Jay’s Notes

Dear Friends,

This has been an incredible start to our 23^rd season. First off, in mid-October we performed our first Winter Concert Series set of performances with violinist Gary Levinson. Gary, of course, played with us last year and we are already talking about next year. He is a great player, a real crowd pleaser, and a joy to work with, and needless to say, he performed magnificently.

Two weeks after the concert Gary came back and we did four recording sessions together – the three pieces of Tchaikowsky’s Souvenir d’un lieu cher [remembrance of a lovely place] and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. That was an amazing week. The orchestra responded with such enthusiasm and quality playing – it truly was a marvel!

This past week we performed three holiday family pops concerts. A full house at Metro State, the best holiday pops crowd ever at the Basilica and a first time tour to St. Cloud. The St. Cloud trip was sponsored by the Legacy Fund, the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Paramount Theatre of St Cloud. It was thrilling. We had a great crowd – according to Paramount Theatre staff, the largest ever, and the audience just would not stop clapping. After we finished I had many, and I do mean many of the audience members tell me not only how much they enjoyed the performance, but demanded that we return – soon and often.

We have already completed working with ten schools as part of our Music in the Schools program- probably close to 6,000 children.

The response has been incredible. Our program this year is Music Tells a Story, tying our music content to the kids’ studies of great literature. It has been so satisfying to see and hear the children literally squeal with delight when I announce that we are going to play [Tchaikowsky’s] Romeo and Juliet, and to hear them yell bravo (yes, they actually do) when we finish playing Romeo, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and music from Hansel and Gretel. I am particularly pleased with the reactions to Cinderella Updated! – a new version of the Cinderella story that was created by my older son Bernie, combined with my music. It is truly gratifying to see and hear their reactions. A few samples of letters that I have received from students, teachers and visiting parents says it all:

“Thank you so very much for bringing the Sinfonia to Lyndale Community School this morning.  It was a fantastic pleasure to watch everyone perform…”

“My students loved it….  During the entire performance one of my little girls quietly conducted from her seat….Ms. Thomson, that rocked! …. When do we get to listen to the music guys again?”

Do plan to join us for our January 6^th concert at Metro State at 7pm and our January 7^th concert at 2pm at the Basilica of Saint Mary. This will be a great program, with a fantastic pianist, Andrew Staupe. Andrew already has quite a career for himself, concertizing all over the world, and he will be joining to play Mozart’s 27^th concerto, after which he will become an honorary Sinfonia member joining us as the orchestral pianist in my arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. This will be great fun, and certainly a memorable highlight of our winter season. So until then, I wish you a very good, happy and healthy holiday season, and of course,

My very best regards,

Jay

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Sinfonia working with Junior Composers

Now we are finishing up our 22^nd year, and about to start our 23^rd, I can both look back on a great year, and look forward to an even better one! We had several firsts last year, including the creation of a new partnership with Junior Composers. This was particularly satisfying as we did three reading sessions and played eleven outstanding new works by composers between the ages of 14 and 19. I was so impressed with their quality we created a new contest, and awarded premiere performances to three of the composers. We played the first at Lake Harriet in July, as part of our Youth Outreach Week, will premiere another during the holidays, and a third next June, also at Lake Harriet. What a joy!

We also expanded our partnership with the North Side of Minneapolis, by creating The Northside Music and Arts Festival. I think many of you know I was born and raised on the north side, and it was a thrill to create this Festival, and be able to perform in “my old park,” North Commons. We were joined by The Sounds of Blackness, the Unlimited Dance and Drill Performing Arts, local artists, the Lundstrum Center for the Performing Arts and north side children, all coming together for a fantastic July evening’s entertainment, culminating in a performance of the children dancing, narrating and providing scenery for Peter and the Wolf.

And, of course, we had a very successful Winter and Summer [classical] Concert Series, with great soloists, great playing and great and enthusiastic crowds. There was more to be sure – over sixty performances -  but it is time to look ahead.

This coming year promises to be even better. Of course we will have a great winter season of terrific concerts and we will work with twenty schools via our Music in the Schools. The first Winter Concert Series performances kick-off with violinist Gary Levinson, who will be playing music by Tchaikowsky and Vivaldi on October 14^th at First Covenant Church in St. Paul, and October 15^th at St. Olaf Church in downtown Minneapolis. Two weeks later, we will record the Tchaikowsky pieces, and all four of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” with Gary.

Soloists for the rest of the season are incredible. You will recognize most of them – all but one have played with us before, and I was so pleased I invited them back, and I am even more pleased they have accepted! Music by Beethoven, Haydn, Shostakovich, Schubert, Mozart, Mussorgsky, and many others, as well as new works by some very talented American composers will fill out the season. There is more exciting news and projects that are in the works, but we have to wait to make official announcements until the funding is secure. Although I am slightly biased, and probably have a bit of a vested interest, I do think this may be our best season ever.

