KNOW THE SCORE
FALL 2003

EDITOR: Craig Johnson, Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Eve Goodman, Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra
DESIGN: Christopher Graefe, Bluewhale Studios
ADVERTISING: Mary Catherine McKee, McKee Communications, Inc.
PRINTER: First Impression Printing Co.

"Know the Score" is published by the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra Association two times a year. For advertising information, please call McKee Communications, Inc. at (412)-257-9560.

The Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra Association is not responsible or to be held liable for the content, views, and opinions submitted. Articles submitted do not necessarily reflect the position(s) held by the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Association. Every attempt is made to present information in a format that respects all individuals, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental handicaps, or military status. Any sucha discrimination is a violation of the PYSOA'S policies and procedures.

CONTENTS

Beyond the NEA: Creating a National Department of Culture
David M. Huff

Parents Did It! Interested Parents Can Get a Strings Program Started in Their School
Susan Wagner

Strings Program Toolkit: A Guide for How to Get Yours Started
Sue Sargent

Artist Spotlight
T.J. Wible

Beyond the NEA: Creating a National Department of Culture
David M. Huff

In an Editorial in the August 2, 2003 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, David M. Huff, a former member of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, contends that we should reconsider the creation of a National Department of Culture.

Proposed by Jacqueline Kennedy in the early 1960s, the creation of a culture department was an outgrowth of not only her interest in historical preservation, but also her determination to instill a new public appreciation for the performing arts. Her promotion of the arts inspired an attention to culture never before so visible at a national level. As first lady, Mrs. Kennedy founded a White House Fine Arts Committee to assist and authenticate the work of restoring the White House to its original condition, oversaw the creation of the position of White House curator, requested Congress to declare the White House an historic landmark, pushed for the creation of a National Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., and advocated the restoration of Pennsylvania Avenue. 1 She invited artists, writers, Shakespearean actors, ballet groups, musicians, opera singers, and poets to the White House, who spoke with politicians and statesmen. The visit of French Cultural Minister, Andre Malraux, fueled her interest to establish a Department of Culture in America. His visit left an indelible impression on Jacqueline Kennedy. With a strong sense of history, coupled with an iron will, Mrs. Kennedy was determined to combine her eclectic knowledge of culture and the arts with the talent of musicians, such as violinist Isaac Stern, to create a National Cultural Department in America.

Unfortunately, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 left the creation of a Department of Culture an unfulfilled dream. Determined to carry on Jacqueline Kennedy's and the late president's vision for the arts, President Lyndon B. Johnson opted to create the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities ("NEAH"). Created in 1965, the NEAH has served to promote the arts and humanities throughout America.

In addition to the promotion of arts, The National Endowment for the Arts exists to foster and preserve excellence in the arts, to bring art to all Americans, and to provide leadership in arts education. The Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts - bringing art to all fifty states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. 2

Although the NEAH has strengthened artistic opportunities throughout our nation, a Department of Culture could further nurture art and culture by recognizing and supporting its importance in American society. Other parts in the world, such as Europe, have implemented cultural policies not only to preserve their unique cultural heritage, but also to broaden participation in cultural life. For example, Belgium, France, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Spain, Ireland, Italy, and Britain are countries that promote an active cultural policy in their respective societies.

In the past few years, many of these countries have experienced economic turmoil like the United States. However, each nation has demonstrated creativity to preserve their unique artistic heritage. For example, a greater utilization of the partnership between the public and private sectors in the formulation of cultural policy has helped to keep cultural awareness alive throughout Europe. Although the policy-making and administration of cultural powers varies from country to country, the one common thread that each of these countries share is the protection of cultural diversity, freedom of the arts, and the preservation of a European identity. The financial and emotional support that these governments give to their art and culture programs is not all together altruistic. In fact, the reality is that they recognize the very concrete economic benefits that art and culture brings to their towns, cities and tourism industry. A Department of Culture in the United States could work closely with major artistic centers, such as The Lincoln Center, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Aspen Music Center, and the Wolftrap National Park for the Performing Arts to fund educational programs for youth that would increase access and participation to all forms of the arts. The Culture Department could also be linked to major metropolitan areas, such as Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, New York, and Miami as well as to rural regions of the country that have not experienced the exposure to the arts as other parts of America. Furthermore, a Culture Department could focus on nationwide research to determine which regional organizations in America are interested in expanding their artistic programs. Through corporate funding, private philanthropy, and local grass-roots organizations, it could assist these regional organizations with support and encourage accomplished artists and musicians to share their skills and knowledge with these organizations.

