LYS Parent Letter 2011

The following letter was mailed to returning, interested, and prospective members last week, along with a schedule for the year, an audition form, and a membership policies brochure. See the calendar page for an online version of the schedule. See the Membership Policies tab for an online version of the membership policies brochure.

Scroll down to the bottom of this post for a list of information we ask for on the audition form so you can come prepared. We will have extra copies at the auditions if you did not receive one in the mail.

It's going to be a great year!

-Julie

____________

Come Play With Us!

I hope you find all the information here that you need to audition and Come Play With Us! this year. We are a dynamic, constantly changing, organization. For this reason, we audition every seat every year: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Flute/Piccolo, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba & Percussion. The more seats we fill, the more fulfilling the experience. Thanks ahead of time for your continued support. It’s going to be great year! J Julie Gardner, Managing Director, 435.723.8262, LincolnYouthSymphony@gmail.com, LincolnYouthSymphony.blogspot.com

Important Information:	Summary & my extra comments:
Here is the fee schedule; there is still a discount for attending the parents’ meeting on Sept 24th and either paying in full or setting up a payment plan that day: Description / Fee / After Discount LYS / $125 / $115 Family Cap / $200 / $175 Retreat / $40 (per person) After October 15, a late fee of $10 will be assessed if payment arrangements have not been made. You will not be penalized for choosing the monthly payment option. Please make checks payable to: Lake Bonneville Symphonic Society (LBSS).	Membership Fees & Discount Opportunity If you attend the parent meeting and pay or arrange to pay that day, you get a discount. I tried to roll the Retreat into the regular Fee, but with the Family Cap, it just wasn’t working. You’ll have to add it on. Please pay it with your tuition.
Retreat Our retreat will be November 18-19, 2011 from 4pm on Friday to 2pm on Saturday. All LYS musicians are expected to participate. It will take the place of that week’s regular rehearsal, and it will be a time for musicians to get to know each other, play games, have a couple intense rehearsals, and, most importantly, to have fun. Mini-music-camp! We are confident it will set the tone for a great year. Our retreat will be at Camp UTABA in the north part of the Ogden Valley. It is near enough to carpool. See www.camputaba.org for a virtual tour and driving directions. The cost of $40 covers the overnight stay, dinner, breakfast and lunch.	Retreat: We need some help hauling music stands & the podium, as well as chaperons for the overnight stay, two adults for each cabin we use. Please contact me to volunteer.
Auditions If auditioning makes you really nervous but you are interested in joining LYS, please contact us. We no longer require a 2-3 minute solo – just 16-20 measures. See below. Please choose a selection that makes musical sense to you! Auditions will be held Saturday, Sept 17, 9:00-11:15 a.m. (or however long it takes) at ACYI, 830 Law Dr, Brigham City. You might want an appointment. But you don’t have to have one. All walk-ins will be worked in around people with appointments! This should minimize your waiting time. Please contact Julie at LincolnYouth Symphony@gmail.com or 435.723.8262 for an appointment. Auditions are required for new and returning musicians. All musicians: 16-20 measures of a prepared solo. You will also be asked to sight-read. Additionally: Strings: A 3-octave major scale and a 2-octave melodic minor scale of your choice. Woodwinds: A 2-to-3-octave chromatic scale, and a 2-to-3-octave major or minor scale. Brass: Two 1-to-2-octave major or minor scales. Percussion: Snare rudiments, a major & a minor 1-octave scale on bells.	Auditions: Auditions can be scary, but never fear! We are small and love new people! Appointments are optional. Walk-ins will have to be worked in around people with appointments, on a first-come, first-served basis. What to prepare is in the “fine print” over there on the left. ß
Concerto Auditions: Last year Sarah Pehrson, Krystell Taylor, and Hector Guadarrama were selected to perform works by Bruch, Accolay and Vanhal with the orchestra. (Actually, Krystell didn’t perform – she broke her arm instead – but she’ll be performing her piece in our November concert). This year, it could be you or your friend! Our concerto night will be February 4th, 2012. Auditions are open to members of the orchestra for no additional fee. If you have an awesome friend who wants to audition, the charge is $20. Auditions will be October 29, 2011, after regular rehearsal at 11:15 am. Your piece must be pre-approved for availability and playability in September – so contact Julie or Robert with your information.	Concerto Auditions This is for people who are already working on a concerto (a solo piece with orchestral accompaniment). I know, sounds scary to some, but it sounds exhilarating and exciting and like an incredible opportunity to others. If it sounds cool to you, please come talk to me. We have to approve your piece!
Mandatory Parents’ Meeting The mandatory parents’ meeting for both LYS and LYCO is September 24, 2011, 11:30–12:15 pm, ACYI Choir Room. This will include information on the Symphonic Society, the retreat, rehearsal attendance and etiquette, wardrobe guidelines, and recruiting for volunteer opportunities like a snap-shot taker/photographer. There will also be a question / answer session. We look forward to getting to know you! We’ll see you there!	Parents’ Meeting Sept 24, 2011 Of course, it’s only mandatory if you want your discount, but it’s also full of great information. If you want your friends to get the discount, get them to join early!
Concert Schedule Our concerts are scheduled at Box Elder Middle School Auditorium at 5:00 pm on the following dates: November 12, February 4, and April 21	Concerts: Please put them on your calendar TODAY!
Abravanel Hall Each year we share the stage with 14 other youth symphonies at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City. Save the Date! This year’s youth symphony festival will be on Monday, February 27, 2012. We always have a need for parent chaperones. We get to request a morning or afternoon time slot, so if you have a preference, please let me know!	Abravanel Hall: A day-long field trip. We ride a bus & we perform & we need parents to come along, so let me know if you are interested!

