Metropolitan Youth Symphony
2017-2018 Final Newsletter
IT'S A WRAP
Metropolitan Youth Symphony Program’s 2017-2018 season has officially come to an end. We are so proud of all of our musicians for their hard work this year and the beautiful performances they shared with us at the Mesa Arts Center and the Holiday Concert at Superstition Mall. What a year it has been!
We want to thank all of our MYS families and directors for making it possible for our musicians to participate in the program this year. We know that behind each hard-working young musician is a whole team of loved ones – parents, guardians, grandparents, siblings, teachers, and more – who contribute in various ways to see to it that our young people are able to attend weekly rehearsals and performances, practice their instruments regularly, and stay on top of their school work and other after-school activities so that they can be a part of the significant and life-changing music experience that MYS is all about. We know what you do and we appreciate you for doing it!
Directors Awards and the Sherry Gordan Memorial Scholarship Award
Congratulations to our recipients of the Directors Awards and the Sherry Gordan Memorial Scholarship Award. It is always a pleasure to have the opportunity to present these awards at the final performance. Each director is asked to identify one young musician who exemplifies the professional qualities associated with being a musical leader within their ensemble.
Debut Orchestra – Rylie Lowinger, Violin
Division 4 – Noah Lee, Cello
Division 3 – Faith Millett, Viola
Division 2 – Marco Opena, Violin
Division 1 – Max Lunifeld, Cello
Fiddlers – Maria Clapp, Violin
Wind Ensemble – Vikram Narasimhan, Baritone
Sherry Gordon Award (Division 1) – Shea Stayner, Viola
Annual Scholarship Competition
On May 10, many of our young musicians participated in the Annual Scholarship Competition, performing for four of our Valley’s best musicians and educators. These young competitors were presented with comments from each of the judges and were then ranked to receive monetary awards from $75-$200.
Congratulations on your hard work, and bravo to the following winners:
Division 1
1st Place – Jonathan Okseniuk, Violin
2nd Place – Charlie Pabst, Cello
3rd Place – Keenan Winkler, Cello
Division 2
1st Place – Isobel Andersen, Violin
2nd Place – Michael Meng, Violin
Divisions 3, 4 and Wind Ensemble had the option of participating in a recital and completing the necessary paperwork from where they were chosen to receive a $75 Scholarship:
Division 3 - Joshua Lee (violin), Jennifer Lee (violin), and Sadie Christie (violin)
Division 4 – Lily Fox (cello), Abbie Burdick (violin), and Daisy Han (violin)
Wind Ensemble - Sophia Moreno (clarinet), and Jessica Valdez (flute).
We also want to acknowledge the volunteers (aka MYS Super Heroes) that have devoted significant time and service to MYS this year, starting with our amazing Rehearsal Managers.
Division 1 – Rae Wodarcyk, Debe Jorgensen, and David Kores
Division 2 – Kristi Cipollini
Division 3 – Sherry Klayko-Gloss, Gladys Plaschke
Division 4 – Margaret Burdick, Kate Schaub
Debut – Kelly Sorkin
Wind Ensemble – Edanna Valdez
MYS Intern – Rene Pacheco
In addition, we are extremely grateful for the work of Lana Cudmore, our Admin Assistant, with the various office tasks, projects, music library and parent volunteer coordination throughout the year. MYS simply couldn’t do what it does for our members without the capable assistance of our staff and volunteers in all the ways they have helped us this year. Thank you, Super Heroes!
And speaking of amazing volunteers, we also want to express our appreciation for our dedicated and hard-working Board of Directors for 2017-2018:
Blair Myers, President
Rae Wodarcyk, President Elect
Jeremy Poll, Secretary
Chris Wodarcyk, Treasurer
Doug Gloss
Dennis Bulck
Sally Pullen
James Myers
Candy Yu
Tom Lunifeld
This talented group of community leaders makes it possible for MYS to stay true to its mission of providing our musicians with a high-quality music education, instilling an emotional connection with and lifelong passion for music, fostering a diverse community of musicians, and offering outstanding symphonic performance opportunities for musicians to share their musical gifts with our community. We appreciate you!
MYS Fall Registration - Season 2018-2019
Application information and registration can be found on our website...
Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Inc
Email: office@azmys.org
Website: www.azmys.org
Location: 49 West 1st Street, Mesa, AZ, United States
Phone: (480)456-9501
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MYSofAZ