Other ways that the Department of Culture could make the most of inter-relationships and harness a wide array of expertise and resources to maximize involvement in the arts and music is to hold a National Forum on the performing arts to mobilize a creative and engaged citizenry in the arts arena. It could encompass the arts and humanities, libraries, museums, and aspects of public education. Through corporate grants and private philanthropy, it could strive to provide financing for teacher training and provide generous support to grass-roots community organizations. Moreover, a Department of Culture could encourage institutions of learning, community centers, and public halls to open their doors for town meetings, visiting artists and groups, and arts organizers in order to give people the opportunity to voice their own concerns and aspirations regarding the performing arts in America.

A National Department of Culture, however, can only work if political leadership in Washington, foundations, philanthropic organizations, and grass-roots organizations would fund the national and regional projects promoted by the creation of such a Department. Fortunately, the Ford Foundation and the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation have demonstrated considerable interest in promoting and supporting arts organizations throughout the United States. For more than four decades, the Ford Foundation has been a strong supporter of artistic organizations in America. It has offered generous support to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and to the New Jersey Center for Performing Arts Corporation. Furthermore, the Ford Foundation has helped artistic groups improve their managerial structures, and adapt to the technological advances and the changing public's interests that have reshaped the arts arena. 3

The Reynolds Foundation donated $100 million to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to assist in building an education center on an eight-acre plaza at the renowned performance center. In addition to the Kennedy Center, The Reynolds Foundation also provides funding to a wide array of creative and artistic organizations in the cultural area, such as The National Gallery of Art, the Academy of Achievement, and the Ford's Theater Society. 4

Unless there is a concerted effort, however, on the part of government, corporations, private philanthropy, and grass-roots organizations, the political climate - and debate - concerning the arts is likely to get worse. Throughout our nation, politicians are cutting arts programs in the public schools and universities due to budget deficits, both at the state and federal level. In addition, artistic institutions, such as symphony orchestras, are struggling to survive due to a lack of corporate sponsorship and poor ticket sales. One might ask if poor ticket sales is a direct result of the decrease in music and art programs in public education. As these programs have been the first to be cut in education over the past twenty years, there goes any chance for children to gain knowledge and an appreciation for classical music and art.

Rising unemployment, the war in Iraq, the struggle against global terrorism, and public cynicism towards government seem to have eclipsed our attention to the cultivation and growth of the performing arts in America. Notwithstanding the problems we confront as a nation, I contend that we still have the capability to reawaken the reservoir of creativity and talent that resides within our multicultural society. I think that many people are seeking an artistic and creative outlet to develop their own unique talents. The caveat is that a political voice capable of tapping the artistic chords within these people is lacking in our society. And the rise of a political voice advocating a Department of Culture is critical to ensure that, in this information age, all have the opportunity to utilize, for personal learning and fostering of self-esteem, the enormous artistic and educational resources our country possesses.

1 John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy: First Lady. A Museum Exhibit at the John F. Kennedy Library: May 29-October 31, 1997.

2 For additional information on the National Endowment for the Arts, contact the NEA Office of Communications at 202-682-5570 or visit their website at www.arts.endow.gov. Information contained in paragraph 3, 4, and 5 can be found on the NEA's website.

3 The Ford Foundation website offers a detailed history of the foundation's work in the area of the arts.

4 Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation website offers an array of projects that the Reynolds Foundation currently funds. The foundation offers a wonderful example of the important work that is done by philanthropic organizations.

