NEWSLETTER. Saskatchewan Orchestral Association, Inc. President s Message December SOA acknowledges the. New SOA Newsletter Format!

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1 SOA Newsletter December 2013 Saskatchewan Orchestral Association, Inc. NEWSLETTER IN THIS ISSUE: President s Message Member & Community News Friendly Folk Update How Parents Can Enrich Pt 4 Poltava Article Poltava Malanka Regina Community Orch. News RMO Convention Success SSSP Early Childhood Class SYO Composition Competition SSYO Update SOA acknowledges the President s Message December 2013 By Curtis Scheschuk It is hard to believe that we are already into December. This is the time of year where the SOA plans for the new year. Earlier this month, our board met to chart a course for In 2013, we made our application for funding for the next 3 years. We were successful in getting an extraordinary increase to our funding. This increase has allowed us to begin to put into motion a plan that we hope will result in more funding for successful and sustainable music education programs. In early November, I was pleased to not only attend the Saskatchewan Music Conference, but also to present a seminar. I took away from that weekend many ideas about how to improve my own teaching. Most importantly for me, I have begun using services like Google+ and Skype to connect with and teach people in smaller communities in Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan Music Conference set this project in motion. The highlight of the conference was presenting Barbara Fitzpatrick with the SOA Distinguished Service to the Orchestral Community Award. Anyone who knows Barb knows that she has played a role in developing generations of Saskatchewan musicians in and through music. Congratulation, Barb! I am very happy to report that Tara Solheim will be working with us again in 2014 as our Executive Director! Our increase in funding, which is the reason we can work towards long term sustainability for our member groups, is in large part due to Tara's hard work. Thank you. New SOA Newsletter Format! We are working towards a more digital format for the SOA Newsletter. If you have any comments or feedback as you see things change, we would love to hear from you! info@saskorchestras.com

2 SOA Newsletter December /14 Events Calendar Date Event Location Dec. 12, 2013 Celebrating 90 Years of Kaplan Saskatoon Dec. 15 SYO Winter Concert Saskatoon Dec. 15 SSYO Christmas Brunch Regina Jan. 18, 2014 Poltava Malanka Regina Feb. 1 SSSP Annual fund-raising Heartstrings Gala Saskatoon Mar. 29 SYO Gala Saskatoon Apr. 4 SSYO with the Regina Symphony Regina May 10 SSSP Annual Garage Sale Saskatoon May 13 SYO Composition Competition Deadline Saskstoon May 24 SFO 10th Anniversary Annual Spring Show Saskatoon June 15 SSYO Year End Concert Regina THE SOA PROUDLY SUPPORTS THE FOLLOWING MEMBER GROUPS Saskatchewan Orchestral Association Tara Dawn Solheim Executive Director # th Ave. Regina, SK., S4T 1P9 Next newsletter submission deadline: Feb. 24, 2014 SOA Board of Directors President Ph: (306) info@saskorchestras.com Curtis Scheschuk Past President Hugh Wood Vice President Birgitta Heidt Conservatory of Performing Arts Friendly Folk Magpie Strings Moose Jaw Community Orchestra Moose Jaw Youth String Orchestra Poltava Ensemble Orchestra Prince Albert Strings Orchestra Regina Community Orchestra Regina Mandolin Orchestra Regina Symphony Orchestra Sakewewak First Nations Artists Collective Saskatoon Fiddle Orchestra Saskatoon Philharmonic Orchestra Saskatoon Suzuki Strings Program Saskatoon Youth Orchestra Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra Swift Current Strings Tisdale and District Strings Secretary Treasurer Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Wayne Toews Ken McCaw Ramses Calderon Rebecca Hankins-Vopni Doug Hilderman Carol Ann Patterson John Payzant Jennifer Peak Rudy Sternadel

