{"id":63721,"date":"2018-11-30T15:28:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T22:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/young-musicians-show-what-theyre-made-of-in-san-juan-symphony-youth-orchestra\/"},"modified":"2018-11-30T22:28:03","modified_gmt":"2018-11-30T22:28:03","slug":"young-musicians-show-what-theyre-made-of-in-san-juan-symphony-youth-orchestra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/young-musicians-show-what-theyre-made-of-in-san-juan-symphony-youth-orchestra\/","title":{"rendered":"Young musicians show what they\u2019re made of in San Juan Symphony Youth Orchestra"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Lech
Lech Usinowicz, San Juan Symphony Youth Orchestra general program director and conductor of the senior ensemble, leads young musicians in practice ahead of this weekend\u2019s performances in Durango and Bayfield.<\/span>Courtesy of Judith Reynolds<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Last Monday, Lech Usinowicz walked into to his Youth Symphony rehearsal 15 minutes late. The orchestra was already playing, \u201cas they should,\u201d Usinowicz said with a smile. He had just finished a pre-rehearsal meeting with his principal chairs at Fort Lewis College, where the San Juan Symphony Youth Orchestra rehearses every week. <\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome back from Thanksgiving break,\u201d he said to the entire ensemble. \u201cWe have one week before the concert. Let\u2019s get started.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mark
Mark Walser, conductor, and Shannon Fortenot work with musicians in the Junior Orchestra.<\/span>Courtesy of Judith Reynolds<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Usinowicz is the SJSYO general program director and conductor of the most senior ensemble. Since 2013, the whole project has come under the umbrella of our professional regional orchestra, the San Juan Symphony. Designed for young musicians in the Four Corners, SYSYO consists of a Junior Orchestra, headed by Mark Walser with Shannon Fontenot, the Youth Philharmonic, led by Molly Jensen, and the senior ensemble, the Youth Symphony, conducted by Usinowicz. Twice a year, they present a concert of demanding classical music, each with a separate repertoire. In the upcoming winter concert, one work, \u201cGreensleeves,\u201d will be performed \u201ctutti,\u201d by all three ensembles.<\/p>\n

The Junior Orchestra musicians span in age from 9 into middle school. The youngest musicians will perform \u201cDragonhunter\u201d by Richard Meyer, John Caponegro\u2019s \u201cShoe Symphony\u201d and Balmages\u2019 \u201cPrelude and Fugue,\u201d which may be the most challenging.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Walser\u2019s second year leading the ensemble, working alongside Fontenot, now in her 13th year. Both teach in area elementary schools.<\/p>\n

\"Molly
Molly Jensen is conductor of the Youth Philharmonic.<\/span>Courtesy of Judith Reynolds<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Jensen, who teaches in the Durango High School music department, has chosen a Russian theme for the Youth Philharmonic, \u201cin the hope that we could channel the cold, snowy Russian tundra for our winter season,\u201d she said. The ensemble will play three works by Russian composers, including the spirited Hopak from Moussorgsky\u2019s \u201cFair at Sorochinsk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Usinowicz\u2019s Youth Symphony, which includes high school- and college-age students, has taken on a daunting program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be playing the first movement of Sir Edward Elgar\u2019s Serenade for Strings,\u201d Usinowicz said. \u201cThen we\u2019ll feature Anna Newman in the first movement of Haydn\u2019s Piano Concerto in F Major Hob. XVIII. We\u2019ll conclude with the fiery String Symphony No. 3 by Mendelssohn. It was composed when he was just 12 years old, along with other youthful works around 1821 to 1823. The piece has all of the great influences of the classical era while staying true to the times of the ever-expressive Romantic period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newman, 14, also plays cello in the Youth Symphony. She began studying piano long before adding a string instrument.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been playing piano since I was 5 years old,\u201d Newman said, \u201ccello for the last four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo years ago, when I told my piano teacher, Mika Inouye, I wanted to perform in the upcoming competition, she immediately suggested this Haydn concerto,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve been working on it since March 2017. It\u2019s so, oh man, cool. You can put so much emotion into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the first year SJSYO will present twin concerts: 2 p.m. Sunday in the Bayfield Performing Arts Center; and 7 p.m. Monday at the Community Concert Hall in Durango.<\/p>\n

Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

If you go<\/h4>\n

WHAT:<\/strong>
\n San Juan Symphony Youth Orchestra winter concert, featuring the Junior Orchestra, Youth Philharmonic and Youth Symphony, Director Lech Usinowicz with Mark Walser and Molly Jensen.
\n WHEN:<\/strong>
\n 2 p.m. Sunday, Bayfield Performing Arts Center; 7 p.m. Monday, Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.
\n TICKETS:<\/strong>
\n Bayfield: $5 adults, students free. Durango: $10 adults, $5 students, available online at www.durangoconcerts.com, by phone at 247-7657, and at the door.
\n More information:<\/strong>
\n Call 382-9753 or visit www.sanjuuansymphony.org.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

play to perform in Bayfield and Durango<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[5252,559],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-63721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-classical-music","tag-music"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63721"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=63721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}