Recommended Reading:

See also The John F. Kennedy Center for The Performing Arts website for Jacqueline Kennedy's commitment to the arts.

See also K.L. Kelleher. Jackie: Beyond the Myth of Camelot, A Passion for Artists & Authors (Xlibris Corporation, 2000).

See also Letters and correspondence from Chief White House Usher, J.B. West, regarding Jacqueline Kennedy's tenure in the White House. Some of Mr. West's personal recollections of Mrs. Kennedy have been incorporated in a book entitled, Katharine Graham's Washington. The letters offer an insightful view of Mrs. Kennedy's intelligence, style, and commitment to historical preservation and the arts.

Parents Did It! Interested Parents Can Get a Strings Program Started in Their School
Susan Wagner

The Strings Program in the Pine-Richland School District of Western Pennsylvania, started in January of 2000 in grades three and four with a total of seventy-seven students beginning lessons on violin, viola, cello and bass. Since then, another grade has been added each year, so that now the program goes up through eighth grade with a total of two hundred sixty-nine students.

I was hired as a half-time teacher that first year. By the beginning of the 2001 school year I was full time; and by the 2002 school year another string teacher was hired. Pine-Richland students and families are enthusiastic about and very supportive of having strings in their district.

Parents in the school district initiated the idea of having a strings program. They felt Pine-Richland should have a strings program since many other districts in surrounding communities (North Allegheny, North Hills, Fox Chapel, Butler as well as others) had their own strings programs. They were concerned that some families, having considered moving into the Pine-Richland District, chose to move elsewhere when they found out Pine-Richland did not have a strings program. Considering that the Pine Richland school district is one of the fastest growing districts in western Pennsylvania, and that academic and athletic programs have been expanding as a result of that growth, parents felt the time was ripe for cultural programs to be expanding as well.

The presence of string instruments within the school district would contribute to the children's cultural and aesthetic development in a number of ways. Parents had been reading and hearing articles reporting on the benefits of having strong orchestra programs in schools. These articles reported that students demonstrated vast improvements in their memory skills, self-discipline, creativity, attention to detail, teamwork, and the concrete rewards of hard work. In addition, numerous studies demonstrated unequivocally that music students score better in math than their non-musical counterparts. Add to all that the joy of being able to make music and the Pine-Richland parents wanted this for their children.

A strings program would provide various opportunities for students seeking different musical experiences. It would give children, already taking private lessons, a chance to play in an orchestra. Students interested in the band program would also be able to experience playing orchestral literature with string players. Finally, students interested in music but who were not interested in band might find an outlet for their musical interest in the string orchestra.

In January of 1997, Sue Sargent, whose children were already taking strings lessons privately, began the process of starting a strings program in the Pine-Richland School District. She gathered facts and information by talking to other parents and to Suzanne Perrino, Director of Education and Outreach for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Perrino put Mrs. Sargent in touch with Jeffrey Turner, principal bass of the PSO - who is the product of a public school system strings program*. Mr. Turner eventually met with not only Mrs. Sargent, but also with the school superintendent, chairman of the music department, and other interested parents. He provided them with valuable insight, information and direction on how to implement a strings program. It helped that the superintendent was interested in seeing a strings program happen.

Jeffrey Turner arranged for tickets to be given to School Board members so they could attend a PSO concert. After the concert, board members met with Mr. Turner and several other PSO musicians who shared with the board members that they would not be playing their instruments today if it had not been for public school music programs.

The Pine Richland School District began in earnest to plan for a strings program and its music faculty met several times to decide on the best way to start. During the 1998-99 school year, Pine Richland gathered details about other school districts' strings programs by sending out a questionnaire to music teachers through the PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association). Questions pertained to the best school grades in which to start a strings program; their program size and other details. In March of 1999 Mrs. Sargent gave a formal presentation to the school board outlining the many reasons why a strings program would be beneficial not only to our children, but also to the school district as a whole. Parents and community members were urged to attend meetings and verbalize their support. The Board voted to include a string instrument program in their budget** for the 1999-2000 school year.

