strings and Chamber Orchestras had a great concert performance at Fox Hills Senior Center in Bethesda. Great supportive audience and amazing experience for our musi-cians. Thanks to Fox Hills for giving us the opportunity for this wonderful concert

November 11 – Wow! What a great performances by Rhea Chung and Samantha Cody of Philharmonic at the NP Master Class for Violin with NP guest artist, Chee-Yun. Ms. Chee-Yun was so wonderful on provid-ing so many tips to improve violinists’ performance. Thank you to National Philharmonic for providing a wonderful opportunity to our musicians!

December 11 – Chamber Music Program Concert: This concert featured MCYO’s Junior and Senior Flute Choirs, Clarinet Choir and the Brass Quintet lead by our wonderful Choir Directors: Carolyn Oh, Janese Sampson and Albert Hunt. Thanks to all the Choir Directors and musicians on providing us with a wonderful holiday season treat.

January 6 – Another great performance by Philip Kettler and Rachel Kim of Philharmonic at the NP Mas-ter Class for Cello with NP guest artist, Zuill Bailey. Mr. Bailey returns each year to give us a new experience each and every time! Mr. Bailey shows us what it is to be a musician and a scholar all at once. Thanks again to NP for this opportunity!

January – Great thanks to the MCYO String Quartet (Rhea Chung, Nathan Hsieh, Lori Kaufman, Philip Kettler, Brian Tien-Street) for performing at BSO and National Philharmonic concerts. January 6 for National Phil (guest artist cellist Zuill Bailey) and January 14 for the BSO’s Itzak Perlman concert, at which the stu-dents met with Maestro Perlman in his dressing room!

February 1 – Outreach Concert at Georgetown Visitation School: This was an awesome collaborative con-cert with the Georgetown Visitation School, featuring MCYO’s Preparatory Strings and Chamber Strings and Georgetown’s Visitation Madrigals. This concert also featured a special performance by the MCYO Master String Quartet, consisting of Maestro Jorge Orozco, Sarah Foard, Maria Montano and Elizabeth Peterson. Kudos to all the musicians on a wonderful performances!

February 2 – MCYO/BSO Master Class for Trumpet with BSO’s Rene Hernandez. Wow! What a lot of trumpets we heard! We had our newly created MCYO Trumpet Choir, who performed wonderfully after just a few rehearsals. And trumpet sections of Symphony and Philharmonic gave a preview of what they’ll be playing for the concert in March. Thanks to Mr. Kepler on preparing the trumpet choir and to our clinician Rene Hernandez and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for the wonderful master class.

Pictures are on Page 10

On our website, we always post MCYO musicians’ achievements for the season (Competi-tions, All-State, etc.). Click here to check it out!

MCYO and School Music | MCYO

www.mcyo.org Tempo Newsletter 5

MCYO and School Music: A Thriving Partnership!!

Two summers ago, when I started the Master of Music in Music Education degree program at Boston University, I had very little idea of what informa-tion went into designing a music curriculum. I had been trained well enough to implement the course of study as designated by the school system, but I sometimes found it difficult to articulate the reasons for teaching the mate-rial. Over the following year and a half of classes, I began to slowly piece it together. The culminating class of the BU program was one in which we examined curricula and eventually designed the ideal curriculum for our specific teaching situation. While a curriculum includes the specifics of what will be taught, one of the essential curricular components to consider is the community in which the educational environment is located. Since students come to the classroom with varying levels of back-ground knowledge, understanding the community-based sources of musical information helps educators develop goals that balance prior knowledge with new information that is deemed to be educationally valu-able. Keeping this in mind, one of our initial assignments was to examine the ethnography of our students to determine where their musical interests intersect with the musical offerings of the community (in this case, the Washington, DC area).

Upon examining some of the musical opportunities, both amateur and professional, I was struck by how musically rich we are in this area! There are dozens of groups to not only listen to, but that also offer wonderful oppor-tunities for participation. As a relative new-comer to the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra, I hadn’t yet thought about the ways in which groups such as MCYO affect the curricula of the surrounding school systems. As important as the MCYO performance opportunities are, the culture of musical rigor and high achievement that is inherent to the program serves to enhance the school music programs as well.

