2012 Dean Potokar Awards

Written by Michelle Hoffman | 11 May 2012

Dean Potokar was a tremendously valuable and tireless member of the MYSO Board of Directors. Dean died very suddenly, at age 41, in 1995, but MYSO continues to benefit from Dean’s wise financial advice and guidance even today. 

Though not a musician, Dean understood the enormous benefits—musical and otherwise—of music study and MYSO participation. He was particularly interested in the kind of character development that he saw in so many of the young people in MYSO. The award, established shortly after his death, is based on participation in the MYSO program for a number of years, with special emphasis on leadership, attitude, service and loyalty to the organization—all things which Dean considered to be of great value.

This is the 17th year MYSO has awarded the very special Potokar scholarships to a few of the many outstanding graduating seniors. We are able to offer them thanks to a gift from Dean’s employer, Bank One (now Chase) which established a special fund, plus generous, continuing contributions from his family and friends.

In most cases, the winners have been part of the MYSO program at least 4 years and in the Senior Symphony or advanced Jazz or Calypso ensembles at least 2 years. In all cases, these students have made MYSO a top priority. Some offer their services to MYSO in ways their peers may not even be aware of—such as working with younger MYSO students and doing countless community performances on MYSO’s behalf. They possess a desire to immerse themselves in music, opting to participate in a huge variety of musical opportunities offered to them in MYSO and elsewhere, including chamber orchestra, chamber ensembles, summer music activities, theory classes, history and listening sessions, masterclasses, mentoring and more. The award is meant to recognize more than just fine playing. As a group, these students have been integral to their ensemble and have displayed outstanding leadership, professionalism, attitude, commitment, and service to the MYSO program.

MYSO congratulates this year's distinguished Potokar honorees:

Alec Aldred, trumpet

Thomas Bewell, violin

Megan Braunschweig, bassoon

Anne Daley, flute

Laurin Friedland, percussion

James Krӧner, bass

Rachel Mooers, viola

Ana Nelson, clarinet

Nikhil Ramnarayan, cello

Elliot Yang, cello

Isaac Young, violin

Meet our 2012 Concerto Competition Winners

Written by Michelle Hoffman | 09 April 2012

2012 Senior Symphony Concerto Competition Winner and Carrie Rondeau Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Hannah White, 12, is currently in sixth grade and has been playing the violin for nearly six years. A second year merit scholarship recipient and member of the Music Institute of Chicago's (MIC) Academy Program for gifted pre-college musicians, she currently studies with MIC artist faculty member Hye-Sun Lee and has previously studied with Karla Siegler and Pamela Simmons. Hannah has performed in Master Classes with Christos Galieas and Ilana Setapen.

For three years Hannah was a member of Waukesha Area Youth Orchestra (WAYO) under the direction of Timothy Cobb. Hannah has been a member of MYSO’s String Orchestra and Philharmonia, and currently plays in both the Senior Symphony and Chamber Orchestra; she has also participated in MYSO's Chamber Ensemble program for three years. In addition, she has previously performed with the Eastbrook Symphony and for two years has been a member of MIC’s Academy Chamber Program and Academy Strings, under the direction of James Setapen.

Hannah was awarded a gold plaque from Kettle Moraine Music Teachers Association for achieving highest ratings three consecutive years. She received Second Place of the Lake Country Baroque Music Competition and was a winner of the Milwaukee Symphony Bach Double Competition performing with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Hannah was winner of the 2010 MYSO String Orchestra Concerto Competition and performed as featured soloist with the orchestra. She won Second Place in the Primary Division of the Society of American Musicians Music Competition and received Second Place in the Junior Division. Hannah won Third Prize in the Junior Division of the Frank Stehlik Memorial Scholarship Contest and Honorable Mention in the Senior Division. As Winner of the DePaul Concerto Competition, Hannah performed with the Oistrach Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mina Zikri. Shee took Third Place at the Chinese Fine Arts Society Music competition and earned Honorable Mention in the Junior Division of Madison Concerto Competition. Hannah was awarded First Place in the Elementary Division and won First Place in the Junior Division of the Sejong Cultural Society Music Competition. A two-time Winner of the MIC Academy Strings Concerto Competition, she as soloist with the Academy Strings Orchestra. Hannah participated in the Midwest Young Artists and Walgreens National Concerto Competition and received First Prize as Category Winner and was named Overall Winner.