Surveys were sent out to Pine Richland families to ascertain interest in participating in this program. By May of 1999 thirty to forty children expressed interest in the program. Then began the interviewing process for a teacher and by December 1999 I was hired.

Thus began the strings programs in Pine-Richland School District. Thanks to the wonderful initiative and support of parents, administration, music staff, community, school board members and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra!

* Jeffrey Turner, principal bassist for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra attended Spartanburg, South Carolina's District 6 public schools. His first teacher was Pam Tellejohn-Hayes, one of the authors of the Essential Elements books. Mr. Turner said that it was a wonderful experience to have such good teachers, and to get early exposure to good pedagogical thinking.

**The Pine Richland budget for the first semester of the 2000-01 school year was $1,000 plus the director's (part-time) salary. It did not include instruments, but did include music and supplies. All students, including bass, rented and brought their instruments to school. The following fall, the full 2001-02 school year, the budget was $6,500 plus the director's salary. This budget included the purchase of 3 basses.

Strings Program Toolkit: A Guide for How to Get Yours Started
Sue Sargent

The following pages include sample copies of questionnaires and surveys that were sent to parents and area businesses in the Pine-Richland School District pertaining to starting a Strings Program in their schools. Sue Sargent has also given permission to reprint a speech she made in March of 1999 to the Pine-Richland School District encouraging them to financially support a strings program.

I am here tonight to encourage your support in the budget for the establishment of a string instrument program in our school district. Our district has traditionally had a very strong band program, and a highly regarded, if not somewhat unique (a twelve-member all-girl tuba line!) marching band. Now, as our school district continues to grow and we know that ours is one of the fastest growing districts in this part of the state, our music program has to expand as well to meet the needs of that increased growth. There are a number of reasons why the presence of string instruments within the district would contribute to our children's cultural development, and why string instruments would also be beneficial for the school district itself.

First, for those students, elementary students, who have not yet begun playing an instrument, studies have shown that string instruments often attract a different type of child than band instruments do. For example, the personality of a child who chooses to play the violin may be very different from that of a child who wants to play trombone. Just like a kid who goes out for the football team probably has a different personality and constitution compared to a child the same age who wants to play on the tennis team. And so it is with musical instruments-string instruments will attract some children who may not be interested in playing band instruments. There are other reasons, sometimes physical reasons, why some children can't play wind instruments. One of the most common things that can prevent kids from playing wind instruments is some of this crazy orthodontics that kids have now-palate is changing, their bite is changing, their oral musculature is changing. And so they may be left with the option of playing no instrument at all. By offering a larger choice of musical instruments, we have the potential of attracting more children into the music programs in our schools. And we know that by playing musical instruments, children learn critical lifetime skills that can be transferred to any profession that they choose in life: self-discipline, creativity, attention to detail, teamwork.

In addition, numerous studies demonstrate unequivocally that music students do better academically than their non-musical counterparts. In one study, students who participated in music programs in school scored on the average 45 points higher on the verbal part of the SAT's and 37 points higher on the math part of the SAT's than their non-musical counterparts, and that gap widened with the length of time students studied music. Data from the Pittsburgh School System from the spring of 1997 shows that students who were involved in music instruction in school had higher GPA's, higher graduation rates, better attendance rates, and lower drop-out rates than those students who did not receive music instruction. So not only is music good for music's sake, but it also makes kids better students.

For those students who already play instruments, the addition of strings to the school district's offerings is equally enriching. There are several students within the district at all grade levels who already play string instruments, but who don't have an orchestra in which to play. Some of these are students who have moved here from other districts and have already achieved a fair degree of competence in their instruments. Some are students who have lived in the district all along and take lessons privately. It's hard to play to violin by yourself; it loses something. The piano functions well as a solo instrument, but the violin, the viola, the cello-they are not meant to be solo instruments; they are meant to be part of a group. These students are more likely to lose interest, and quit playing, if they don't have the opportunity to play with other strings.

