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What music has meant to me.

As many of you know, I am in my senior year at Bartlett High School and music has been a part of my life forever, whether it be listening to my cousins or sister play, or in fifth grade when I finally got my hands on an instrument. Music truly has shaped my life in a plethora of ways, but mainly it has taught me to feel.

Feelings are often thrust from society due to their innate nature to mess things up, slow down productivity, or threaten revenue. However, in music, feelings are welcomed: happy music, sad music, celebratory music, grieving music, inspiring music, music to cry too, etc. This has taught me not to ignore my feelings and has often given me solace when feeling down because music is there to tell you your not alone.

The other major way music has impacted me is by giving me a community to call home. Whether it be in Band at school or in Youth Symphony or Brass Choir. Music has people that you can connect with because you automatically have something in common, which helps skip the first hurdle to finding your place. Music gives everyone a place, both literally (in the sense of a part to play), and ethereally, in the sense of community. Without music I would be lost, and the EYSO has played a large role in fostering that love.

Why do I perform in the EYSO?

I perform in two ensembles in the EYSO, one is the Brass Choir, a unique ensemble that delves into the beauty of the brass family to make complete musical performances that are both unique and entertaining (with only 5 different instruments!). Sometimes I play euphonium in Brass Choir and sometimes I perform on Bass Trombone.

In the last concert cycle we explored two different marches and investigated how marches can differ from each other and how they are not always the pompous, jovial pieces you might think. We performed the March for the Love of Three Oranges by Sergei Prokofiev. Which is almost as unique as its title, it explores the travels of a prince who is cursed to fall in love with three oranges by a witch. The other march was Sigfried's funeral march from Die Gotterdammerung. These two pieces could not be more different yet were both associated with movement, just one enthusiastic and one solemn.

The other ensemble I perform in is Youth Symphony, where I am the principal bass trombonist. Youth Symphony has opened my "band-glazed" eyes to the wondrous world of orchestral music. Last cycle we explored 3 pieces, one of which is now my second favorite piece of classical music ever (second only to the Planets of course). That was the Overture to Strauss's Operetta Die Fledermaus, which has an incredible brass component and an exhilarating pace. The other two pieces were Nocturnes by Claude Debussy, and Shostakovitch's first symphony. Both incredible, the latter a little confusing musically but that adds so much to the meaning of the piece.

Why does EYSO need your money?

Tuition covers only one-third of the total cost of each member’s participation in EYSO. Our NOTES campaign helps keep tuition reasonable and offsets program costs.

Please consider donating to EYSO to help Youth Symphony meet its goal. More importantly, it will help benefit everyone in EYSO.

Once the NOTES campaign is completed, you will receive a donation acknowledgement from EYSO for tax purposes. The campaign runs until April 5.

Thanks very much for your support!

P.S. Come hear Youth Symphony perform! Click here for the season schedule or click here to view video clips from the November 2019 concert.