MARCH SOGO News
Download Anne Edge’s, SOGO Music Historian, free copy of concert clapping etiquette.
View the full-length interview of Austin Schlichting, composer and Mr. May, Music Director
MIDORI WORKSHOPS
MIDORI COMES TO SOGO!
SOGO Honored to Host Midori’s Orchestra Residencies Program – January 21 – February 4. As a leading concert violinist for over 35 years, Midori and her Orchestra Residencies Program is coming to SOGO!
Midori is offering multiple workshop opportunities to support SOGO’s members. It is Midori’s hope that these live online experiences will help keep young SOGO musicians engaged, motivated, and excited. Topics covered will include How to Practice, Aural Heritage, Encouraging Young People to Keep Music in Their Lives Beyond High School, and Healing Through Music.
All the workshops will be open to the public and we encourage you to join us. No workshop series would be complete without Midori presenting a Violin Master Class. She will be working with SOGO members in a virtual 90-minute session – listening to intermediate and advanced violinists.
No matter what instrument you play, young or old, there are opportunities for you to learn from this one-time opportunity.
MIDORI WORKSHOPS
Walk Down Memory Lane – January 2020
The gallery includes a video of the Conservatory Orchestra rehearsing Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The pictures include SOGO’s MOJO ensemble coached by Mrs. Rydholm preparing for a Beatles concert, Mr. May conducting, an unusual cello case at the H.S. Solo and Ensemble Contest, and SOGO’s board members at a retreat.
Side By Side February 28
Side By Side Sunday, February 28, 2021
Join us for Side By Side Sunday, February 28, and experience a SOGO rehearsal free. Maybe you have a friend in SOGO that has invited you or you have heard about the program and are interested in checking us out, either way, we look forward to meeting you. There will be music available for you to play along with. The conductor and the teaching artist will help you.
2020 Year-End Goal!
Use your $300 taxpayer charitable contribution to meet Student Orchestras of Greater Olympias’s goal to raise $3,000 before the end of the year!
The CARES Act gives you the opportunity to deduct up to $300 of a donation to your favorite charity! For a small organization like SOGO, that keeps the music alive for these young musicians.
While COVID-19 has taken our opportunity to present live concerts away, that didn’t restrain SOGO. Going virtual with our concert this fall struck a chord for over 1,200 households that recently attended the YouTube performance.
We are blessed with the miracle of technology which made our first concert possible – this, however, comes with a price. SOGO is planning a winter concert to share with you and the community so we are asking for your help to secure another virtual performance for the young musicians.
The clock is ticking! Help us guarantee a winter concert for the young musicians to create – and the community to celebrate!
The Clock Is Ticking
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SOGO HO HO Brass Choir Holiday Show
CHRISTMAS MEMORIESÂ – (Wednesday, December 23, 7pm)
Tune in to hear some traditional and not-so-traditional brass choir music performed by the Conservatory and Academy brass players. This is the 2019 performance celebrating 20 years of HO HO Holiday Brass Shows. Christmas Memories is a compilation of our favorite music conducted by Greg Allison and assisted by Elizabeth Ward. A special guest appearance by The Frog will delight young and old! Thank you to our friends from the Olympia Youth Choir, Nadine Bozeman, director of the Cantabile ensemble, Elizabeth Weisenfeld, emcee, and Anna Garrett, vocals and piano. We would be remiss if we didn’t give a shout-out to our amazing “court composer” Mr. Mark Thome who does so many of the arrangements for the HO HO Holiday Brass Shows.
Academy Rehearsal
Academy Orchestra
Debut Orchestra
SO-GO Virtual
UPDATE…to view core plans, what will be new, equipment needs, and more CLICK HERE.
Dear SOGO community:
We hope this message finds you well, and that you have been able to find some enjoyment close to home this summer!
As you can imagine, all of us on the SOGO staff have been keeping up with the national, statewide, and local conversations surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Our number one priority is the health and safety of our students, staff, and families. We are looking at how we can best offer a meaningful experience without compromising health and safety. With this in mind, we are officially announcing that all of our programming will be virtual, through at least this coming December.
We will have our detailed plans finalized by late August, but in the meantime, we wanted to share some of the principles guiding our decision-making. Virtual programming:
- is the only guaranteed way to eliminate the risk of spreading the virus by way of SOGO activities.
- ensures that SOGO can continue many of our normal activities – such as sectionals, rehearsals, theory, and music history – uninterrupted, regardless of fluctuating national, state, or local restrictions on in-person gatherings.
- allows SOGO to offer additional opportunities for students that we’ve never been able to offer before, including lessons, master classes, and guest speakers from around the state and country.
A few weeks ago, we hosted a virtual incarnation of SOGO Summer Music. We received lots of positive feedback from participants, and also learned some important lessons that will better inform our programming for the Fall. We know you will have important questions between now and then. We want to address a few of those concerns now:
- Our virtual programming will continue through at least December 2020. We will re-evaluate and make decisions about the remainder of the 2020-21 season at that time.
- Virtual activities will fall within the general parameters of Sunday afternoons, although the exact start and end times may vary somewhat from our normal rehearsal schedule.
- We will calculate tuition for our virtual Fall differently than we do for a typical season. More information about this will be forthcoming.
- Group placements based on May and June auditions will remain valid through the entire 2020-21 season. Our virtual programming will be tailored to the level of each orchestra, and when we are able to resume in-person music-making, students will play in the orchestra they were placed in at their audition. We are always welcoming new members to SOGO. Visit our website for the next upcoming audition date.
We hope that this gives you a general idea of what to expect from SOGO during this unique time. Much more information will come in late August. Again, your (and our) health and safety are of the utmost importance to us, and we take that responsibility very seriously.
Take care, stay well, and we’ll talk to you soon.
Cameron May, Music Director
Greg Allison, Artistic Director
Krina Allison, Executive Director
Dear Community,
Like you, we have been deeply troubled by recent deaths in the Black community, as well as by the racial injustices that have plagued our country for hundreds of years. All of these appalling tragedies continue to bring to the forefront the reality of marginalized and oppressed peoples throughout our society.
We firmly believe that music has the power to transform the lives of young people, but we also cannot ignore the fact that throughout our history, orchestral performances and educational curricula have traditionally highlighted a narrow scope of voices. Composers and performers from diverse backgrounds have too often been excluded from both stage and classroom, and we must do all we can to change this.
We are committed to listening and learning, to intentionally diversifying SOGO’s programming, and to ensuring that any student, regardless of background, has the opportunity to experience the joy of music.
Above all else, we affirm that each of our students is precious, one of a kind, and worth celebrating. We unite around the universal language of music and embrace the opportunities for learning, growth, and empowerment that arise along the way.
In solidarity,
Cameron May, Music Director
Krina Allison, Executive Director
Greg Allison, Artistic Director
SOGO Board of Directors