At the risk of complicating things, I will say that we also have a large number of band students who would like to have the opportunity to play in an orchestra along with the strings. Since a "real" symphony is composed of 1/3 violins, 1/3 other strings, and about 1/3 brass, woodwinds and percussion, our students who presently play band instruments don't have the opportunity to experience the "balance" that is required when all the orchestral instruments play together. If you're a trumpeter you can't drown out the violins, but if you are a clarinetist and you've got the melody you have to make sure that you rise above the strings. And that's just something that comes with experience.

In addition, much of our great musical heritage was written for the string or orchestra genres, and for our children to be able to experience these classical music masterpieces requires the inclusion of string instruments. Mozart didn't write music for brass bands. Now, I love a brass band. We subscribed to the River City Brass Band for two years in a row, and it is magnificent. But for our children to be able to experience Tchaikovsky and Bach and Brahms and Beethoven requires the presence of strings, because those are the instruments that these composers wrote music for.

In a survey of the musicians of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, musicians were asked, "If you had not participated in a school music program would you be a performing musician today?" 63% of them said no. This was echoed by some of the string musicians in our own Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra who said that they would not have even started playing their instrument and they certainly would not be where they are today [in a full-time professional orchestra] were it not for a string program in their school system.

Of course, you and I both know that the vast majority of students who play instruments in school are not going to become symphony musicians. But, regardless of whether students become professional musicians, or just enjoy music as an avocation, we still have to remember that what we are teaching here are lifetime skills. You don't have to quit playing the violin when you graduate from high school; you don't have to quit playing when you're 30 or 40 and your body starts to slow down. You can continue to play throughout your adult years, possibly in a civic symphony, or if not in a group, you can continue to play at home for your own enjoyment, for your own relaxation, and for your own escape from reality.

Even if an individual chooses to not actively play an instrument throughout their adult life, the appreciation of the music, and the understanding of how the music is constructed, and what the music is communicating, never goes away. The other thing that never goes away that kids learn from playing a musical instrument is the concept that if you want to be really, really good at something, you have to work really, really hard at it.

How can a string program benefit the school district itself? Of course, any musical performing group, including orchestras and ensembles, should be an active and visible part of the school and community, and these school musical groups can certainly function as cultural resources within the community.

At this point I want to mention, for those of you who didn't have the opportunity to go to the symphony Saturday night, that it was an evening of delightful music. I do want to say that it was very gracious of the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Education Department specifically, to provide our district with those tickets, and then to arrange a meeting with the musicians afterwards. This should be indicative of the type of commitment and support that we can expect from the Pittsburgh Symphony in the future-as both an informational resource, and as a musical resource. I just want to say that we can count on their ongoing support and commitment.

Anyhow, after the concert on Saturday evening, four musicians from the string section met with the group from Pine-Richland for a short question and answer session. One of those musicians was a violinist named David Gillis, who lives in Franklin Park and gives violin lessons to several students from the North Allegheny School District. Several of his violin students were at the concert that night and he asked them to join our meeting, presumably so that they could contribute to the discussion if that was needed. There must have been at least eight of them. As I was sitting there looking at them, I thought about the picture in front of me. These are students who play in the school orchestra, who take violin lessons privately, and it's Saturday night, and they're hanging out at the Symphony. A group of teenagers on a Saturday night, and they're at the Symphony. Not a bad thing to engender in our young people.

One of the moms who hadn't been at the concert but who had just come to pick up the teenagers spoke up at one point. She said that their family had relocated to this area within the year, and that they had spent a large amount of time looking for a place to live. She said that they had found 6 or 7 pieces of property in Pine Township that they had just loved-nice homes, large wooded lots, etc. But they chose not to move to Pine Township even though they loved those properties, because their daughter had played in the school orchestra in the school district that they were coming from, and she loved it, and it was extremely important to her. They felt that the quality of their daughter's life, and that of their own, was more important than property, so they bought a home within the North Allegheny School District that was still nice but not as ideal to them as what they had seen in Pine.