3 Friendly FOLK Friendly Folk has had a very busy opening of their 3 rd season rehearsing every Monday evening at Martin Collegiate in Regina Sk. They ve added several new tunes to their repertoire - arranged by Kathy Hubich, and they continue to improve their playing skills and overall sound under the professional direction of Yvonne Redant. Park United Church Christmas dinner, & the combined Christmas celebration at St. James Anglican Church with the Regina Community Orchestra, and the Bandits Jazz & Concert Bands. Friendly Folk has played out in the community at 7 different venues since August 25 th, when they opened their season at Dunnet Regional Park near Avonlea Sk. They continue to work hard at providing live musical entertainment to the community and continue to have fun learning and playing music together in a positive, fun, & upbeat environment. For more information and/or booking Please contact They have performed for the fine folks at Broadway Terrace retirement residence, the Regina Lutheran Care Home, Selo Gardens retirement residence, William Booth Special Care Home, Whitmore Artistic Directors Kathy Hubich Yvonne Redant

4 How parents can enrich their child s music education, Part 4 by Wayne Toews Exercises to train the ear Part of a music education should enhance the ability to audiate,* which means to hear music in your head without any physical sound. Specific exercises include: Play one note and audiate the next, alternating to the end of the piece. Echo back - imitate a phrase that is played for you. Start by echoing back clapped rhythms. Play the first measure of the music, audiate the second, play the third, audiate the fourth and so on. Maintain a steady tempo even if it means using a metronome. Swap phrases with a partner where one creates a two or four measure phrase that is answered by a second player who creates a phrase of similar length. Audiate or listen to a piece and then play it. Favorites are pieces such as Happy Birthday or Jingle Bells. (Trial and error are part of the learning process.) Play a well-known melody by beginning on a pitch that is higher or lower than commonly used. This is known as changing the key. Sing a piece while playing the harmony. Write simple melodies that you know or that you compose. As an alternative to using standard notation, start by using the following symbols: (a vertical stroke) represents a sound that lasts for one beat, (a downbow marking) represents two sounds on a beat, (a flipped and backwards letter L the right half of the downbow symbol) represents a sound that begins on the second half of the beat. ~ (a tilde) represents a sound that lasts two beats Can you recognize this song ending?^ ~ ~ Try using standard notation to write music. The vertical stroke becomes a quarter note, the downbow marking become two eighth notes, the flipped and backwards letter L becomes an eighth rest followed by an eighth note and the tilde becomes a half note. Ask a teacher or advanced musician to play your song to confirm that the notation represents the sounds as intended. The guidance of a qualified teacher can save time and help to eliminate frustration. *For more information see: ^ (answer in retrograde <written backwards>) slleb elgnij Wayne Toews taught music in Saskatoon s Public Schools for 32 years. He was Music Director of the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra for 25 years and led the orchestra to six successive national performance awards. His daughter and son studied the Suzuki Violin method and both played wind instruments in their school bands. He celebrates his many students who have maintained an avocational involvement with music and many others who are sharing their gifts as professional musicians. He is a founding board member of the SOA. Audio examples of his music for strings are posted at

