St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra

Ward Stare, Music Director
Peggy Neilson, Manager

The Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra has had a significant impact on the region’s Student musicians for over 35 years.  The Youth Orchestra consists of 95-100 young musicians ranging in age from 12-22. The Youth Orchestra rehearses weekly on Saturday afternoons during the school year and presents three programs a season in Powell Symphony Hall. This season we welcome new music director Ward Stare, who is also the new resident conductor for the St. Louis Symphony.

Members of the Youth Orchestra represent more than three dozen schools throughout the St. Louis region and some from as far away as Springfield, Illinois, and Rolla, Jefferson City, and Columbia, Missouri.  The Youth Orchestra members receive coaching from the St. Louis Symphony members during the season.

Founded in 1970 by Leonard Slatkin, the SLS Youth Orchestra has been a springboard for many young musicians seeking a career in orchestral music – including some current members of the St. Louis Symphony. There are over than 1,000 alumni now playing, teaching and in fields other than music.

In 2006, the YO performed in the Missouri State Capital Building in Jefferson City and spoke with legislators about the importance of music education. The SLSYO continues its advocacy for music education locally and state wide.

Admission to the Youth Orchestra is by annual auditions. Preliminary auditions are held in May.

For information on the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra please contact Peggy Neilson, Youth Orchestra Manager, at (314) 286-4407, at peggy@slso.org.

2010–2011 Season

Concert dates: Sunday, November 14; Sunday, March 20; and Sunday, May 15. All at 3pm. Please check back for more information.

2010-11 Audition Guide

REQUIREMENTS
• A member must participate in his or her school music program
• A member is expected to attend all concerts and rehearsals
• A member should practice the Youth Orchestra repertoire between rehearsals

• Annual tuition of $535 (limited financial aid available)
• $12 nonrefundable audition fee (check payable to SLSYO)

ELIGIBILITY
Students between the ages of 12–22 who have never played in the Youth Orchestra are invited to play the preliminary audition. Audition appointments will be scheduled after the completed application and fee is received.

JUDGING
All auditions are judged on accuracy of intonation, rhythm, style and general preparation and musicianship. Members of the St. Louis Symphony will hear the preliminary auditions.

Preliminary audition results will be mailed to the applicant’s home.

THE YOUTH ORCHESTRA
The St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra was founded in 1970 by Leonard Slatkin to acquaint young musicians with the atmosphere of a professional orchestra and to provide them with the opportunity to study and perform a wide spectrum of symphonic music.

The Orchestra members come from the entire Saint Louis area and range from 12–22 years of age. The Youth Orchestra rehearses and performs major symphonic repertoire, presents three concerts a year at Powell Hall and is
directed by resident conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Ward Stare.

Admission to the Youth Orchestra is by audition only.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
May 5, 2010

PRELIMINARY AUDITIONS
May 14–15, 2010
Preliminary auditions will be by appointment only at the Washington University
Music Building located at 560 Trinity Avenue at Delmar.

PRELIMINARY AUDITION REPERTOIRE
• 1 major scale and 1 minor scale (melodic form) of student’s choice. Each scale must include at least 3 or more sharps or flats, two octaves (three octaves where possible) and be played at quarter note = 60–88, playing 16th notes.
• A 3–5 minute unaccompanied solo of the student’s choice. If playing a concerto, play the exposition of one movement (if clearly defined), or 3–5 minutes total. If playing a piece or an etude, play portions of contrasting sections if there are both slow and fast portions (or two short pieces, one slow and one fast, not to exceed 5 minutes total).

Attached is a list of suggested solo repertoire. This list indicates the approximate minimum level of the players in the Youth Orchestra.

FINAL AUDITIONS
September 1–4, 2010

Final auditions will be by appointment only at Powell Hall located at 718 North
Grand Boulevard.

Final auditions are for students who pass the preliminary audition and former members wishing to re-audition. For the finals, students are asked to play a solo of their choice (it may be the same solo used in the preliminary auditions if applicable) and excerpts from orchestral repertoire, which will be sent about 2–3 weeks before the finals with the final audition appointment time. Scales and/or sight-reading may be requested at the finals.