My guess is that they are not the only family who has made that decision. So what is happening here? Talented, culturally inclined, achieving young people with involved parents are not moving into our district because we don't have an orchestra. This should not be happening. These families shouldn't need to move to North Allegheny or Fox Chapel or North Hills. In a district like ours, that is otherwise of such high caliber, this should not be happening.

All this at what cost? Obviously that depends on exactly how the program is implemented. But if we assume just for now that the string students rent their instruments, just like the band kids do-and you can rent a violin for $19 a month, and viola for $23 a month. Cellos and basses are somewhat more, because they are larger instruments. If we assume that we already own music stands, and we assume that we already own the folding chairs, and we assume that we already have a room that has in it either a piano or an electronic keyboard, mostly for tuning the instruments or demonstrating a tune. Then basically what the program costs is a faculty member, plus the relatively small annual cost for the purchase of music.

Between the beginning string students at the elementary schools, and the students in the district who already take lesson privately, and the students who have relocated into our district from another school where they previously played strings, I think that what you're going to find is that the person hired for the job is going to get very busy, very quickly.

In closing, I just want to briefly quote from the wonderful children's book by Lloyd Moss, Zin Zin Zin, A Violin. Near the end of the book where all of the instruments that he had described up to that point come together for a concert he describes:

The strings all soar, the reeds implore,
The brasses roar with notes galore.
It's music that we all adore.
It's what we go to concerts for.

Well, we have our brasses and our reeds, and they do roar and implore wonderfully. But now, it's time for our strings, and our school district to soar.

Sample Questionnaires & Surveys

 
STRINGS PROGRAM QUESTIONNAIRE
Director's Name: _______________  School District: _______________ 		

Our district is considering starting a strings program sometime in 
the future. If we have questions or would like to visit your 
facilities, please indicate a number where you might be reached.

School Phone: _______________  Home Phone: _______________		

Thank you in advance for answering this questionnaire and any help 
you may offer.
				
			John Doe
			Pine Richland Music Department

ELEMENTARY LEVEL
1. In what grade do you start string students in your district?
   ___ 3rd  ___ 4th  ___ 5th 
2. In what grade do you start band students in your district?
   ___ 4th  ___ 5th 
3. Is your string instrument demonstration for parents the same
time as it is for band?
   ___ Yes  ___ No
4. In what month of the year do you do the demonstration?
   ______________________________ 		
5. Does a full time string teacher facilitate your program?
   ___ Yes  ___ No
6. Do your string students meet for small group lessons?
   ___ Yes - During school	
   ___ Yes - After school		
   ___ No - Private lessons 
7. Do your students meet once a week for combined orchestra?
   ___ Yes - During school	
   ___ Yes - After school		
   ___ No - Meet less often
8. Does your district own larger string instruments on the elementary level?	      
   ___ Yes  ___ No

MIDDLE SCHOOL / JUNIOR HIGH LEVEL
1. How many days a week do your string students meet in small groups?
   ___ 0  ___ 2  ___ 3  ___ 4  ___ 5
2. How many days a week do you have combined orchestra?
   ___ 0  ___ 2  ___ 3  ___ 4  ___ 5
3. Does combined orchestra meet at the same time as band and chorus?
   ___ Yes  ___ No

HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
4. How many days a week do your string students meet in small groups?
   ___ 0  ___ 2  ___ 3  ___ 4  ___ 5
5. How many days a week do you have combined orchestra?
   ___ 0  ___ 2  ___ 3  ___ 4  ___ 5
6. Does combined orchestra meet at the same time as band, chorus or jazz band?
   ___ Yes  ___ No

Total number of string students in your district: (Approximate) ___________
Total district enrollment: (Approximate) ___________
Any additional comments: ___________


PROPOSED STRINGS PROGRAM
August 31, 1999

The 1999-2000 school year will be the inaugural year for a strings program in
the Pine Richland School District. The program is expected to begin in October
and will be offered to third and fourth grade students who are interested in
playing string instruments. Students participating in the program will be
expected to lease or purchase an instrument. Violin rentals are approximately
$40 for three months.