5 PERSPECTIVE FROM THE BACK OF THE BUS AND THE SIDE OF THE STAGE Regina AUUC Poltava Ensemble travel in Saskatchewan By Dave Wilson The Regina AUUC Poltava Ensemble has been under contract to The Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC) since 1980 and Poltava has been proud to travel the province and perform under the sponsorship of OSAC and many local community arts groups. The mandate of OSAC is to keep the arts alive in Saskatchewan and to ensure communities throughout the province continue to enjoy live musical and theatre performances, visual arts exhibitions, workshops and special events. During the season Poltava was asked to perform in two Saskatchewan communities; Melfort in November of 2012, and Rosthern in April of Our preferred method of travel is by Boeing 747, however our normal method of travel is by bus, and there s always a sense of early morning excitement rippling through Poltava when loading for a remote performance. Or maybe it s just me self-medicating with a large Tim s. Either way, with all of the rehearsing that goes on, being able to perform for a live audience is a big deal and a fun time. And who doesn t like a road trip? Well, you could cut the excitement with a knife on the gray November morning of our planned Melfort road trip. The ground (and everything attached to it) was covered by thick, solid freezing rain, the kind that makes stepping from the sidewalk to the street a calculated effort. So while most of us were able to make it from our homes to the hall, the bus was nowhere to be seen. More than two hours later, after many phone calls and the clock reaching the point of no return, bus-driver Jim pulled/slid up in front. After a brief encounter with an 11 th Avenue light standard we were on our way and found the highway north of Regina to be in good condition, relatively speaking. As there are unwritten rules in life, so too when riding the bus with a 50 member ensemble of singers, dancers and musicians. As the emcee I ve discovered that the Poltava orchestra sits in the front, the singers usually near the middle, and the dancers in the back, the more senior the more back. The sound and lighting folks will usually take their own vehicle well in advance of the performance, so they have enough time to get everything set up and dialed in. My normal approach when choosing a seat on the bus is to loiter in the aisle with my bottom lip sticking out until my dancer daughter grants permission to me to sit near the back. While we had been told the Kerry Vickar Centre in Melfort was a nice place to perform, that turned out to be an understatement. The building was beautiful and perfect for our type of performance, which was great because we now had very little time to lay the stage mats, organize costumes, go through warm-up and walk-through, do sound checks, dress and ultimately perform. Fortunately Brandan, Leah, Jeff and Catherine had arrived the night before and had the technical side of the show ready to go, and our 2:30 concert got started right on time. The audience loved it (standing ovation and all) and after the applause we heard nothing but compliments. There were many in the audience that had come from quite a distance away to see the concert (one family even came from Hudson Bay) so we were all grateful to have managed through the bad weather. We owe many thanks to our bus driver, to our tech crew, our assistants, to Judy for arranging pizzas for the ride home, and to everyone who helped make this concert such a success! This Melfort concert will be remembered as the ice concert and ranks up there with the blizzard concert in Tisdale and of course the cold concert in Watrous. That s where the venue lost their heat in -30 conditions and the musicians played in sweatshirts and the dancers danced fast, or perished on that slippery straw floor.

6 But what a difference a season makes. On a beautiful spring morning in April we again loaded the bus and headed off, this time towards Rosthern and the Station Arts Center. Again I was granted permission to sit in the back with the dancers, where we played spot the moose (nobody won), decided that life is short so it s best to eat the top of the muffin first because it s the best part and you never know, and elected Dallas to coordinate a trip for 50 people to Ukraine (funny, she hasn t got back to us on that yet). This time we arrived with ample time to rehearse each number and get comfortable with the muchsmaller-than-we re-used-to stage. The building is an old railway station beautifully restored into a performing arts theatre, tea room and art gallery, and intimate is a good word to describe the performance feeling. We worked out a system where when Natalia, our orchestral director, and I could see our beautiful Emery we knew all of the dancers were ready and the show could proceed. Unfortunately Brandon wasn t able to join us due to a family matter at home, but Jeff, Leah, Catherine and our wonderful volunteers stepped up and did a great job with the sound and lighting. And maybe it was due to the intimate setting, but our audience was absolutely fantastic. When your personal reward for countless hours of rehearsing is the applause of a live audience, these folks paid us in full! As the cheers died down we took that energy and loaded the bus in record time (the coordinator of the Arts Council called us a well-oiled machine ). Melanie was bestowed the honour of arranging the pizzas for the gang, and did a great job. You can imagine how much damage 50 hungry performers can do to a stack of pizzas! Saturday night bus trips are much livelier than Sunday afternoon bus trips and the time back to Regina went by very quickly. Again we have so many people to thank, like Ev, and Melanie, and Ed, the Orchestra for making last minute musical changes, our technical crew for going early and setting up tech equipment, our excellent bus drivers and of course, our army of volunteers. Thanks again to everyone who help make these concerts possible! The Poltava Ensemble also gratefully acknowledges the support we receive from the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils, Sask Culture, Sask Lotteries, Saskatchewan Arts Board, Saskatchewan Orchestral Association, Dance Saskatchewan and the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan. While everyone is tired by the end of a road-trip day, it s a good tired, and Poltava can be very proud of their performance and of their people. I know this to be the case, because I see things from the back of the bus and the side of the stage.