The natural partnership between MCYO and school music programs is invaluable. While class schedules often get more convoluted as students narrow their focuses on impending college applications, the continued participation in school music as well as MCYO will serve them well (and look good on their applications). Additionally, while each of these respective programs has the potential to survive on its own, the combination of the two programs create a culture in which musical exceptionalism thrives. As can be concluded by looking at some of the wonderful MCYO conductors, the cooperation between the schools and MCYO is seamless. This is as it should be! Hopefully we are all teaching these young, talented musicians that music does not need to exist within the vacuum of the classroom or the concert hall. In a cyclical fashion, the more that we en-courage the creation of music through these programs, the more these programs will have a musical impact. As I am finishing my degree, I have found that MCYO has helped my music education philosophies gain a fresh perspective. Not only am I responsible, as an elementary instrumental music teacher, for introducing students to the joy and satisfaction of making music, but am also responsible for making sure they have the tools and skills to be successful in the musical culture of the Washington, DC area. I look forward to a contin-ued relationship between MCYO and my students.

Ben Kepler Symphony Manager www.donorschoose.org/mr.kepler

Con Forza,Fuoco y Passione...Take a musical journey of

Force, Fire and Passionwith the

Maryland Classic Youth Orchestrason Wednesday, March 14, 7:30 pm

Hear Young Artists present the musical force of the orchestra in Verdi’s Nabucco Overture and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture.

Feel Symphony’s impetuous symphonic fire as they perform von Suppé’s blazing Poet and Peasant Overture and Kamen’s spirited and unrestrained American Symphony.

Experience the passion of the Philharmonic performing Barber’s School for Scandal Overture and Dvoráks sentimental and moving Symphony No. 8.

TiCKETS: $20 adults; $10 students and seniors; $8 special for music teachers!Strathmore Ticket Office: 301-581-5100 • www.strathmore.orgFor special group rates, call 301-581-5199. For more information, call 301-581-5208.

www.mcyo.org

Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras is a resident partner at The Music Center at Strathmore, and is supported by the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Maryland State Arts Council.

Monday, February 27 at 6:30-8:30 PMRoom 309, Education CenterThe Music Center at StrathmoreFree Admission!Sarah Fuller is the principal harpist of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra and has been fulfilling the duties of principal harp with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2007. In a Baltimore Sun review of the Baltimore Symphony, classical music critic Tim Smith claimed that “...the refined harp playing by [Ms.] Fuller stood out” and he hailed her perfor-mance as an “impressive flash” in the orchestral texture.

Ms. Fuller has recently been appointed the professor of Harp studies at the University of Maryland’s School of Music in College Park and maintains private teaching studios in both Philadelphia and Maryland. She is a former faculty member of the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia was also the assistant director from 2006-2009 for the Saratoga Harp Colony, an advanced training ground for the world’s next generation of professional harpists that was founded by the Philadelphia Orchestra’s principal harpist, Elizabeth Hainen.

Please contact MCYO to RSVP: 301-581-5209 or john@mcyo.org

MCYO and Levine SchoolHarp Master Class

with Sarah Fuller

MCYO | Conductors ’ Musings

6 Tempo Newsletter www.mcyo.org

From Jorge Orozco, Conductor of Preparatory Strings and Chamber Strings

After a wonderful joint concert at the Georgetown Visitation School in Washington DC on February 1st, Prep Strings and Chamber Strings started getting ready for their March concerts. Both orchestras are showing a high level of musicianship and preparation during rehearsals and performances. The March 17 concert will give PS and CS the op-portunity to showcase new music in their repertoire. Composers will include Handel, Bartok, and John Williams. Many thanks to our orchestra managers, Mrs. Pe-terson and Mrs. Fong, and to all the volunteer parents that worked so hard in preparation and during the Georgetown Visitation concert. The MCYO master string quartet performed in this concert; more to come in March 17!

From David Levin, Conductor of Chamber Orchestra

Having taken over the conducting duties of the Chamber Orchestra since December, I have really enjoyed getting to know a new group of musicians. I imagine it must be challenging for the students in that they must learn to adapt to the different teach-ing approach and conducting styles of another person on the podium. As a conductor, my challenges are to familiarize myself with the personalities and abilities of the musicians and the orchestra as quickly as pos-sible in order to make rehearsals run smoothly and progress rapidly towards a successful concert. As the