Hannah has performed at Milwaukee and Chicago area corporations and businesses, weddings and other social engagements. She has volunteered her time teaching violin to young children and has performed at various senior residences and churches. Hannah performed at Mettawa Manor, home of television news anchor and host, Bill Kurtis, for the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra Annual Gala. Hannah has performed for governors and delegates and has also been featured on Chicago's WFMT 98.7 FM Introductions Program, KBS broadcasts, and in various Chicagoa-area newspapers.

Outside of music, Hannah enjoys reading her Bible, being home schooled with her two brothers, baking, biking, fishing, golfing, raising her egg-laying chickens and modeling. Hannah humbly gives all the glory to God for her ability to express herself through the violin.

2012 Philharmonia Concerto Competition Winner

Samantha Carter has been studying the violin for seven years; she has studied with Linda Ulrich, JoAnn Haasler, and currently studies with Pamela Simmons. Samantha is a current member of MYSO’s Philharmonia and Chamber Orchestra, WAYO’s Sinfonietta and Chamber Orchestra, a string quartet, and she also plays the oboe for the Whitewater Middle School Band. Samantha also enjoys mentoring for MYSO’s Progressions program and WAYO’s Philharmonic because it gives her a chance to share her knowledge while it provides the opportunity for personal growth. As a home schooled 8^th grader and a busy musician, she has become accustomed to homework in the car. But when she has free time, she loves to read, do arts and crafts, photography, downhill skiing, swimming, camping, and a variety of other outdoor activities, and, of course, spending time with friends and beloved cats, Sir Isaac (Newton), The (Zen) Master, and Mahatma (Gandhi).

2012 Sinfonia Concerto Competition Winner

Currently a seventh grader at Lake Shore Middle School in Mequon, Abigail Keller began her violin lessons at age seven; she also studies piano. She enjoys playing tennis, and outdoor activities including hiking, biking and camping. At school, Abigail’s favorite subjects are Math, French and English. She loves her house pets and her favorite pet is Masha, a black Pomeranian. She also loves to argue with her brother, Garrison, but sometimes they declare peace and play music duets together.

2012 String Orchestra Concerto Competition Winners

Lorenzo DeMichele is 11 years old and is in the sixth Grade at St. Robert School. He has been studying cello for six years and has previously been awarded three scholarships for study at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. He is currently studying cello with Adrien Zitoun and is enjoying his first year playing with MYSO. He has studied piano with Martha Galvin for three years. When not playing soccer, basketball, baseball, or skiing, Lorenzo can be found buried in a book or the sports page of the newspaper.

Hadley Kling is 13 years old and in eighth grade at Frank Lloyd Wright Intermediate School in West Allis. She has been playing the bass for five years. Hadley is a member of the FLW Pops Orchestra and Jazz bands. She is also a member of the West Allis Shining Strings orchestra and plays bass in her church String Ensemble, keyboard in the Youth Band and sings in the Praise Choir. Other instruments she is currently studying include piano, euphonium, accordion, electric bass and ukulele. Hadley has also been studying piano and accordion with bayanist Stas Venglevski for five years, performing in numerous recitals as well as being a selected Student Artist for the month by the Milwaukee Accordion Club. In January of 2012 Hadley won a Civic Music Association of Milwaukee Beihoff Private Lesson Scholarship. She will begin private bass lessons with Milwaukee Symphony Bassist Laura Snyder in May. In addition to music, Hadley enjoys swimming, soccer and writing.

Luke Schneider is in his second year of MYSO, and has been studying violin with Katie Brooks at the String Academy of Wisconsin for over five years. He is one of the chosen winners of this year’s Milwaukee Symphony Bach Double Competition, and will perform with the MSO on April 17th. Luke has perfect pitch, and is in the sixth grade at Greendale Middle School. He loves trains; studies all aspects of them, and is a member of the Lionel Railroad Club of Milwaukee.

Lauren Simmons is a fifth grader at Canterbury Elementary School in Greendale. She began studying the cello at age 5 with cellist Scott Cook at the String Academy of Wisconsin. Lauren also plays the piano and participates annually in the WMTA district auditions. In addition to her musical interests Lauren enjoys reading, writing, swimming, cheerleading, girl scouts and is treasurer of her school’s Student Council. Lauren would like to thank her teachers, conductors, family and friends for all they have done to motivate her on her musical journey.

Kasumi Grace Stoll is nine years old, a fourth grader at Milwaukee French Immersion School. She has been taking violin lessons from Ms. Tatiana Migliaccio at Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Suzuki Program since she was three and a half years old. She has been one of the Scholarship Audition Winners at WCM for four years in a row, and has been first place twice. She is also a ballet dancer and performed in “The Nutcracker.” At school, she loves science and math. In her free time, she enjoys playing in nature, riding her bike, ice skating, reading and doing art and crafts.