Which brings me to a very special and important thank you! I know you know we could not provide the services and education we do, especially with free admission, without your generous and continued support. I am starting my 34^th year of conducting in the Twin Cities, and every day I am reminded none of this, none of the exciting music making, none of the very important work we do with our community’s children, and none of the great thrills the musicians and I receive when we perform, could happen without your generous help, and the enthusiastic support of our large and loyal audiences. It is truly overwhelming. Again, I want to say thank you, and invite you to our upcoming season. I promise great fun, excitement, and, yes I know that I have a vested interest….

My best, jay

Dear Friends,

Now that we have come to the end of a very exciting summer, I can take just a moment to reflect on some of the orchestra’s accomplishments. And there were many to be sure!

I was very pleased we were able to start new partnerships with Junior Composers, the North Side of Minneapolis and to renew a partnership with Camp Courage. These were and are three terrific associations, and I hope they continue for years and years to come.

Thanks to great support from a very generous grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Cultural Heritage fund, along with terrific help from the Pohlad Family Foundation and Wells Fargo, we were able to start what I hope will become an annual tradition – the North Side Music and Arts Festival at North Commons Park, on the near north side of Minneapolis. I am particularly drawn to this community – it is where my brothers and I grew up, and my mother still lives! It was great fun to perform in the park I spent hours and hours of time playing baseball, basketball and tennis, and to bring something back to the community that gave so much to me. The Festival had several groups perform, artists displaying their work, lots of food, the Sinfonia working with approximately 50 north side children doing a special performance of Peter and the Wolf, and great times were had by all.

Working with Junior Composers was as thrill. An old friend for many years, Junior Composers head Randall Davidson called me earlier this year to get us involved. He suggested the orchestra play for three reading sessions for “his kids.” These kids are very talented 14-19 year olds, who come to Minneapolis from all over the country to do two weeks of workshops, to learn, to study and to hone their composing skills.  I was so impressed that I suggested we have a contest, and the winning entry would be premiered this summer as part of the Sinfonia’s July Youth Outreach concert program. The upshot was that everything worked according to plan – the kids and their compositions were terrific. So good in fact, that we chose three winners – Yue Lor had his piece performed this July; Max Shin will have his performed in December as part of our holiday concert series; and Christopher Niner will have his work performed next June as part of the June Summer Concert Series program.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention the rest of that July Summer Concert Series program. We featured a wonderful 18-year cellist, John Belk, who was this year’s Sinfonia Young Artist Senior Division winner.  He did a beautiful performance of the first movement of Haydn’s D Major Cello Concerto. This then was followed by 20 of our region’s very talented student musicians, joining the Sinfonia is an exceptional performance of Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony. These kids were incredible, and a real inspiration!

Last year, because of financial limitations, we were not able to travel to Camp Courage. This year, again thanks to the State Arts Board and the Cultural Heritage Fund, we were able to make the trip, and to perform for campers with hemophilia. These kids were so appreciative and avid fans. Simply put, they were a real joy.

Of course we did many other concerts this summer. Two special concerts – one for the Rosefete and the second as part of the Coon Rapids Fine Arts Series were firsts for us and for those communities. These concerts were sponsored by our friends at Pentair, and we all were and are very grateful for their continued support of the Sinfonia’s outreach.

And then there were the regular concerts at Lake Harriet, Como Park, Caponi Art Park in Eagan, etc.  All in all, we had a grand summer – great and loyal crowds, especially considering the ridiculous weather, and a marvelous time.

As I always say, none of this could have happened without you, our audiences, and our musicians. You and they are the very best!!

I hope to see you at our upcoming fall concerts. Announcements will be made on our website in September. Until then, have a good rest of the summer, and of course, my very best regards,  jay

Dear Friends,

We are truly off and running, and even the weather has been reasonably cooperative. We gave several performances in June, and the audiences were great!! Huge numbers – the best we have attracted for those venues ever. And, we only had to use one rain site. The rest of the concerts were played as scheduled.

July looks to be a very exciting time. Our Lake Harriet Family Pops is right around the corner (Friday July 8 at 7:30) and then more performances will follow at Camp Courage in Wright County, the Coon Rapids Dam, and our second Summer Concert Series, featuring 22 of our region’s very talented young musicians joining our musicians in a special performance of Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony. All of this will be followed by our newest venture, the NorthSide Music and Arts Festival on July 28 at North Commons Park, on the northside of Minneapolis – my old park and stomping grounds.  And to add to the mix, we will be doing three special reading sessions for Junior Composers, giving these very talented young composers the opportunity to hear their new works performed by a first class professional orchestra. On a personal note, I will be talking with the students in a special lecture on how they can work with new conductors. All in all, this looks to be great fun.

