April 2012

From The PresidentShirley Swarthout

In an article titled “The Arts in America” written for Look magazine in 1962, then-president John F. Kennedy characterized the arts as “a test of the quality of a nation’s civilization.” A promoter of the fine arts throughout his presidency, Kennedy clearly understood what the arts can mean in the life of a community. Two recent events illustrate those impacts here locally.

In early August the symphony guild participated in an open house at the Decatur Area Arts Council in downtown Decatur, where numerous arts organizations from around the area touted their programming and events. The arts represented were quite varied – choral music, instrumental music, theater, painting in various styles and media, artistry in clay and in fabric, to name a few.

As part of the guild’s participation, our Education VP Marilyn Mertz invited some of our scholarship recipients to play their instruments for the open house crowd of some 350 people. I can think of no better way to show the community a glimpse of what the symphony guild is all about.

The students’ performances were truly outstanding. It was a thrill to hear them, and I felt so proud to be part of an organization that supports young musicians as the guild does. That evening we heard only five of the many students for whom the

guild is funding scholarships this year: Seven students attended music camps this past summer, and 20 will be taking lessons at Millikin this school year, thanks to the guild’s

commitment to education. Then on Labor Day in Nelson Park, the community heard the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra’s rousing performance of numerous classics – from Offenbach to the Beatles; from Copland to tunes from South Pacific. What a wonderful gift to the Decatur area. Student performances for an open-house crowd; the annual Labor Day concert for a large and appreciative audience. Both events demonstrate how the performing arts contribute to our lives; both events made possible in large part by the Symphony Orchestra Guild of Decatur. This is why your support of the guild is so important. Together we are able to do things that truly do have an impact in the life of our community. Our season-opening concert at Kirkland is coming soon. I look forward to seeing you there!

Shirley SwarthoutPresident, Symphony Orchestra Guild of Decatur

2014-2015Board of DirectorsSam Kershaw, Immediate Past-PresidentShirley Swarthout, PresidentMary Anne Behnke, VP Funds DevelopmentKay Villarreal, VP Audience DevelopmentPaul Rosenberger, VP Guild DevelopmentMarilyn Mertz, VP Education DevelopmentRuth Cortright, SecretaryMary Gendry, Asst. SecretaryJohn Benda, TreasurerCarol Sudduth, Asst. TreasurerJon French, AuditorMichael Luxner, Orchestra ConductorLinda ArendsKarin BetzerRamona BordersKathy BrownKathy CrouchMaya FombelleKim FouseDee KellerJim KramerDon MartinThelma MartinPeggy RuffChristine TsigolaroffLarry Wade

Opening Night Reception

Join us in the Kirkland lobby after the September 27th concert for a champagne reception. Meet guest violinist Tai Murray and your favorite MDSO performers. Celebrate the new season with us!

Stay Connected

Visit our website for more information www.decaturorchestra.com

Holiday Gala

Friday, November 21 will be our annual holiday fundraiser at the Decatur Club. Mark your calendar and look for more details soon.

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September 20142014-2015 Season, Issue 1

Mark Your Calendars for This Season’s Performances

Sept. 27, 2014 – MDSO Opening Night, with soloist Tai Murray, violin Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia Sibelius Violin Concerto Franck Symphony in D Minor

Oct. 25, 2014 – MDSO Fall Concert, with soloist Silvan Negrutiu, piano Mozart Overture to Don Giovanni

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat (“Emperor”) Dvorak Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (“From the New World”)

Nov. 14, 15, 16, 2014 – Musical Theater – Peter Pan

Jan. 31, 2015 – MDSO Young Artists Concert Enescu Romanian Rhapsody No. 1

Concertos/Arias TBA

Feb. 28, 2015 – MDSO Concert with soloist Gabriel Cabezas, cello Mussorgsky “Dawn on the Moskva River” from Khovantchina Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 Fauré Pavane (with chorus) Debussy La Mer

April 18, 2015 – MDSO Spring Concert, with soloists William Gorton, tenor, and Randall Reyman, trumpet

Popular Italian arias and Neapolitan songs Pops trumpet arrangements from the American Songbook