7 MALANKA 2014 R S,J P 1077A ` 18,2014 A C R R P Y A T C B N O! $50

8 The Regina Community Orchestra News The fall session of the RCO started on September 19. We hold practice every Thursday evening from September to June in the Martin Collegiate music room. We currently have 17 members and 3 new players have joined us for practice in November. Our member s ages spans 6 decades. We are fortunate to have a new conductor in Adrian Casas. Adrian has brought new orchestral directing techniques and methods to our group. Our members are growing musically under Adrian s direction. Adrian has taken over for Jennifer Yim. We would like to thank Jennifer for her dedication to the RCO for the past years. Our first concert for the fall season was at the Renaissance Retirement Home in Regina. I think our best judge is always our audience, and we were requested to play an encore and there were people dancing to our tunes. Our next event is called Tunes and Turkey which is a Christmas party for the Regina groups The Jazz Bandits, The Bandits, Friendly Folk and The Regina Community Orchestra. At this event the bands play selections individually and then play Christmas music as a mass band and have a nice meal. We are having challenges in managing the music library. There are some good ideas to help with this issue and we are working to find an appropriate solution. I am enjoying the music and friendships of this RCO. We are open to new members if you would like to drop in for a practice. Doug Hilderman President The Regina Community Orchestra

9 The Resounding Success of Strings! Respectfully submitted by Susan McLaughlin Regina Mandolin Orchestra Chair, Host Convention Committee for C.M.S.A Yes, the Regina Mandolin Orchestra played host to musicians from around the world when the 27 th annual convention of the Classical Mandolin Society of America came to Regina from September 24 th to 28 th. And it was a resounding success! Registration peaked at 107 delegates (almost twice the anticipated attendance), meaning that there were over 8000 strings making wonderful sounds over the course of the week. It was a jolly atmosphere right from the beginning, as outof-town guests were picked up at the airport by members of R.M.O. and taken right to the hotel. The first evening was taken up with part one of the Teachers Training & Techniques Workshop given by Mr. Chris Acquavella of San Diego. By the time the workshop concluded at noon the following day, participants had received an abundance of information on the history of mandolin playing and a new perspective on hand and finger positions & techniques. (Chris Acquavella moves through participants in the Teachers & Techniques workshop, adjusting RH pick grip or LH placement on the instrument neck.)

10 By Wednesday afternoon, the convention was officially open. Old friends greeted each other, and many introductions were made to new friends! Members of R.M.O. were not shy about getting to know their guests. Participants hurried off to the regular workshops, and by mid-afternoon, it was time to convene for the first En Masse orchestral rehearsal. You could feel the excitement in the air, as everyone took their seats, ready to absorb every bit of wisdom that Director Jim Bates could give us, anticipating the wonderful music we were about to craft. (Conductor Jim Bates addresses the massed orchestra.) (Preparing for our first massed orchestra rehearsal.) For the Wednesday evening, the R.M.O. organized a unique event designed to give our guests a true taste of Saskatchewan hospitality. A chartered bus scooped up convention attendees and guest performers immediately after the En Masse rehearsal and took them to Bushwakkers Brew Pub for supper. When the bus filled, personal vehicles were used. Your first pint was included in the cost. By 8:00 p.m. everyone was back at the hotel for the Reception. (Time to socialize..members of R.M.O. with guests from Baltimore, Philadelphia and Portland.)

11 Thursday saw the arrival of some of our vendors: Cobb Swanson Music Store was a key participant. Mandolin sheet music and method books have not been readily available at C.M.S.A. conventions for many years. Regina organizers had been working closely with Dianne to ensure that a wide variety of material would available for purchase at this convention. The NMAG, the RCMP Heritage Centre & Tatanka Boutique rounded out the display area, providing an amazing cross-section of uniquely Saskatchewan or Canadian gifts. (Don Gonsalves of Toronto peruses some of Cobb Swanson s display.) Thursday was also the first of our public concerts at noon. Chris Acquavella from San Diego and Dr. Stefanie Rauch from Germany, played in the classical tradition. They were followed by Rio Con Brio, whose specialty is South American choro music. Both acts played to a packed ballroom. ( Rio Con Brio wowed the audience with their smooth style.) (Dr. Steffi Rauch, on Mandola, and Chris Acquavella, on Mandolin perform for a packed house at noon on Thursday.)

