Concerto Competition Results

Written by Michelle Hoffman | 06 January 2012

Click here for a listing of all 2012 MYSO Concerto Competition results.

Considering Majoring in Music? Read This First

by MYSO Executive Director Fran Richman

While we realize that not all MYSO grads will go on to be music majors in college, we hope the following will be useful even to those who are just looking for a good musical experience apart from their non-music college study.

The hunt for a conservatory or musically advantaged college is a time-consuming, labor-intensive, expensive and messy process.  This statement probably falls somewhat short of revelational for most of you.  If someone had told me that our dining room table would be out of commission from July (arrival of college application materials and catalogs) through April (arrival of college decision letters), I might have been considerably less sanguine about assisting our daughter with this process several years ago.  But since this is still a relatively “fresh wound” for me, perhaps I can ease the pain for at least a few people with a stream-of-unconsciousness (because you’ll be unconscious by the time you finish the process!) list of things to consider.  The key, of course, is to prioritize the list yourselves--and that may very well be the most difficult task in the entire process.  

You’ll first need to commit a major horizontal surface (dining room table, coffee table, bath tub, or whatever) for a few months.  And be sure to budget for travel and/or recording expense, accompanists and application fees.

Reading the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra’s guide to music schools (borrow a copy from the MYSO office) is an excellent place to start, with general information about many

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Helpful reminders for audience members

Written by Michelle Hoffman | 24 January 2011

Listening to a live concert is a wonderful experience that no one should miss.  The synchronized bows of the string players, the well-choreographed movements of the percussionists, the interplay between a soloist and the rest of the ensemble, the way the players move to the music, and the gyrations of the conductor—all these sights and sounds intermingle to make concerts all the more impressive and emotional.  You do not need to hear the music because you can see it!  (But it does sound lovely, doesn’t it?)  

The idea of a live instrumental concert is to enjoy the music, not worry about a set of guidelines.  However, the only way to fully enjoy the music is to listen; and, therefore, many of the hints below will focus on enjoying the concert quietly.  The audience is an essential part of a concert, along with the composer, the music, the conductor and the musicians.  Just as the musicians must do their part to make the performance a success, so must you!  With our Winter Concerts approaching, we have compiled some hints just for you.

Concert halls are acoustically designed to project sound.  What does not seem disturbing to you may in fact be amplified for other members of the audience or the musicians.  With this in mind:

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Classical musicians: how learning jazz can improve your skills

27 July 2010

by Jeannie Lee November 27, 2009 - http://www.childrenstheatreshop.com
 

. . . Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, and Liszt all excelled in improvisation, which was then referred to as extemporization. . .

Classical music is a sophisticated art form where talking during performances (much less to the musicians) is frowned upon. Yet in jazz, it is very common for the audience to speak to musicians during performances as a way of complimenting their improvisational skills.

Elements of jazz can be found in gospel, country, pop, R&B, movie soundtracks, and other musical forms. However, when the average person uses the word “jazz,” they may not understand the culture or the language.

Many people associate improvisation with jazz and vice-versa. However, improvisation has been an integral part of classical music history, stemming back to the medieval period in Gregorian chants. These chants used additional melodies above the

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