Non Profit U.S. Postage PAID Honolulu, HI Permit No. 1177
Hawaii Youth Symphony Association
Hawaii Youth Symphony Newsletter Learn • Perform • Grow
Summer/Fall 2014
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1110 University Ave., #200 Honolulu, HI 96826-1598 (808) 941-9706 • www.HiYouthSymphony.org
NOTE
SAVE THESE DATES!
Celebrating 50 Years of Serving Hawaii’s Youth Through Music
FREE YSII Community Concert With Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus Sun., October 19, 5:00 pm Kawaiahao Church
He Makana O Na Mele: The Gift of Music Gala Fundraiser YSI with Special Guest: MAKANA Sun., November 23, 2014, 4:30 pm Hilton Hawaiian Village Symphony Program Winter Concert (YSI, YSII, CO) Sun., December 7, 2014, 4:00 PM Neil Blaisdell Concert Hall FREE Symphony Program Listen & Learn Concerts (YSI, YSII, CO) December 8-10, 2014 (Details at HYS website) Neil Blaisdell Concert Hall FREE Academy Winter Concert (BSE, ISE, SOE, CSO) Sat., December 14, 2014, 3:00 PM Kaimuki High School Auditorium FREE YSI Maui Community Concert (Part of our Maui Tour) Mon., February 16, 2015, 4:00 pm Maui Arts & Cultural Center
HYS Needs Your Help! Our 50th Anniversary Celebration begins with our gala fundraiser, He Makana O Na Mele: The Gift of Music, on Sunday, November 23! We would really appreciate your donation of an item for our Silent Auction, or crafts & baked goods for our Country Store! POPULAR AUCTION ITEMS: • Restaurant or Store Gift Cards • Hotel or Vacation Packages • Special Opportunities or • Recreational/Family Activities • Wine
POPULAR COUNTRY STORE ITEMS: • Brownies, cookies • Snack mix • Crafts, jewelry • Small pieces of art
Silent Auction items or non-perishable Country Store items may be brought to the HYS office, now through Friday, November 7, 2014. Perishable items may be dropped off to HYS on Friday, November 21 or on the day of the event. Proceeds from the fundraiser help us to keep HYS tuition affordable, and supports all of our many programs. Mahalo for your support! Please contact HYS at 941-9706 or Admin@HiYouthSymphony.org if you have any questions.
FREE YSI Maui Listen & Learn Concerts (Part of our Maui Tour) Tue., February 17, 2015 Maui Arts & Cultural Center FREE YSII Community Concert With Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus Sun., February 22, 2015, 5:00 pm Kawaiahao Church FREE CO Community Concert Sun., March 1, 2015, 2:00 pm Ala Moana Shopping Center FREE YSI Spring Community Concert with Special Guests Conrad Tao, piano & Ignace Jang, violin Sun., April 12, 2014 4:00 pm Neil Blasidell Concert Hall FREE YSII/CO Spring Concert Sun., April 19, 2015, 4:00 pm Roosevelt High School Auditorium FREE Academy Spring Concert Sat., April 25, 2015, 2:00 pm Kaimuki High School Auditorium Aloha Concert Luncheon YSI & YSII, with Special Guests: The Brothers Cazimero Sun., May 17, 2015, 11:30 am Hilton Hawaiian Village FREE Alumni Chamber Music Concert Fri., June 5, 2015, 6:00 pm Hawaii State Art Museum, 2nd Floor
Celebrating 50 Years of Serving Hawaii’sYouth Through Music
HYS to Celebrate 50 Years This Season!
T O
he 2014-15 season marks Hawaii Youth Symphony’s Golden Anniversary—our 50th Season! Since HYS’s non-profit status was granted in 1964, HYS has become one of Hawaii’s top musical treasures—and one of the nation’s largest independently-operated youth symphony organizations.
ur 50th Anniversary Celebration kicks off on November 23, 2014! Special guest artist MAKANA—the internationally-acclaimed guitarist, singer, and composer—will join Maestro Henry Miyamura & Youth Symphony I as entertainment for our annual gala fundraiser, HE MAKANA O NA MELE: THE GIFT OF MUSIC, at Hilton Hawaiian Village’s Coral Ballroom. Makana’s music has appeared on three Grammy-nominated albums and was the soundtrack to the Academy Awardwinning film, The Descendents. Proceeds from the fundraiser support HYS!
L
ater in the season, HYS students will perform alongside winners from the Aloha International Piano Festival; Hawaii Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Ignace Jang & internationally-renowned pianist Conrad Tao; The Brothers Cazimero; and will perform newlycommissioned works. Every concert will be a blockbuster; please stay tuned for more details! ♫
Remembering the Early Days of HYS
H
YS began as a single orchestra, known as the Honolulu Youth Symphony Orchestra (HYSO), and was originally established in 1954 with the help of the Honolulu Junior Chamber of Commerce. HYSO performed its early concerts in the auditoriums at Roosevelt High School and Farrington High School, under the direction of George Wellington, Sr. In October 1961, Peter Mesrobian joined HYSO as conductor, and by December 24, 1964, HYS had been granted its non-profit status. In those years, the orchestra was comprised of 80 students from 17 Oahu schools, ages 12-17 years old.
H
YS’s first concert following its incorporation was on June 9, 1964 at McKinley High School Auditorium. The concert featured Joaquin Diago, a Cuban-born violinist who was a professor of music theory in Havana and who had performed in the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra since he was age seventeen. His bio noted that he came to Hawaii “as a Cuban exile with bullet scars as phsycal testimony to his fight for freedom.” The Youth Symphony, conducted by Mr. Mesrobian, performed music by Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Vaughn-Williams, Johann Strauss, and Saint-Saens. At the end of its first full season, HYS presented a Concerto Concert with Henry Miyamura guest conducting Weber’s ‘Concertino in E-flat for Clarinet and Orchestra’; Glenn Uejio, then a senior at Kalani High School, was clarinet soloist.
B
y 1966, the Hawaii Junior Orchestra was formed for the purpose of providing orchestral experience for young musicians who could one day become members of HYS. Under the direction of Mr. Harold Higa, the Junior Orchestra expanded from a strings-only ensemble to a full symphony orchestra, and shortly therafter, HYS increased in size from 80 students to over 190. ♫