12 That evening was the first of two Open Mic sessions. This is an opportunity for anyone, no matter their level of proficiency or how big the group, to perform for their peers in a casual setting. Mando Group, an all-mandolin ensemble from Regina, performed two pieces for the audience. When the concert was over and the crowds dispersed, musicians began to reassemble in various corners of the hotel to sight-read or jam together. (17-year old Harrison Jennings from Anchorage, Alaska performing at Open Mic.) Friday was Vendor Day, with Pura Guitars from Saskatoon, F.W. Casey Guitars from Winnipeg, Timeless Instruments from Tugaske, Muth Mandolins and Sawchyn Guitars from Regina all in attendance. The layout of the hotel meeting rooms placed the vendors right in the centre of the action, which made them very happy! (Local luthier Peter Sawchyn chatting with delegates in the Vendor Area.) Friday at noon was our Gala luncheon. We shared a great meal with our new friends from around the globe, listened to a few speeches, and were greatly entertained by the raffle of musical goodies. Once again, the R.M.O. had arranged for a special visitor to drop by, to give our guests another taste of Saskatchewan. Corporal Dan Toppings of the R.C.M.P. arrived at the hotel ballroom just as C.M.S.A. President Lou Chouinard began to speak at the microphone. (Note: for those who may not be aware the image of an R.C.M.P. officer wearing red serge, holding a mandolin, was the official logo of our convention.) The appearance of Cpl. Toppings, resplendent in his red serge uniform, happily caused a complete breakdown in proceedings, as most of the room reached for their cameras, and headed off towards the good officer! It was a moment of pure drama, and yet another reason why the Regina Convention will be remembered and talked about for years to come. (Cpl. Dan Toppings poses (with mandolin, of course!) with the delegates from Australia.)

13 Friday offered a great selection of workshops, and our third rehearsal together as a massed orchestra. One of the performance pieces required timpani and glockenspiel, which were kindly loaned to us by the U of R Music Department. Our percussionists were a local high-school and university student. They rehearsed with us that afternoon and wowed the convention participants with their skill and professionalism. The sound of the timpani in particular sent shock waves through the musicians..and took an already dramatic piece of music to a new level of excitement. (Dr. Steffi Rauch from Germany coaches musicians through a Bach Chorale in her workshop on Ensemble Playing.) (The Regina Mandolin Orchestra, under the direction of Fletcher Powley, performs at the Friday public concert.) The concerts on Friday evening featured the R.M.O., Rio Con Brio and the Will Patton Trio. Saturday began with more workshops, followed by a dress rehearsal at the Regina Performing Arts Centre. Attendees were thrilled with the performance venue, as it allowed the orchestra to be up on a stage, and provided superior acoustics to the hotel ballrooms frequently used at past conventions. The Gala performance that evening did start late, but most folks overlooked this in light of the phenomenal talent that was on stage. Each of our guest performers had an opportunity to show Regina how versatile, and popular, the mandolin has become. After an intermission, the En Masse Orchestra took the stage. It s hard to believe that a group of 100+ musicians can put on a performance of that calibre with only 4 rehearsals! Those lucky enough to be in attendance on that night were treated to a rare sight: a symphonic style orchestra of 100+ musicians all playing instruments from the mandolin family or guitar. A very unique sound! (Jim Bates provides the audience at the Regina Performing Arts Centre with some context for the next piece.)