Opening Night

The beginning of a new orchestra season is always exciting, and in the case of MDSO, particularly so. No sooner has the new academic year at Millikin begun, than we are thrown into our all-too-brief preparation for the Labor Day Pops, and all the white-knuckled anxiety about the weather that it entails. But now that another successful concert in the park is behind us, we can all look forward to the more substantial rewards of the subscription series, with a roof over our

heads, and a bit more rehearsal time to invest in the building of a mature ensemble, worthy of the great repertoire we’ve planned, the marvelous guest artists we’ve engaged, and you, our audience and the supporting organization that makes it all possible. I’m very excited about the season ahead. This year we’re focusing on core, evergreen repertoire, and a particularly stellar array of soloists. These are strong elements on which to build a season, for everyone involved. As an orchestra, we need to return periodically to the pillars of the literature, the music on which the entire symphonic tradition is based. This establishes the technical foundation and instills the habits of ensemble playing that we need to present the clear, fluent performances you have come to expect. In saying this,

I’m certainly not suggesting that this season will be pedantic or pedagogical—far from it! The core repertoire is what it is precisely because it’s the music that audiences love best, the quintessence of what “symphony” means to generations

of listeners. And as for the soloists, it’s a thrill for everyone on both sides of the proscenium to experience the command and charisma of world-class talent.

All of these elements are in evidence on Opening Night, September 27. We feature three unique works, each with a

characteristically “national” sound: Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia (a coloristic Russian tone poem), the lush and expansive Symphony in D Minor by Cesar Franck (who, though Belgian, epitomizes French Romanticism), and the evocative Nordic landscape of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto. In this last, we’ll be joined by the exceptional Tai Murray, an artist of uncommon abilities, maturity, and wide-ranging sensibility. Her bowing has been described as “magical” and her intonation “superhuman.” Listen to samples of her playing on

YouTube, especially her recent recording of the Ysaye sonatas, now considered the standard by which all others will be judged. Or listen to her thought-provoking TED talk, also online. She speaks four languages, plays cutting-edge modern music, and is an aficionado of ballet and chess. Tai, though a Chicago native (she debuted with the CSO at age nine on the Mozart D-Major concerto), divides her time between Europe and the U.S., and it has taken a few years for the schedules to work so that she could join us as a featured soloist. When you hear her, I’m sure you’ll agree that it was worth the wait.

Michael Luxner,Music Director and Conductor

Welcome!

A warm welcome to our newest board members: Kim Fouse, Jim Kramer, Peggy Ruff and Christine Tsigolaroff. Thank you for your willingness to help spread the joy of music in our area!

From The Podium

To promote and support

symp honicmusic ,to encourage

educationalopportunities

that include all segments of our population,

and to provide an ever-increasing level of

artistry and audience appreciation.

O U R M I S S I O N :

As auditions for this season’s Decatur Youth Symphony Orchestra begin, it’s hard not to get excited about the upcoming year and the opportunity to make music with talented young musicians from all over the Decatur area. Once again, we have a busy schedule planned with a wide array of activities for both DYSO ensembles. The highlights for this year will include an opportunity to play for a live theater production of “Fiddler on the Roof” with the Decatur Parks District “Perform” program and a trip to Nashville in June that will include a number of performances in and around the “Music City”. It’s sure to be a sensational year and we can’t wait to get started.For more information about the Decatur Youth Symphony Orchestra, or to get a student involved in the program, please visit millikin.edu/dyso or contact Neal Smith at nsmith@millikin.edu or (217) 424-6358.

2014-15 DYSO Performance Schedule

Monday, November 24 - 7 pmWinter ConcertCentral Christian Church

Tuesday, February 24 - 7pmDPS String FestivalEisenhower High School

March 13, 14, and 15 “Fiddler on the Roof” (in collaboration with Park District “Perform” program)Decatur Civic Center

Sunday, April 12 - 2pm Spring ConcertKirkland Fine Arts Center

June 5-7 Trip to Nashville, Tennessee

Thank You

From Angelina Ariazi, Dean and Dottie Butts Memorial Camp Scholarship recipient:

Dear Ms. Mertz,Thank you (and Symphony Guild) again for the summer camp scholarship. I enjoyed ISYM very much. I loved my director Dr. Nichols and my sectional and master class teacher Lauren Coleman. The music we played was very interesting and I believe we had a great concert. I also had a great deal of fun at the evening activities and made friends with my counselors and fellow campers. I learned a lot and intend to go back next year for another fantastic week. I just wanted to let you know how glad I am that the Symphony Guild has camp scholarships and how much I benefited from them.

DYSO Begins its 2014-15 Season

Tai Murray