CONCERTS
Sunday, November 14, 2010 at 3pm
MOZART Symphony No. 40

Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 3pm
HINDIMITH Symphonic Metamorphosis of themes by C.M. von Weber

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 3pm
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 “Titan”

THE SUGGESTED REPERTOIRE

VIOLIN
concertos such as Any Mozart; Viotti #23; Bach; Mendelssohn; Bruch
pieces Kreisler Praeludium & Allegro; solo Bach
etudes/technical studies Kreutzer; Rode; Dont
scales All major and minor scales (3 octaves)

VIOLA
concertos such as J.C. Bach; Telemann; Stamitz Concerto in D major
pieces solo Bach
etudes/technical studies Kreutzer or Mazas
scales All major and minor scales (3 octaves)

CELLO
concertos such as Haydn Concerto in C major (1st movement) Saint-Saëns;
Boccherini; Elgar; Lalo (2nd movement of Lalo and Saint-Saëns Allegro
appassionato NOT recommended)
pieces Samartini Sonata; solo Bach
etudes/technical studies Duport; Schroeder Books 1-3
scales All major and minor scales (3 octaves)

BASS
concertos such as Capuzzi; Dragonetti; Dittersdorf; Koussevitzky
pieces Marcello; Handel; Telemann; Vivaldi sonatas; solo Bach
etudes/technical studies Storch-Hrabe (Volume 1)
scales All major and minor scales (2 octaves —q = 60, play 8th notes)

FLUTE
concertos such as Mozart Concertos in G or D major
pieces Chaminade—Concertino: Bach, Poulenc, Hindemith, or Martinu sonatas
etudes/technical studies Cavelly—Melodious and Progressive Studies, Book 2 and above; Taffenal; Gaubert
scales All major and minor scales and chromatic scale

OBOE
concertos such as Haydn; Marcello; Mozart; Handel in B-flat major and G minor
pieces Handel sonatas
etudes/technical studies Barrett or Ferling
scales All major and minor scales and chromatic scale

CLARINET It is recommended that you be able to transpose.
concertos such as Mozart; Weber Concertino
pieces Hindemith or Saint-Saëns sonatas
etudes/technical studies Rose 32 Etudes or 40 Etudes
scales All major and minor scales (to high G) and chromatic scale

BASSOON
concertos such as Mozart; Weber; Vivaldi concertos
pieces Telemann or Hindemith sonatas
etudes/technical studies Weissenborn, Advanced; Milde Book 1
scales All major and minor scales and chromatic scale

HORN It is recommended that you be able to transpose.
concertos such as Any Mozart; Strauss Concerto No. 1
pieces Hindemith Sonata
etudes/technical studies Kopprasch Volume 1; Apphonse Book 3
scales All major and minor scales

TRUMPET It is recommended that you be able to transpose.
concertos such as Arutyunyan; Hummel; Haydn concertos
pieces Hindemith Sonata; H. Stevens Sonata
etudes/technical studies Brandt (Part 1)
scales All major and minor scales

TROMBONE
concertos such as David; Albrechtsberger; L. Gro/ndahl, 1st mt.
pieces Guilmant Morceau Symphonique; Sulek Sonata
etudes/technical studies Rochut; Melodious Etudes; Blazevich
scales All major and minor scales

TUBA
concertos such as Vaughan Williams
pieces Bach Bell-Air and Bourée
etudes/technical studies Blazevich or Bordogni
scales All major and minor scales

PERCUSSION & TIMPANI Suggested excerpts for orchestral percussion below.
snare drum such as Podemski Etude No. 45; Prokofiev Lt. Kije excerpt
triangle Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 excerpt
tambourine Dvorák Carnival Overture excerpt
cymbals Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto excerpt; Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4, 4th movement, last 21 bars
bass drum Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4, 4th movement, last 21 bars
timpani Saul Goodman Etude; Vick Firth Etudes for 3 & 4 Timpani
xylophone Kabalevsky; Colas Breugnon; Shostakovich Polka
(Goldenberg Xylophone Method)
bells Tchaikovsky Waltz from Sleeping Beauty

For more information on auditioning for the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, please contact Peggy Neilson, Youth Orchestra Manager, at (314) 286-4407, at peggy@slso.org.