Youth orchestra poised to play

Published 3:00 pm Saturday, December 3, 2005

Performances are slated for next Friday at Bethany Lutheran.

Few kids like playing by themselves, and that includes musicians.

“If you have the opportunity to play with your friends, it can be thoroughly motivating,” said Priscilla Jones, president of the Bainbridge Island Youth Orchestra. “If you don’t have that fun, it’s easy to drop out.”

Now entering its fifth season, the Bainbridge Island Youth Orchestra performs at 7 p.m. Dec. 9 at Bethany Lutheran Church in a program that is both fun to play and listen to.

The junior orchestra, led by Pat Strange, plays the Toy Symphony by Leopold Mozart, the father of the famed Wolfgang Mozart, as well as Fanfare for the Young by Victor Lopez. The Woodward string ensemble plays Variations on a Well-Known Sea Shanty by Richard Stephan.

Benjamin Britten’s “Simple Symphony” will be played by the senior orchestra, conducted by George Ramsey, in addition to Bach Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor and Eight Little Pieces by Paul Hindemith.

Jones, who also teaches cello, says the orchestra is needed to round out students’ musical education. Since the island’s public schools don’t have a string program, young players were making progress on their own instruments, but missing out on performing in an ensemble.

“Once the students get to where they want to get, they find they are behind in orchestra and ensemble playing,” Jones said. “When you play in an ensemble, you have to be aware of what others are doing and play together. You have to play while listening to the others.”

Part of ensemble playing is also knowing if your part is the main voice – and so should be more prominent – or a supporting voice playing harmony.

Playing orchestral music is part of the standard repertoire of musicians, much like Shakespeare, Steinbeck and Faulkner are musts for English literature.

But most importantly, Jones said, the fun of playing with others keeps students from quitting when they get busy in junior high, a time when young players seem to either really take off or quit.

“I don’t think there’s a reason to drop out. You don’t have to be the best, just enjoy it,” she said. “Sitting in your bedroom doing etudes is not fun. You want to be playing with your friends and enjoying the skills you’ve been accumulating all these years.”

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Bows are drawn

The Bainbridge Island Youth Orchestra plays a free concert at 7 p.m. Dec. 9 at Bethany Lutheran Church. For more information about joining the orchestra, call Priscilla Jones at 842-0124 or see www.biyo.us.