Wednesdays pass by, we seem to be adapting to the challenges and are pressing forward with the music as our principal focus. The repertoire for the March concert includes a well known opera overture by Gioachino Rossini, a multi-movement work by Robert Schumann, a com-poser from nearly the same time period as Rossini, and a very different Spanish work by the more con-temporary composer, Emmanuel Chabrier. The orchestra is also working on a surprise selection that will be inserted into the program...you will have to be at the concert to learn more about that! As we progress towards the concert, the Chamber Orchestra has been privileged to work in sectionals with our esteemed cadre of coaches that MCYO is so proud to have helping our musicians. Also, pro-fessional violinist, Eric Chapman, from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London visited a regular Wednesday rehearsal and provided helpful sugges-tions from his perspective as a professional symphony orchestra musician. Rebecca Henry, faculty member from the Peabody Conservatory conducted a Cham-ber Orchestra rehearsal. Her unique perspective as a teacher at the conservatory provided the Chamber Orchestra students with a number of ideas as to how best to perform our March repertoire. Finally, I would like to encourage our private teach-ers to spend some one-on-one time with their stu-dents on the Chamber Orchestra music. The orches-tra will develop much more quickly and to a much higher standard of excellence when teachers can solve individual playing concerns during a lesson. MCYO always “encourages” (expects) students to bring their orchestra repertoire to the private lessons in order that the private teacher can assist with specific chal-lenges that the student faces. To the students: I ask that you practice your music regularly. You must stay current with any and all improvements and changes made during rehearsals. I cannot imagine any con-ductor suggesting that a student might practice too much! Developing a well crafted and highly artistic student orchestra has always been, and must forever remain, a collaborative effort from amongst the stu-dents, parents, teachers and conductors. As we reach the midpoint of the 2011-12 season, I would like to encourage all parties to stay fully involved with help-ing to polish ALL of our MCYO ensembles through-out the remainder of the season.

Concert at Georgetown Visitation School

Conductors ’ Musings | MCYO

www.mcyo.org Tempo Newsletter 7

From Pablo Saelzer, Conductor of Philharmonic

The MCYO Philharmonic is preparing a program of wonderful music from the late 19th and early 20th century. Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 (1890) and Bar-ber’s “School of Scandal” Overture (1930). Although at first there seems to be no relation between the two works, a closer look (and hearing!) will illuminate some connections. In both works there is the obvi-ous non-apologetic embrace of lush melodic material and the search for darker moments in an otherwise very luminous context (look out for the crucial and minimum use of the English horn). But I also see a historical connection. Two years after the premier of this Symphony, in which Dvorak moves away from the established models and toward a more Czech (Slavic) expression, the composer was living in New York city conducting the New York Philharmonic and charged with training a new generation of compos-ers in the hope that one day they would produce a true American Art Music. A generation later a young Samuel Barber produced this sparkling overture that in its designs is true to the great traditions developed by European masters but unmistakably from a “new world.” I wanted to draw your attention to the music we are preparing and performing in March because I strongly believe that it is, or should be, the reason why we meet every Wednesday in heat or cold, and find our way through the printed notes trying to make sense of it all. It is, or should be, our hope that when we share it with you, our audience, it will make sense to you too. Personally, I am impressed with the commitment to the process by so many of the musicians in the MCYO Philharmonic. It is always humbling to work with brilliant musicians.

From Kristofer Sanz, Conductor of Symphony

Symphony is off to a wonderful start preparing their repertoire for the March 14th concert. The rep-ertoire we are working on presently is a stark con-trast to that of our first concert. In our first concert, students performed and interpreted pieces of a very moving and passionate nature. For this concert, Symphony is very excited to present a feverish and fiery performance. We will be performing Von Suppe’s moving and energetic Poet and Peasant Overture, Brahm’s luxurious and sensuous Hungarian Dance No. 1, Strauss’ feisty and boisterous Feuerfest Polka, and Kamens’ stirring and passionate American Sym-phony. Each of these works has been selected to chal-lenge our musicians both technically and musically. Due to the demands of the repertoire, each section of the orchestra has been called upon to play at a higher level and to perform with even more musicality. They have also been asked to learn and master extended techniques on their instruments. I am proud to say that all the sections have wholeheartedly accepted this challenge and have showed up to rehearsals prepared and ready to perform at a very high level. Every week during rehearsal I am in awe at the high level of concentration and preparation that each musician brings to the table. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to work with each and every one of these amazing musicians and I feel very proud and honored to be their conductor. We are very excited about our new repertoire and greatly look forward to sharing our program with you in a couple of weeks. I hope to see you all at the concert and I look forward to meeting you after the concert in the Lobby. In closing, to quote one of our musicians: “This is going to be EPIC!!”

