Alumni Newsletter - July 17, 2014

July 17, 2014

Hello YSO Alumni!

I am very excited for another great year with the orchestra – performing dynamic and challenging repertoire, including a Valentine’s Day concert, the Adagio from Mahler Symphony No. 10 and Strauss’ “Alpine Symphony.”

Even more exciting is the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the Yale Symphony Orchestra in the 2015-2016 season. We are already planning big things for the year, including alumni events and a concert at Carnegie Hall. As we prepare for this landmark occasion, I hope you will reach out to us to assist in planning and coordinating what we hope will be an unforgettable year. Not only is it the orchestra’s 50th, it will also be my 10th anniversary as Music Director of the YSO!

I hope to see all the musicians who helped make this decade so special to me.

With warmest wishes,

In May, another spectacular Yale Symphony Orchestra season (see below for the highlights) came to a close, and now, the height of summer finds us busy preparing for next year. As our new officer corps takes the reins (and the key!), our goal is to continue to build and strengthen the ties between the current Yale Symphony Orchestra and you!

As Toshi mentioned, 2015-16 will be the Yale Symphony Orchestra’s 50th anniversary season. In light of this notable number, we will be planning a year-long fundraising campaign and special alumni events. To this end, we are forming an alumni advisory committee, and we need your help! If you would like to be more involved with planning for the 50th anniversary season, please contact Brian Robinson by replying to this mailing.

To help keep everyone up to date on the latest alumni news, we’ve launched an alumni website, where you can find alumni updates, a newsletter archive, a new blog, and, most recently, a media page. Had a mini YSO reunion? Send a photo, video, or audio file to our webmaster, and we’ll get it up on the media page for everyone to enjoy. We love to hear what you have been up to, musically and otherwise, so please submit an update to be posted on the website and possibly in future newsletters. For more frequent updates on current YSO goings on, for entertaining photos, and to express your stellar musical taste, take a moment to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!

Best wishes for an enjoyable rest of the summer,

The Yale Symphony Orchestra
Brian Robinson, Manager
Field Rogers, TD ’15, President
Ben Healy, ES ’16, Head Publicist
Joan Rhee, DC ’16, Publicity
Alicia Ding, PC ’16, Publicity
Sam Faucher, TD ’16, Publicity

Here’s some news from last semester:

  • In February, we welcomed guest conductor Sir Gilbert Levine, known as ‘the Pope’s Maestro’ for his work with Pope John Paul II, and father of YSO’s principal bassoonist Gabe Levine ’14. Under Maestro Levine’s baton, we performed Richard Danielpour’s Washington SpPresident Peter Salovey and Sir Gilbert Levine before the concerteaks with Yale’s President Salovey as the voice of George Washington and narrator of the other president’s words on the topic of religious liberty. Then, we captivated the sold-out audience with Gustav Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 2, ‘Ressurection,’ which featured soprano Claudia Rosenthal, mezzo-soprano Janna Baty, the Yale Glee Club, and the Yale Camerata. Check out this Yale Daily News interview with Maestro Levine for more on how this extraordinary performance united Yale, New Haven, and themes of religious tolerance.
  • Our March concert became our season finale when the original April concert was rescheduled for September 27, 2014. The performance opened with two pieces that highlight different sections of the orchestra, Antonin Dvorak’s Serenade for Winds, Cello, and Double Bass and Edvard Grieg’s Holberg Suite. Assistant conductor Jacob Joyce ‘14 then led the orchestra in a brilliant performance of Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 4. This concert was  fitting culmination of both the orchestra and Jacob’s hard work throughout the year. Check out video from this concert on our YouTube channel.
  • After the official end of our 2013-2014 season, we voted March Madness style on repertoire for a Bulldog Days concert in April.  We chose Ravel’s Alborada del Gracioso, selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2, and the last movement of Shostakovich’s fifth symphony. We are pleased to report that the members of the class of 2018 seemed just as enthusiastic as we had hoped, and we are looking forward to the day when they join us on the Woolsey stage.
  • After the conclusion of final exams, YSO members barely breathed a sigh of relief before moving to Old Campus, though, thankfully, those infamous hours between move out and move in were graced by blue skies for the first time in recent memory. We performed the commencement program, featuring many of our beloved seniors, at both our annual Battell Chapel Commencement Concert and at the Yale Club of New York City. When not in rehearsal, we reveled in our newfound freedom and took the opportunity to explore Wooster Square and visit East Rock, to picnic on Old Campus and enjoy New Haven’s restaurant scene, and to play chamber music until the small hours of the morning, as YSOers have always been want to do.
  • Stay tuned for the official announcement of next year’s season on facebook and our website. We would love to see some of you at a concert in Woolsey Hall next year.