The Wheeling Symphony Youth Orchestra, under the direction of Philharmonic conductor Dr. Matthew Inkster and Sinfonietta conductor Justin Jones, will present their fall concert on Tuesday, November 18th at Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church in Wheeling.
Tuesday’s concert will begin with our Sinfonietta performing ‘Western Hoedown’ by Vernon Leidig and ‘Can Can’ by Jacques Offenbach. The Sinfonietta Woodwind and Brass ensembles will also be performing various Christmas selections. The Philharmonic will perform two works, Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 (‘Unfinished’), and Felix Mendelssohn’s ‘Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage’.
This fall, 55 young musicians from the tri-state area are participating in the two ensembles that comprise the WSYO. The Sinfonietta, our younger ensemble, is made up mainly of middle-school aged students, with our youngest members in the 5th grade. We also have a few Philharmonic members that play in the Sinfonietta on secondary instruments; this is a unique opportunity we offer our students, one that allows them to learn and perform on another instrument. The Philharmonic is the older WSYO ensemble, made up of high school and college-aged musicians.
The Wheeling Symphony Youth Orchestra offers talented young musicians from the area a tuition-free, formal venue in which to train and perform together under the auspices of the Wheeling Symphony. Students from middle school through college are provided the opportunity to work in a professional musical environment. They also are given the opportunity to work with other professional musicians and members of the Wheeling Symphony through master classes and weekly coachings.
The WSYO is a tuition-free program thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and donors, and the tremendous support of the Wheeling Symphony Society, Inc. and the WSYO Steering Committee. The WSYO also has two annual fundraisers: the Bluegrass Barbecue, held in September, and Splash into Summer Cocktail Party, held in June.
The WSYO rehearses weekly from September through April with two public concerts each year. We also offer the opportunity to perform in the WSYO String Quartet, which performs at many venues, including in the lobby of The Capitol Theatre prior to the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra concerts. As an added benefit, youth orchestra members are admitted free to all WSO Masterworks concerts, and their families get discounted tickets.
Members of this year’s Wheeling Symphony Youth Orchestra are:
Philharmonic: Violin I: Allison L’Ecuyer; Julian Sun; Allie Markowicz; Nick Sharpsky; Bailey Norman; Violin II: Shaun Hancher, Maressa Savage, Amber Parsons; Viola: Derek Pavlic; Katie Hedrick; Jenna Petri; Matthew Turner; Cello: Katherine Adase; Darien Beall; Sarah Gorder; Jennifer Brezny; Sarah Ihlenfeld; Bass: Tanner Petri; Ebhann Campbell; Brendan Inkster; Flute: Krinstina Lipscomb; Gabriella Saporito; Piccolo: Jewlina Matthews; Oboe: Natalie DiNardo; Krsangyi Dove; Clarinet: Mikayla Schultz; Elena Akers; Bassoon: Lindy Cole; Skyler Nichols; Horn: Celesta Berga; Brendan Inkster; Dana Rienerth; Trumpet: Ryan Wolf; Robert Schafer; Merrin Ren; Trombone: Ike Tan; Chandler Wayne; Eric Byard; Timpani: Christian Oliver.
Sinfonietta: Violin: Lillian Croft; Brenna Planey; Isabella Schunn; Maddy Shaffer; Viola: Dharani Dove; Shaun Hancher; Bass: Lillian Gadd; Ebhann Campbell; Flute: Morgan Stone; Savannah Croft; Oboe: Krsangyi Dove; Clarinet: Morgan Bolinger; Joel Panas; Bassoon: Caroline Dill; Trumpet: Nick Brucchi; Destiny Miller; Riley Nolan; Jason Panas; Annalyn Rhine; Austin Smay; Trombone: Shaun Hancher; Tuba: Chandler Wayne.
For more information about the Wheeling Symphony Youth Orchestra, January 2015 auditions, or any of their upcoming concerts or fundraisers, please contact WSYO Manager Michelle Stack at 304-232-6191, or by email at wsyouthorch@gmail.com.