If you are interested in having your child participate in the strings program,
please complete the form below and return it to your child's school office no
later than Friday, September 10, 1999. If you completed a similar form at the
end of last year, please complete this form again. Any questions may be
directed to Dr. John Doe at 555-1111.

Thank you,
Pine-Richland Music Department


PINE-RICHLAND STRINGS PROGRAM SURVEY
Please return to the School Office by Friday, September 10, 1999

School: _________________________________________		
Student's Name:	_________________________________	
Address:_________________________________________		

I am interested in having my child participate in the Pine-Richland strings 
program during the 1999-2000 school year. I understand that it will be my 
responsibility to provide an instrument for my child.


Signature:	_____________________________________	

Artist Spotlight
T.J. Wible

Sixteen year old Thomas J. Wible seems to be one of those rare teenagers who knows exactly what they want. At age eight after falling in love with the sound of the flute at a school concert performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, "T.J." began private flute lessons. A dedicated musician, T.J. plays piccolo in addition to flute and practices up to two to three hours daily-although if he had the time he would extend that to four to five hours. He currently studies flute with Wendy Webb-Kumer.

This year is T.J.'s second year in PYSO. Two things he particularly enjoys about PYSO is having the opportunity to play challenging repertoire with other young musicians and getting to play the music of his favorite composers like Dvorak and Tchaikovsky. It was a special treat for T.J. last spring when PYSO performed Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10 - one of his favorite pieces. T.J. was quite excited to have the chance to play such a challenging piece with his PYSO friends and have it be so well received by the audience.

A junior at the South Allegheny High School, T.J. had a busy summer. One of the many exciting highlights was his chance to play with his favorite flute player, Jeanne Baxtresser, formerly of the New York Philharmonic, when he participated in the Jeanne Baxtresser International Flute Masterclass at Carnegie Mellon University. T.J. also attended the Lake Placid Flute Institute and was one of eight finalists in the National Flute Associations' High School Soloist competition in Las Vegas. As if that was not enough for one year, T.J. traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah for the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) High School Woodwind Competition where he was a winner and performed Poulenc Sonata for Flute and Piano in the winner's recital in front of hundreds of people.

A typical teenager, T.J. listens to a healthy dose of punk mixed in with his classical, thanks to his brother's punk rock band. A swimmer in the summer and a skier in the winter, T. J. still manages to find time to prepare programs that will be suitable for both competitions and auditions. At this point, T.J. plans to make a career of music and he certainly seems to be off to a good start. His advice to other aspiring musicians? "Do what you love to do! Practice and don't be afraid to share your music with others."

Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra 2003-2004 Concert Season
Daniel Meyer, Music Director
Unless noted, all concerts are FREE and begin at 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 16, 2003
Fanfare & Serenade
Carnegie Library of Homestead - Music Hall
510 Tenth Avenue, Munhall 15120

Saturday, December 6, 2003
From Barstow to Bohemia
Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall
4141 Fifth Avenue in Oakland 15213

Sunday, February 8, 2004
Chamber Music Concert
Rodef Shalom Temple Ð Levy Hall
4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh 15213

Sunday, February 22, 2004
Intermezzo
The University Club - Ballroom
123 University Place, Oakland 15213

Sunday, April 18, 2004 at 4:00 p.m.
Chamber Music at the Tiffany Concert Series
Calvary United Methodist Church
971 Beech Avenue, Pittsburgh 15233 (North Side)
Proceeds to benefit the Allegheny Historical Preservation Society

Saturday, May 1, 2004
Little Russians
Pittsburgh Symphony Heinz Hall
600 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh 15222