2012 Chamber Flute Ensemble Concerto Competition Winner

Fourteen- year-old flutist Max Lin is a freshman at New Berlin Eisenhower High School. He has been playing flute for five years and piccolo for one and a half years. Max studied flute with Jill Streator and has been studying with Judith Ormond of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for the past two and half years. He currently performs with MYSO’s Chamber Flute Ensemble and Philharmonia. Max was the 2011 Flute Chorale Concerto Competition Winner, is the 2012Chamber Flute Ensemble Concerto Competition Winner, and an Honorable Mention in 2012’s Philharmonia Concerto Competition. In 2011, he was served as principal flute for both the National Band Association’s Wisconsin All-State Junior Band and Wisconsin School Music Association Middle Level State Honors Orchestra. This year, he competed for the first time in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Auditions and was named honorable mention for both flute and piccolo performances which resulted in the opportunity to play side by side with the Milwaukee Symphony. In school, Max was invited to join the high school band in the eighth grade and has served as the principal flute ever since. In addition to his work on flute, he has studied piano for 7 years, currently with Tatiyana Smith. He has won numerous awards for his piano performances, including two-time winner of the Milwaukee Music Teachers’ Association Youth Concert Series and receiving honorable mention status in the Cardinal Stritch University Piano Festival and the Wisconsin Music Teachers’ Association Badger Keyboard Competition. In addition to his performing, Max has taken on composition as a new interest. He has been chosen twice as a John Downey Project Fellow and he has received an honorable mention in the Wisconsin School Music Association Student Composition Project. One of his composition pieces won him a scholarship to the Junior Composers Institute at the University of Minnesota.

2012 Flute Chorale Concerto Competition Winner

Aubrey Trecek is a fourteen year old freshman at New Berlin West High School. This is her sixth year playing the flute, and last year, she began playing the piccolo. Aubrey has studied with Amy Miller for three years. She currently participates in MYSO's Flute Chorale, and is first chair in her band at school. Aubrey received a “I” rating in the Wisconsin District Solo/Ensemble Festival . Aubrey also enjoys being in drama club, through which she performs in various high school plays and musicals including "Noises Off," "Auntie Mame" and "The Sound of Music." She is competing at state for high school forensics.

53 Hours of MYSO by Sabrina Raber

24 February 2012

Three community engagement days of two concerts per day, rehearsal for Senior Symphony, a rehearsal for a MYSO issued woodwind quintet, seven dress rehearsals, two lessons, four MYSO concerts in a weekend, and a performance for my church's youth orchestra, all in one week. Added up, each minute of those concerts, rehearsals, lessons, as well as transportation to it, adds up to around 53 hours of music. Looking back at that one week, I understand why everyone thought I was crazy. To my surprise, being in five MYSO groups isn't normal, and 53 hours of music in a week, not counting practice time, is even less so. Naturally there were slight problems I had to deal with in order to survive such a week. The biggest problem of it all was not the stress I had to go through or the amount of schoolwork I now need to make up, but was returning to reality after one of the best weeks of my life.