14 President Richard Gustin made a brief announcement prior to the En Masse performance, to let the public know about the Ray Pacholek Fund. Ray was a long-time mandolinist with the R.M.O., and a keen supporter of the C.M.S.A. The Pacholek family initiated this fund to provide financial assistance to members of R.M.O. interested in attending future C.M.S.A. conventions. Saturday evening at the hotel saw lots of socializing and spontaneous jamming till the wee hours of Sunday morning. Members of R.M.O. spontaneously arrived back at the hotel early Sunday to offer airport rides to anyone needing a lift. Frankly, no one wanted the fun to end. And as we discovered later, our shuttle service was just one more element of Saskatchewan hospitality that attendees were smitten with. All told, the Regina C.M.S.A. Convention was a smashing success. We were praised for how smoothly everything ran and for the great time we showed everyone. Many attendees, including those who are scheduled to host next year, freely admitted that Regina had raised the bar to a level that no one else could attain. We want to thank the S.O.A. for their financial assistance in putting on the Teachers & Techniques Workshop component of the Convention. Indeed, the success of the entire Convention can, and should, reflect positively back on S.O.A., which has supported us in so many ways over the years. The S.O.A. can also take pride in the fact that three of its member groups were represented at this Convention: in addition to the R.M.O., participants also came from Friendly Folk and the Poltava Ensemble. One of these individuals took me aside after a concert and told me what a wonderful time she was having, and lamented the fact that we couldn t have educational and motivational events like this in our own back yard more often! On Sunday afternoon, Laura Norris of Baltimore gave a demonstration of her Mando For Kids teaching program. Its curriculum is designed to teach young children the art of classical mandolin playing. Teaching mandolin to young people is clearly the best path forward if we are to ensure that mandolin playing and mandolin orchestras thrive in future. With the support of Laura Norris, the C.M.S.A. Board of Directors, and the R.M.O. Board of Directors, the decision has been made to pilot the Mando For Kids program in Regina in January This will be a lasting legacy from our Convention experience. (Laura Norris of Baltimore demonstrates her Mando For Kids teaching program using eight local children.) In the days and weeks following the convention, there was a certain level of euphoria amongst R.M.O. members. We were still riding a convention high. Every member of R.M.O. enjoyed themselves: they enjoyed the opportunity to play new music, learn new skills, to meet like-minded people and to share the pleasure of making music with them. Many personal friendships were forged: one of our members invited some of the Australians to their house for supper after the convention concluded. There is talk of some R.M.O. folks attending the next Convention in Portland, Oregon, and even traveling to Australia to participate in their convention!

15 Music and Rhythm - Early Childhood Class Develop a love of music Music education program for children between the ages of 18 months to 3 years old. This course will introduce basic of rhythm, pitch, beginning music notation by using songs, games and movement. NURTURING CHILDREN IN MUSIC SINCE 1985 Every child can learn to play Violin, Viola or Cello Explore Grow Discover Spaces are limited, register today! Contact: suzukiregistrar@gmail.com Call:

16 SYO Call for Compositions by young Saskatchewan Composers November 2013 Open Call for work by young Saskatchewan composers Compositions must be post-marked by May 13th, 2014 in order to be considered. The Saskatoon Youth Orchestra (SYO), SYO Music Director and special guest adjudicators are inviting young Saskatchewan composers to submit a work for possible inclusion in an SYO concert. The winning piece will be performed by the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra in their concert season. The SYO wants to promote the creation of original orchestral work by young Saskatchewan composers. We aim to make this an annual open call. We are also hoping to host a reading session of selected submissions that receive an honourable mention. Open to Saskatchewan composers up to the age of 26 as of the submission deadline. Submissions should be 5-7 minutes in length and should not exceed the instrumentation: 2* 2* timpani + 2 strings and must include a minimum instrumentation of timpani +1 strings. Instrumentation or duration above or below this will not be considered. Please note that enrolment of the SYO varies by year. The orchestra is often larger than the stated maximum instrumentation; however, these numbers ensure that it will be possible to perform a winning submission. Compositions should be submitted with the composer's name clearly indicated. In order to be considered, submissions must include the following: 3 copies of the orchestral score Instrumentation list (including a percussion list) Composer's date of birth and contact information Duration of piece Indication of whether the score is transposing or at concert pitch Submissions not meeting all stated criteria will be disqualified. The composer of the selected work will receive a $500 honorarium, and an archival recording of the performance. Please mail your submission to: Saskatoon Youth Orchestra P.O. Box Saskatoon, SK CANADA S7H 5N9 -pg. 1/4-