Continues on Page 9The title page of the autograph score of Dvořák’s eighth symphony

Mr. Holland’s Opus Cover. Movie in which American Symphony is featured in.

MCYO | Upcoming Events

8 Tempo Newsletter www.mcyo.org

March Concerts Series… …will delight and impress!

Sunday, March 11 Chamber Music Recital at the Village at Rockville - 9701 Veirs Drive Rockville, MD 3PM: Featuring Flute Choirs and Clarinet ChoirFree Concert! Please contact the office for more information.

Wednesday, March 14 concert at the Music Center at Strathmore Musical Journey of Force, Fire and Passion... 7:30PM: Featuring Young Artists, Symphony and Philharmonic OrchestrasTickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students/seniors! Tickets will be available soon. Check our website.

Sunday, March 25 Violin Concerto Competition Performance - BlackBox Theater in Strathmore 3PM: Featuring Finalists of the MCYO Khachaturian Violin Concerto Competition Will also feature various small chamber ensembles.Free Concert! Details are subject to change. Please contact the office for more information.

Invite neighbors, friends, teachers and relatives for a wondrous series of music! What better way to show appreciation for and pride in our musician’s talent and hard work than to fill the concert hall!

Monday, February 27 6:30 PM: MCYO and Levine School Harp Master Class with Sarah Fuller at the Music Center at Strathmore (room 311) FREE EVENT! Contact MCYO offices to RSVP.

Friday, March 23 5:00 PM: National Philharmonic Horn Master Class with guest artist William VanMuelen at the Music Center at Strathmore (room 402) $5/person. Call National Phil to reserve a seat 301-493-9283 Saturday, April 14 5:00 PM: BSO / MCYO Violin Master Class with Madeline Adkins, BSO Violinist at the Music Center at Strathmore (room 402) FREE EVENT! Contact MCYO offices to RSVP.

Friday, April 20 5:00 PM: Imani Winds and MCYO at BlackRock Center for the Arts.North America’s premier wind quintet, this Grammy-nominated ensemble has carved out a distinct presence in the classical music world with its dynamic playing, poignant programming, genre-blurring collaborations and inspirational outreach programs.Imani Winds will be working collaboratively with MCYO’s newly created wind quintets. Come join for an awesome experience! Contact MCYO offices for more information.

For any questions, contact us via email or phone: john@mcyo.org or 301-581-5209

University of Maryland Viola Day!

Come explore the University of Maryland’s viola program! Professors Katherine Murdock and Dan-iel Foster invite violists and music lovers from the region to the beautiful Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center for a day of listening and learning, music-making and discussion.

Register by March 8, 2012 via online registration form (LINK). Or more info at website (LINK).$30: Participants and Auditors $35: Walk-in Registration (day of event) Free: Parent and Teachers

Conductors ’ Musings | MCYO

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From MaryAnn Poling, Conductor of Young Artists

THE FUGUE I’ve often wondered whether a composer just hears the music of a fugue and writes it, or meticulously plans out every intricate detail. Let’s explore the many details of a fugue, and maybe you can form your own opinion about how a fugue comes to life. Webster’s definition of a fugue is: “a musical composition in which one theme is repeated or imitated by successively entering voices and contrapuntally developed in a continuous interweaving of the voice parts.”At the March concert the Young Artists will be tackling J.S. Bach’s Fugue in G minor, one of Bach’s best known fugues. “The Little” was originally written for the organ, probably when Bach was about 18-22 years old, and later arranged into an orchestral version. This fugue is known as the “little” G minor not because it is a work of small importance or even because it is an unusually short work in its own right, but simply so that it and the much longer and later “Great” G minor Fantasia and fugue aren’t mistaken for one another. Bach’s fugue in G minor begins with a four-and-a-half-measure subject in the soprano voices. The subject in a fugue is the theme on which the fugue is founded. It is always stated in the key of the piece (the tonic key, in this case G minor). This subject is one of Bach’s most widely recognized tunes.