It all began Monday. Between 4:00 PM-9:00 PM, I had been to four rehearsals and was grinning from ear to ear, completely and utterly slap-happy from the many musical jokes and games that occur in rehearsal. Tuesday arrived with Chamber Flute Ensemble Community Engagement Concerts and near flawless performances. Wednesday was hard to digest as I had to pull myself away from the musical world that is MYSO and sit in my school desk of reality. The entire day I found myself yearning to sit in the familiar black chairs and hold up my flute for another two hours. Once my rehearsal for Chamber Orchestra passed, I was in a car once more, this time on my way to my Woodwind Quintet rehearsal. Thursday was my Chamber Orchestra Engagement Concert, and with it came two more great performances. Once the concerts completed, I found myself chilling in MYAC for the third time that week, listening to more music and masterfully dodging my homework. A Sinfonia dress rehearsal (for which I had composed a piece) and flute lesson later and I started wishing it was possible to rent a room at MYAC to sleep in so I could save a little gas. Friday was my favorite day in the music filled, MYSO party week. Sinfonia had its outreach concert and despite the fact that I wasn't playing, I was more nervous than any of my other concerts. Sinfonia was premiering my piece, Proelio Morum, and I was hopeful that the audience would like hearing it as much as I liked writing it. My worries were quashed easily, and Sinfonia played it as beautifully as I could have ever wished. From those concerts, I went to a Chamber Flute Ensemble dress rehearsal at Shattuck Auditorium, and from that, after a brief moment of lying mentally dead on the floor and recharging my musical batteries, I sat in a dress rehearsal for Chamber Orchestra. Even though, it was the busiest of all my days and the most draining, I was disappointed to see it end and found it hard to leave the auditorium I was starting to see as home. That night I dreamt of rehearsal. When I woke up I was disappointed once more that my rehearsal dream wasn't true. Little homework was done Saturday. It wasn't particularly strange that I was so happy with all the music I was doing; MYSO rehearsals are the highlight of my week, but it bothered me that I had so much trouble adjusting to "real life" and school after only one week of music. Saturday ran smoothly with our first Chamber Orchestra concert. As Sunday came around, after another rehearsal dream, I felt excited, but also saddened as I knew all my hard work and fun was coming to an end. That morning, I had a brief stint as temporary conductor for my church’s youth orchestra, my first concert of the day. Once I arrived at Shattuck, the nerves started to settle in. I was about to participate in the culmination of my “MYSO Week.” The first concert went smoothly, Sinfonia exceeded all my expectations once again and the applause that came after my piece made it all so much better. Chamber Flute Ensemble played just as well and when Chamber Orchestra filled the stage, I didn’t think it could be much better. Naturally, I was wrong. Five perfect pieces and a standing ovation later, I found myself holding back tears of happiness as well as the creeping dread of it all coming to an end. Playing the Overture to “The Magic Flute” was the perfect Finale to a perfect week. That very piece was the beginning of my love for music. As a seven year old, taken with Fantasia, I listened to “The Magic Flute” for hours and drew pictures of what the music showed me in my head. It’s funny that now I do the opposite: I write music for the pictures I see.

This week may have been busy, but I realize it has helped me see that music is what I truly love in my life. There’s something about being in that hall, the smell of the wood floors and dusty carpets, sitting next to people, both musicians and conductors, who think the same as you, act the same as you, have the same desires as you, people who you have only known for a couple months but feel like a closer family then the people you’ve known your whole life that gives me chills. Being able to create a masterpiece, a creation of majesty and wonder by only looking at black blobs on a piece of lined paper causes my heart to soar, butterflies to fill my stomach and a grin to spread across my face, regardless of anything else I had experienced that day. I could be in tears, completely destroyed, but the moment I set foot into that building, my world is beautiful again. 53 hours of MYSO has helped me see that. Honestly, 53 hours later and I have no regrets, excepting maybe starting my homework so late. 53 hours later and I'm sad it's all over. I’ve discovered my passion, what really makes me happy. 53 hours later and I now know where I belong. 53 hours later I’ve found home.

Flutist Sabrina Raber is a junior at Whitefish Bay High School and is a member of three MYSO groups including MYSO’s Senior Symphony with which she will embark on a concert tour of Vienna and Prague this summer. In addition, she is a student composer as part of MYSO’s John Downey Creation Project, a collaboration with Present Music, and experienced the world premiere her composition Proelio Morumlast weekend.

Jazz Studies: Building the Foundation

Written by John Simons | 26 January 2012

One of the wonderful gifts music gives us is the ability to express ourselves, and few styles of music do that better than jazz. At the start of the 2011-12 season, MYSO introduced a new Jazz Studies Foundations program, an introductory jazz curriculum forstudents with only basic music training.The Foundations level is focused on students who have played music but have little or no experience playing Jazz.In its first year, the program already has nine enrolled students of various ages and diverse backgrounds.

As the MYSO Jazz Studies Foundations instructor, I have been given the privilege of teaching students jazz “basics” – chord structures, forms, scales, etc. - so that they can communicate musically in this style through improvisation.

So far this learning process has been positive, with most of my students making good progress in learning the rudiments of jazz theory. However, I have been able to witness the growth of something possibly more important to these young adults – confidence. One of my students literally froze when I pointed at her to take a solo during our first improvisation session, yet this same young woman improvised on stage in front of more than 200 people just a couple of weeks ago. I have seen this growth with most of my other students.

This is of particular interest to me because many of my students come from backgrounds where they haven’t had consistent training or access to instruments, due to lack of financial resources. I truly believe that this new program is offering much more than just music instruction; it is truly enriching their lives and giving them something to look forward to every week. It is an honor to be part of something so positive and life changing.