17 SYO Call for Compositions by young Saskatchewan Composers November 2013 Open Call FAQ Who will see my submitted work? Scores will be reviewed by the SYO Music Director, guest adjudicators and the SYO Faculty. May I include auxiliary orchestral instruments (contrabassoon, English horn, etc) in my composition? The SYO has access to an English horn and piccolo, but please refrain from other auxiliary instruments (contrabassoon, Eb clarinet, etc) May I include non-orchestral instruments in my composition? Submissions may not include non-orchestral instruments. May I submit a composition that has been previously performed by another orchestral ensemble? Given the mission of the SYO call for work to promote new creations by Saskatchewan composers, the SYO will only consider new works that have not been previously performed. Are handwritten scores eligible? No, only scores generated from a computer engraving program (Sibelius, Finale, etc) will be eligible. Am I required to submit an audio recording? An audio recording generated by the music notation program is required in order to be considered. Please mail your submission with a CD or send your audio file to info@syo.ca May I submit my score electronically? We will not accept electronic submissions. Composers must submit 3 hard copies of the composition. Submissions must be postmarked by the deadline and late submissions will not be accepted. Is a certain style or school of composition given preference (tonal vs. non tonal, etc)? Works will be evaluated purely on artistic merit without preference given to a certain style of composition. However, it is critical that submitted work takes into consideration that this will be performed by a pre-professional group. As such playability is of prime importance in being considered. For more information on past repertoire of the SYO please see page 4 of this document. I grew up in Saskatchewan but now study/live out of province. Am I still eligible? Yes. Candidates must have resided in SK previously or currently do so. -pg. 2/4-

18 SYO Call for Compositions by young Saskatchewan Composers November 2013 What does submissions should not exceed the instrumentation: 2* 2* timpani + 2 strings mean? For the answer, google shorthand for orchestra instrumentation. N.B. That the asterisks indicates a single player doubling on an auxiliary instrument. Do I need to include individual printed parts? Parts need not be submitted at the time of submission. The winning composer will supply parts after their piece is chosen. Parts are the responsibility of the composer and must be provided in compliance with the needs of the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra s library. Timeline for parts will be coordinated with the winning applicant. I'm interested in composing/ have composed a work for orchestra but I've never taken a composition lesson. Should I still submit? By all means, yes. Some of the greatest composers have been largely self taught. However, please ensure that you have checked that what you are writing is possible and within the range of the instrument in question. An excellent resource for this is The Technique of Orchestration by Kent Kennan and Donald Grantham. In addition to being an excellent guide to orchestration, it gives practical advice in scoring for amateur and pre-professional groups. Will my submission be returned to me? Submitted scores will only be returned if the applicant provides a self-addressed stamped envelope. Materials submitted without a SASE will be discarded. I have more questions! Who do I ask? No problem! We have more answers! Please your questions to SYO Music Director Richard Carnegie at conductor@syo.ca Please note that the winning composer will receive coaching in the editing process in preparation for rehearsal and performance. -pg. 3/4-

19 SYO Call for Compositions by young Saskatchewan Composers November 2013 Partial List of recent SYO Repertoire We hope this list will give candidate composers an indication of the programming and level of difficulty of works performed by the SYO Beethoven- Symphony No. 5 Tchaikovsky- Nutcracker Suite Wagner- Lohengrin: Prelude to Act III Dvorak- Symphony No. 8 Tchaikovsky- Swan Lake Suite Williams- Star Wars Suite Beethoven- Symphony No. 7 Schubert- Symphony No. 8 Rossini- William Tell Overture Bach/Stokowski- Toccata and Fugue in D minor Dvorak- Symphony No. 9 Tchaikovsky Overture Brahms- Academic Festival Overture -pg. 4/4-

20 South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra Update submitted by Sara Cryderman For the fifth year in a row, the South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra participated in the Youth Orchestra Symposium, held at the beautiful Banff Centre, in mid-november. Fifty-one of our young musicians spent four days in intensive workshops and rehearsals alongside members of the Edmonton and Calgary youth orchestras. At the final concert, the SSYO presented Soirée Musicales by Benjamin Britten, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man s Chest, by Hans Zimmer, and the final movement of Dvořák s New World Symphony. One of the many highlights of this trip is having the opportunity to hear other youth orchestras in performance. Our musicians eagerly look forward to Banff every year and come away inspired and motivated to continue working hard. The SSYO would like to thank the SOA for helping with funding. Members of the SSYO on the bus to Banff Next up for the SSYO is our annual Musical Christmas Brunch and Sing-a-Long, onstage at the Conexus Arts Centre on December 15, 2013 at 11:30 am.