While here on our site, do check out our terrific pictures and videos. I hope to see you soon. Until then, my very best and of course, happy listening, Jay

Dear Friends,

Summer finally looks to be here and real. It’s a good thing too, as our summer season is all set and ready to go. We are going to have a terrific time – some really fun family pops, a special children’s concert and the first of our “classical” Summer Concert Series programs. A quick preview:

The family pops will have something for everyone. Harry Potter and the King and I for the kids, some Louis Armstrong classics, including Hello Dolly for people of all ages, and of course some great waltzes (Blue Danube), rags, polkas and even a little Mozart and Grieg!

Our children’s concert on June 20^th at John A Johnson elementary school in East St Paul – yes – parents are invited! – will be a special treat, and will include an introduction to the orchestra, Peter and the Wolf, and, we will show by performing lots of different pieces, how music creates all kinds of emotions and fun.

DJ Inform

The first of our Summer Concert Series will be very special indeed. We will open with a set of four pieces by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, America’s first great concert pianist and composer. We will include his Union, which he performed for a very appreciative president, Abraham Lincoln. Next we will play my (and my son Bernie) latest – a Fantasy for DJ and Orchestra. DJ in this case does not mean someone who plays CDs for weddings, but rather someone who manipulates sounds on a record player, creating all kinds of percussive “scratching” sounds. I know this sounds weird, but it is truly fascinating, and you will thoroughly enjoy it! And we will end that program with Handel’s Water Music. Most appropriate for a concert at Lake Harriet!

Please check out the schedule on our website.

And do plan to join us for some of our upcoming performances. Until then, I wish you

Happy Listening, Jay

Dear Friends,

Now that we have almost completed our winter season (we still have six schools to work with at the end of April), I thought it would be good to do a brief wrap-up. In short, this was a fabulous time. We had terrific soloists, great audiences, and the orchestra was incredible! As I look back at our concert highlights, there are many, many that come to mind, but from a personal perspective, it was the orchestra’s performance of my Jewish Sketches. As most of you know, I dedicated this to my mother, who is 88, still lives in the house that I grew up in, and of course comes to all of our performances- what a thrill!.

And of course, the orchestra was fantastic. The concerts with Coro, Igor Lovchinsky, Gary Levinson and Dmitry Kousov were amazing. I feel so fortunate to have had the privilege of working with musicians of this calibre!  Our work in the schools has been exemplary. The reactions from the kids, their teachers and parents has been inspiring. What a joy to bring our orchestra to such appreciative children.

Our summer is shaping up very well, and I expect some great music-making. We will open our Concert Series with an unusual soloist, DJ Inform.  He is a very serious and talented musician, and will be combining his amazing skills on the turntables with my latest creation – a Fantasy for Turntables, Computer and Orchestra.  Also on that program will be a terrific orchestral suite by America’s answer to Franz Listzt, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and the Water Music by Georg Frederik Handel.

Lots of family pops concerts and a special children’s concert are also on tap – do check out all of our offerings in detail. This will be a very busy and fun June and July. I hope you are able to make plans to join us. Until then, I wish you my very best, jay

Dear Friends,

It was a glorious week – our soloist, cellist Dmitry Kouzov was stunning, and the orchestra was magnificent. And on a personal note, we premiered my latest, “Jewish Sketches,” which I dedicated to my mother (88 years old and still telling me what to do…). For me, this week was very special, and I am very grateful to our musicians, and to you, our audiences, who made it all happen.

We are getting back in the swing of things with our Music in the Schools program. Later this week, we will work with another three schools, followed by several more in March and April. All in all, we will work with 19 schools and over 12,000 children this year.

Ray, Emily and I are busy on the administrative front as well. Lots of preparation for upcoming concerts and plans for what we expect will be a very exciting summer. More on that as we get closer.

Our board did a retreat last month, laying the groundwork for some exciting times yet to come in the not-so-distant future. As the economy betters, we are hopeful of adding more concerts and educational services.

I do hope that you can join us at our upcoming concerts. March will feature CORO, joining us for some of the great opera choruses mixed in with lots of famous and fun overtures. Who can resist the music of Puccini, Verdi, Tchaikowsky, Mozart and many more!! And at the end of March and beginning of April, we will be featuring Russian pianist Igor Lovchinsky playing Chopin. He is incredible, and specializes in Chopin. It will be a treat that we will all remember for many, many years.

I do look forward to seeing you at our upcoming concerts. Until then,

happy listening, jay