In The Spotlight - Archive
Highlighting special events and items of general interest to the NYS community.
The Norwalk Youth Symphony Class of 2011
NYS honored its graduating seniors in a ceremony at the 2011 Mother's Day Concert.
Richard Brooks, Jonathan Yates, and the Class of 2011
- Julio Baca -
- Molly Blessing -
- Margot Bruce -
- Jedrik Chao -
- Olivia Ford -
- Ben Freeman -
- Matthew Gentile -
- Ilse Heine -
- Carson Hele -
- Gregory Henninger -
- Victoria Jansson -
- Meghan Loose -
- Samantha Mendez -
- Scott Mesh -
- Megha Nadig -
- Jennifer Park -
- Deborah Reyes -
- Adele Shenoy -
- Samantha Small -
- Whitney Steele -
- Ellen Trinklein
The 2011 Ramer Memorial Scholarship Award was awarded to Jedrik Chao. The Award is granted each year to a deserving senior as chosen by their peers on the basis of leadership, commitment, preparation and attendance.
Jedrik Chao receives the 2011 Ramer Memorial Scholarship Award from NYS Chairman Larry Reilly
The Norwalk Youth Symphony extends its heartiest congratulations to our graduates and wishes them every success in the future.
Mother's Day Concert 2011
The annual Mother's Day Concert marks the end of the Norwalk Youth Symphony's concert season.
The concert traditionally includes the presentation of our graduating seniors and awarding of the Ramer Memorial Scholarship Award, which is granted to a deserving senior as chosen by their peers on the basis of leadership, commitment, preparation and attendance.
Concerto Competition Winner - Christine Xu
The Mother's Day Concert also features a performance by the winner of the NYS Concerto Competition. This year's concert will feature Christine Xu, piano, in a performance of the Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16.
Ms. Xu, a sophomore at Weston High School (WHS), is a talented pianist who began her music studies at the age of six. Since then she has matured into a "passionate and powerful player" whose performances are always full of "heartfelt emotion". In addition to winning the NYS Concerto Competition, Ms. Xu recently won first place in the senior division of the Ellen Spivak Chopin competition sponsored by the Schubert Club. She was awarded Honorable Mention at the prestigious Greater Bridgeport Symphony's Carlson Horn Competition in March 2011, and performed at the GBS Finalists' Showcase to critical acclaim. She was awarded the Gold Cup by the Young Musicians Festival for obtaining the highest ratings in the most advanced categories for three consecutive years.
In the summer of 2009, Ms. Xu attended the Vianden Music Festival in Luxembourg where she was featured as a soloist and in chamber ensembles. This past summer, she participated in the Killington Music Festival in Vermont where her performances at concerts, master classes and outreach programs were received with great enthusiasm. In April, Ms. Xu and two other young pianists held a benefit concert at Westport's Steinway Hall, to raise funds for the American Red Cross/Japan Relief Fund.
Ms. Xu is also an accomplished cellist. She peforms with NYS as a cellist in the Principal Orchestra, with the WHS Symphonic Orchestra, and with chamber ensembles. She served as the assistant principal cellist at the 2010 Fairfield County String Festival and in 2011 she performed with other talented musicians from Connecticut at the CMEA Western Region High School Concert Festival. Ms. Xu will also perform at Carnegie Hall with the NYS Principal Orchestra in May.
Ms. Xu studies piano with Yoshie Akimoto and cello with Lois Errante.
The Norwalk Youth Symphony Mother's Day Concert 2011 will take place on Sunday May 8, 2011 at 3PM at the Norwalk Concert Hall at City Hall, 125 East Avenue, Norwalk CT.
Remembering Cameron Bruce, 1992 - 2010
The NYS community is deeply saddened by the loss of a vibrant alum, Cameron Bruce. Cameron passed away on September 13, 2010 at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where he was beginning his Engineering studies.
Those who accompanied NYS on the tour of Italy, or who attended the 2009 Giving Concert, will remember Cameron as one of our trumpeters who were featured in the performance of Leroy Anderson's Bugler's Holiday.
Cameron was an important part of NYS for five years, graduating in 2010. In the 2009-10 season he served as Assistant Principal trumpet in the Principal Orchestra, and in our Chamber Orchestra in its inaugural season.
Cameron was a dedicated musician, student, and athlete, and an active member of his community. He handled the demands of NYS, the Staples High School Swim Team, and his academic studies with grace and an ever-present smile. Cameron will always be remembered by his NYS family.
Cameron with conductor Tara Simoncic and fellow NYS musicians on tour in Italy
Westport News article with additional information about Cameron, and information on funeral services.
Video performance of Bugler's Holiday, recorded during the Italy tour.
Donations made to the Norwalk Youth Symphony Memorial Scholarship Fund in Cameron Bruce's name will be used to provide scholarships for the next NYS international tour.