Our “Utah Symphony All-Stars” When Lincoln Youth Symphony participates in the Youth Symphony Festival at Abravanel Hall each year, we qualify to send some of our members to play side-by-side with professionals as part of the Utah Symphony for their All-Star Evening. This coming year, the concert will be on Tues, May 15, 2012. Congratulations to our 2011 All Stars! Sarah Pehrson, violin, graduated from Fremont HS in 2011. Kylie Christensen, violin, graduated from Bear River HS in 2011. Kurt Hallin, trumpet, graduated from Weber HS in 2011. Jeffrey Hadfield, horn, graduated from Box Elder HS in 2011.	The Utah Symphony side-by-side concert is a fantastic opportunity for several musicians each year! PS The bigger the string section, the more students we get to send, so let’s make this group GROW!
Messiah Each year the Lake Bonneville Community Symphony performs a Messiah Sing-along, and they always invite LYS to participate. The performance will be December 8 or 9; stay tuned for information on rehearsals.	Messiah Sing-along: This is not part of LYS, but completely optional!
Buy Grocery Store Certificates Naomi Miles is our contact person on the board for grocery certificates. If you would like to be included on her grocery certificate list to regularly purchase grocery certificates, please contact her at 435.723.7617. Money raised can be specified for the general fund, for LYS, LYCO, or the Community Symphony. The certificates work at any Smith’s, including the pharmacy and gas pump, or at either the Brigham City or Tremonton Kent’s. It is an ongoing fundraiser. Buy certificates and spend them like cash; our organization makes 5% cash back. This is a great way to budget for groceries!	Fundraisers: Grocery Certificates – please participate. Each year it seems we fall back on our grocery certificate money to get us through the year! Gala Dinner & Silent Auction which is our main fundraiser and takes the majority of the Board’s energy. Please be generous and volunteer by marking the bottom section on your audition form!
Help with Gala Dinner and Other Fundraising Events Stay tuned for more information about upcoming fundraising events! Also, if you are a fundraising expert, or even if you just have ideas, please come talk to us. We’d love to pick your brain!
Lake Bonneville Symphonic Society The Lincoln Youth Symphony, Lincoln Youth Chamber Orchestra, and Lake Bonneville Community Symphony are projects of the Lake Bonneville Symphonic Society, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the support of symphonic music throughout our region. Your tax deductible donations and matching funds gifts are always welcome! The Lake Bonneville Symphonic Society wishes to thank Box Elder School District, the staff and administration of Box Elder Middle School and Adele C Young Intermediate School, the Box Elder News Journal, Tremonton Leader, and Standard Examiner for their support. Sincere thanks to our musicians and especially our parent volunteers for their time and work. Without their support, this program would not be possible. The Lake Bonneville Symphonic Society is sustained by grants from the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation and our annual Gala Fundraiser Dinner & Silent Auction, including the generous donation of a recliner for our February 2011 raffle from Paradise Furniture in Willard, Utah. We are also grateful for support from individual donors, parents, grandparents, and employee gift matching from both ATK Launch Systems and Autoliv. Gratitude to Box Elder Tourism Board for recently awarding a grant for new music for the 2011-2012 Season! This project is supported in part by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums, with funding from the State of Utah and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support from local businesses includes grocery certificate support from Smith’s and Kent’s, music stand storage from Brigham Storage, and Canyon View Animal Health Center and the Box Elder Chamber of Commerce and Box Elder Tourism Board for their donated printing of programs and other items.	Gratitude: We have to include this stuff on everything we publish. It makes me feel like PBS! Everyone that supports us is so cool! Like Totally. They are all awesome – and so are you. If we didn’t have you, we would not be here! Did you know we got a Box Elder Tourism Board grant for new music this year? It was so fun to pick music from a catalog instead of a musty cabinet! Thank you, Box Elder Tourism Board!
Robert Bott In addition to being LYS conductor, Robert Bott currently serves as Co-Music Director of the Celebration Chamber Orchestra. Robert has guest conducted the Salt Lake Symphony, the Utah Composer’s Forum, the Summer Choral Institute, and has participated in conducting workshops around the country. He has also been privileged to work with living composers and to conduct premieres of several contemporary works, including his own compositions. His conducting teachers include Robert Baldwin, David Cho, Brady Allred, Kenneth Kiesler, Andrew George, and David Schiff. A native of Salt Lake City, Robert holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Utah in Music Composition, and a Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting. His interests in music are extremely varied; besides conducting and composition, Robert has studied the saxophone, clarinet, and voice. As a performer, he has had the privilege of playing in numerous instrumental ensembles, singing in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, and touring England and France with the University of Utah Singers, winners of the European Grand Prix International Choir Competition in 2006. (Last Fall they toured with this choir again and won another competition. -Julie) Robert and his wife Tiffany (who makes the best brownies ever!) live in Layton, and mostly they dote on their new baby Tristan, but in their spare time they enjoy literature, sports, video games, and nature.	Conductor: We are excited to have Rob return this year for a second season! He’s really good at Whack-em, so we like him! If you didn’t meet him last year, you can read his bio over there ß J

