Ogden Youth Symphony Rehearsals
******This year we will not be holding Ogden Youth Symphony rehearsals. We are hopeful that we will be able to start rehearsals in the near future.******
Auditions
Participation in the Ogden Youth Symphony is by audition only. If you participated the previous year, you do not need to re-audition, but you may need to do a chair placement for the new season.
Email stringproject@weber.edu or kathyedgel@weber.edu to sign up for a time.
Students will be asked to perform 1-2 scales, a prepared selection and they may also be asked to sight-read a short example. The prepared piece need not be long, 2-3 minutes of music will be fine. If possible, this should consist of a lyrical section and a contrasting technical passage. Two excerpts of different pieces is fine.
About the Ogden Youth Symphony
Through working with college and pre-college level musicians, the String Project staff has observed a need in the Ogden community for students who want to pursue music beyond high school. Many students are simply not prepared for college-level playing and rehearsal expectation. As a result, some students struggle to keep up in college ensembles and are unable to continue performing. This is true for both music majors and non-music majors, though music majors pay a higher price for this.
While being a music major or minor can be incredibly rewarding and satisfying, it is a difficult journey requiring more commitment, time and persistance than almost any other degree. We say this not to discourage anyone from pursuing music - the world needs more creativity and joy! Rather, we say this to encourage parents and students to be prepared before you enter college - and spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on tuition. Not only is that lesson more difficult to learn in college, it is much more expensive.
The goal of the Ogden Youth Symphony is to help students prepare for college level playing and rehearsal expectations. Students will learn advanced techniques on their instruments, they will be introduced to more traditional orchestral literature and they will receive coaching on practice and rehearsal techniques on a weekly basis. They will receive opportunities to learn music theory concepts and finally, they will be provided with unique performance opportunities that will help them grow and give them exposure to professional orchestral playing.
Through this program, students will be much more prepared to enter college with the knowledge and expectations they need to be successful. The Ogden Youth Symphony functions in a slightly different capacity than a traditional youth symphony. This is because we have seen this need in our community and want to change the lives and futures of our students by meeting this need. We hope this will create more successful, life-long musicians, and that it will significantly benefit the Ogden community and our students. After all, what is life without music?
Student Contracts
With that in mind, each participant in the Ogden Youth Symphony will be required to read, sign and adhere to a contract.