The Gold Standard - NYS at Fantastic Festivals
On May 22, 2010, Prelude Orchestra, Philharmonia String Orchestra, and Philharmonia Orchestral Winds participated in performances and adjudication at the 2010 Fantastic Festivals.
All 3 ensembles achieved Gold ratings for their performances, which took place at Norwalk Concert Hall.
The ensembles performed before a panel of judges who are experienced school and youth orchestra conductors. The judges commended the ensembles for "polish", "focus", "attentiveness to the conductors", "tone quality", and "solid fundamentals and foundation of skills", while giving constructive commentary on such matters as interpretation and musicianship to help the conductors and musicians identify areas for improvement.
Congratulations to all of our ensembles, and also to their conductors Susan Jimenez, Carly Kulawitz, and Jessica McNamara.
See highlights from the event in the Photo Gallery.
NYS Fundraiser for Haiti Relief
On April 16, 2010, the NYS Chamber Orchestra performed in a concert to benefit AmeriCares Haiti Relief Fund. The concert, held at the Carriage Barn Arts Center in New Canaan, attracted an enthusiastic audience and raised over $700.
This was the second concert peformance by the Chamber Orchestra, a new ensemble that debuted during the 2009-10 season. The orchestra features musicians from the Principal Orchestra under the direction of NYS Music Director Tara Simoncic.
The program included Gounod's Symphony No. 1 and a performance of Saint-Saëns Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, highlighted by the solo violin of NYS Alum Chris Burkhalter. The group also presented Copland's Appalachian Spring in its original form for 13 players, in a stirring performance which prompted Ms. Simoncic to comment to the audience that "Kids don't play Appalachian Spring...but we did!".
The program concluded with an arrangement of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal, which gave the group a rare opportunity to let their (bow) hair down and provide a funky backbeat to accompany the beatboxing and guitar of guest artist Akil Dasan.
See highlights from the event in the Photo Gallery and on our Vimeo video channel.
Mother's Day Concert 2010 Features Concerto Competition Winner, Commissioned Work
The annual Mother's Day Concert marks the end of the Norwalk Youth Symphony's concert season.
The concert traditionally includes the presentation of our graduating seniors and awarding of the Ramer Memorial Scholarship, which is granted to a deserving senior as chosen by their peers on the basis of leadership, commitment, preparation and attendance.
Concerto Competition Winner - Sophie Feinberg
The Mother's Day Concert also features a performance by the winner of the NYS Concerto Competition. This year's concert will feature Sophie Feinberg, principal cellist of the Principal Orchestra, in a performance of the Elgar Concerto for Cello in E minor, Op. 85.
Ms. Feinberg, 17, has been playing the cello since the age of 9 and studies privately with Lois Errante. She has been with the Norwalk Youth Symphony since 2002. In addition to winning the NYS competition she was 2nd place winner in the 2010 Stamford Symphony Instrumental Scholarship Competition.
Ms. Feinberg studies chamber music with Asya Meshberg and has attended the Chamber Music Institute for Young Musicians, as well as Kinhaven Music School. Her Eroica Quartet won first prize in the 2009 Greenwich Center for Chamber Music Scholarship Competition, and were the featured artists in the 2009 Leon Tec Young Artist Showcase.
During the summer of 2008, Ms. Feinberg toured Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic as Principal cellist and soloist with NYS. She is thrilled to once again be traveling with NYS on their performance tour through Italy this summer.
Ms. Feinberg will be attending McGill University to pursue a degree in cello performance at the Schulich School of Music while studying under Matt Haimovitz.
World Premiere of Norwalk Jam, by composer Dan Cooper
The Concert Orchestra, under the direction of Richard Brooks, will premiere Dan Cooper's Norwalk Jam, commissioned for the orchestra by the Norwalk Youth Symphony.
A Manhattan-native composer and multi-instrumentalist, Mr. Cooper has music degrees from Columbia, The New England Conservatory, and Princeton.
As a composer, Mr. Cooper was a 2000 Aaron Copland composition fellow at Tanglewood, and has composed original scores for several acclaimed Shakespeare & Company productions. Mr. Cooper's music has been recognized with awards, commissions, premieres, recordings, showcases and residencies from Albany Symphony, Artists International, ASCAP, Cary Trust, Empire State Youth Orchestra, Engine 27, Fontainebleau, Imani Winds, International Street Cannibals, Meet the Composer, NARAS, New York New Music Ensemble, and Palisades Virtuosi, among others.
As a multi-instrumentalist specializing in 7-string bass guitar and also flute with electronics, Mr. Cooper has performed all over the world, perhaps most notably as a member of singer Ute Lemper's trio, including performances in performances at Town Hall, Sydney Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, and Tokyo's Bunkamura Orchard Hall, plus broadcasts on NBC, Radio France, Bravo, and RAI.
Mr. Cooper is currently on the faculty of the State University of New York/FIT, where he has created new courses in American Music, European-Classical Music, and Latin-American and Caribbean Music. Since 2005, he has also taught Music and Literature classes at the Greenwich House Senior Center.