The Audition form can be filled out at the auditions if you don't already have one. Please bring the following information:

Instrument, Grade (in school), Date, New / Returning (Circle One)

Name, Parent(s) or Guardian(s) Names, Mailing Address, City, ZIP

Musician’s Email Address, Parent’s Email Address(es)

Home Phone, Musician’s Cell Phone, Parents' Cell Phones – Mother & Father

School Attending

I am enrolled in at least 2 trimesters or semesters of my school’s music program YES NO

Years of experience (please list each instrument separately)

Private teacher Name & Phone

Years private instruction_______How did you hear about LYS?______

My parents & I would like more information about the following volunteer opportunities:

LBSS Board Openings

o LYS Parent Representative

LYS Helpers

o Photographer / Snapshot parent

o Move Percussion Equipment for Concerts

o Buy Grocery Certificates

o File Orphan Music

o Chaperone for Retreat (Nov 18-19 2011)

o Chaperone to Abravanel Hall (Feb 27, 2012)

o Outreach Efforts at ____________ (school)

Gala Fundraiser

o Ticket Sales Committee

o Silent Auction Committee

o Donations Committee (solicit donations)

o Decorations & Setup Committee

o Publicity Committee

o Serve Food (youth symphony members)

o Cleanup

o Coordinate Entertainment