Amy Freet Named Symphony’s Educator of the Year

Last Saturday, the St. Louis Symphony honored music teacher Amy Freet as its 2012 Educator of the Year.  Freet received the honor on stage at Powell Hall from Music Director David Robertson prior to the Symphony’s April 14 performance.

Freet is a music teacher at Airport Elementary School in the Ferguson-Florissant School District, and was selected for her steadfast commitment to every child in her classroom.  Many of the children taught by Freet are underserved in the community.   However, thanks to her boundless energy and determination, every one of Freet’s students is given the opportunity to explore and experience the power of music. 

Freet expanded her students’ experience when her second-grade class was accepted for the Symphony’s Adopt-A-School program during the 2011-2012 school year.  Freet co-taught 16 weeks of specialized music curriculum, along with Symphony staff and musicians.  She also guided her second-grade students as they created and composed a special performance showing off the musical concepts they’d learned during the Adopt-A-School program.  Her partnership with the Symphony was profiled in a recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch article. 

Freet truly fulfills the St. Louis Symphony’s mission to enrich people’s lives through the power of music each day and we congratulate her on this special honor.

Daniel Lee Previews Cello Concerto at St. Louis College of Pharmacy

The St. Louis Symphony is committed to sharing the power of music throughout our community.  That was certainly the case on March 27, when Principal Cello Daniel Lee performed the Dvořák Cello Concerto for the faculty, students and alumni of the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.  More than 100 people came to the free concert, which was held on campus and planned as part of the Symphony’s partnership with the College through the Symphony in Your College program.  Lee performs the concerto with the St. Louis Symphony at Powell Hall April 20-22.

Symphony Where You Worship: Symphony Shabbat

Six St. Louis Symphony members are taking part in an upcoming Symphony Shabbat at B’nai El Congregation in Town & Country.  The Shabbat service takes place Friday, April 27 at 6pm and will be led by B’nai El Music Director and St.Louis Symphony Chorus member Daniel Brodsky.  The one-hour chamber concert featuring Symphony members Silvian Iticovici, Lorraine Glass-Harris, Wendy Plank Rosen, Leonid Gotman, Catherine Lehr, and Roger Kaza with pianist, Patti Wolff, will begin at 7:00.  The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP by calling 314-727-6756.

Save Powell Hall

Chances are you saw the billboards or the website imploring patrons and friends to “Save Powell Hall.” The tongue-in-cheek marketing campaign was designed to create buzz for the Symphony’s Scythian Suite performances last weekend, and did just that.  It implored people to “save” Powell Hall from the big, booming sound of Prokofiev’s massive orchestral work, cushioning the blow by buying a ticket to one of the performances.   With mentions on the websites of the St. Louis Business Journal, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, ALIVE magazine, St. Louis magazine and the Riverfront Times, plus airtime on KTVI/KLPR-TV, the campaign was a fresh approach to classical music marketing.  Response from the public and our patrons was overwhelmingly positive as well.  Although the concerts are over, the website is still active.  Check it out at www.savepowellhall.com

St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra Preliminary Auditions

Do you know a talented student musician?  Please encourage them to audition for the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra!

Students interested in auditioning must complete an application, participate in his or her school’s music program and be fully committed to weekly rehearsals and other practice or development sessions as assigned.  During the audition, students should have a 3-5 minute solo prepared, and be ready to play two scales, one major and one melodic minor, with at least three sharps or three flats in the key signature.  All auditions will be judged on intonation, rhythm and general musicality.  The top students in the preliminary audition will move to final auditions, which are held each year around Labor Day.

For more information about the YO audition process, and to download a preliminary audition guide, please visit http://www.stlsymphony.org/youthorchestra/auditions.aspx

Founded in 1970, the YO is comprised of the area’s best and brightest student musicians, ranging in age from 12 to 22. The group rehearses each week and performs three concerts each season at Powell Hall.  Seven alumna of the YO are members of the St. Louis Symphony and the program serves as a career springboard for student musicians no matter where their talents take them.