When this statement of the subject is finished, another statement of it is played by lower alto lines in a new key, one related to the first a fifth away (the dominant key, in this case, D minor). This is known in the fugue as the answer. While the answer is being stated, the voice in which the subject was previously heard continues with new material which is called the countersubject. The countersubject frequently accompanies the subject or answer, but does not always have to do so. The G minor fugue continues to build in excitement as the tenor and bass voices each get a turn with the theme, the tenor as the subject (tonic key of G) and the bass as the answer (dominant key of D). After all four voices (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) have had a turn stating the theme the exposition section of this fugue has been completed. (This all happens in the first 21 measures of the piece!) From there the piece moves into some free counterpoint segments that are based on a series of imitations of the subject that have been fragmented; these sections are commonly known as an episode. While in these episodes the subject is developed in different keys (the relative major key of B- flat Major is one key that is explored), they eventually lead to a final statement of the subject in the bass voices (back in the home tonic key of G minor), before bringing us to the coda. These concluding chords are a perfectly understated cadence which ends the composition on a G major chord instead of a G minor chord. Ask any Young Artist musician and they will be happy to tell you this technique is called a Picardy third! Whew! All this takes place in under four minutes and in 70 jam-packed measures of music. I’m so thrilled to introduce these talented young students to the art of the fugue, and to help them understand it a bit more than they did before. There’s no better teacher than Bach, one of the greatest masters of this musical technique, a composer who utilized his extraordinary fluency in contrapuntal invention. When you hear us perform this masterpiece in March, will you hear all these intricacies of this fugue? Will you see Bach sitting and writing the composition, trying to piece together every entrance of the subject, answer and countersubject? Or sitting and writing the composition as he hears the wonderful strains of music come flowing effortlessly, fitting together perfectly like the pieces of a puzzle? Whichever way it might have happened, the result is the same- a beautifully crafted, wonderful piece of art. Enjoy.

Continued from Page 7

J. S. Bach

MCYO | Relive the Winter Semester

10 Tempo Newsletter www.mcyo.org

MCYO PHOTOS Here are some of the photos from Winter 11-2012.

We always add pictures to our Flickr page, click HERE to view.

Outreach Concert at Fox Hills Senior Center Montgomery College’s Distinguished Artist Chamber Music Series

NP Cello Master Class with Zuill Bailey

Chamber Music Program Concert

BSO / MCYO Trumpet Master Class with Rene Hernandez Outreach Concert at Georgetown Visitation School

MCYO String Quartet with Itzhak Perlman

MCYO Financial News | MCYO

www.mcyo.org Tempo Newsletter 11

Facebook, Twitter and Sold out shows! By Denise Miller, Treasurer, MCYO Board of Director

Well, not quite yet, but that is our goal for March 14th. In order to continue to give our kids the best possible experience at MCYO, we need your help to increase attendance at concerts and spe-cial events. Friends, family, neighbors - anyone who enjoys hearing outstanding musicians perform would benefit from attending an MCYO concert. Don’t forget about advertising in the program, too... a great way to promote your local business, or cheer on your performer! As a special incentive, “Like” us on Facebook (LINK), and we’ll soon be running a ticket giveaway via Facebook only! There will be a chance to win 10 tickets to our March concert.

MCYO proudly acknowledges financial sponsorship by the following contributors. • Individual Contributors • Board of Directors • Strathmore Hall Foundation • Maryland State Arts Council • Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County • The Trawick Foundation • Joseph & Ligia Wiegand Family Foundation • Lockheed Martin Corporation • Washington Gas & Light Company • Washington Post Company • Montgomery Alliance for Community Giving • The United Way and America’s Charities • Carolyn and Jeffrey Leonard Tuition Scholarship Fund • The Joseph and Rosalind Shifrin Guest Artists Fund • Andreas and Margaret Makris Scholarship Fund • AT&T • IBM • COSTCO

Founded in 1946, Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras is the oldest, largest and most established youth orchestra program in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

MCYO not only enriches the community with quality orchestra experiences but “nurtures and develops young talented musicians” by offering three full orchestras, one chamber orchestra, two string orchestras and additional chamber ensembles. Ranging in grades 3-12, over 450 talented musicians from around

the region participate each season.

For additional information, contact the MCYO administrative offices (301) 501-5208 or 5209

CONCERT TICKETS! SPECIAL BSO OFFER!

BSO will offer $10 RUSH tickets to MCYO students AND their parents on the concert dates listed below, based on availability. (RUSH means available one hour prior to concert start). To purchase, parents need to show the student’s ID and identify themselves as a MCYO parent.Good for dates: March 22, April 14, May 26. Other concerts may be available throughout the season and MCYO families will be alerted 2-3 days prior to the concerts for which this offer would apply. Stay tuned!

MCYO gratefully acknowledges our major funders: