EYSO plans auditions

From May 29 to June 1, the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, an in-residence ensemble in the Arts Center at Elgin Community College, will be auditioning students for its 39th season.

Auditions will be held at the Elgin Community College Arts Center, Building H, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. Students who will begin fourth grade through college in the fall may audition for a seat in one of the five orchestras and brass choir. Applications, audition requirements, and scheduling may be found at www.eyso.org.

The EYSO is committed to making participation accessible to any qualified student regardless of financial need. Students have opportunities each year to earn part or all of their tuition. Since the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra is an in-residence ensemble at the Elgin Community College Arts Center, students who are 16 years of age at the beginning of a semester are eligible to earn college credit while playing in the EYSO.

Parents and students may schedule auditions directly on the website at www.eyso.org. There is a $45 audition fee per audition per instrument for students new to the EYSO. The fee for returning students is $35.

This season, the EYSO has 350 students from more than 60 area communities. The students participate in one or more of the EYSO's five orchestras, brass choir and the Chamber Music Institute, and each has its own performance requirements:

• Primo Orchestra: string ensemble for beginning players with little orchestral experience;

• Prelude Orchestra: string orchestra for early intermediate level students;

• Sinfonia: full orchestra for intermediate level students;

• Philharmonia: full orchestra for advanced students;

• Youth Symphony: full orchestra for advanced students grades 9 through college age;

• Brass Choir: includes brass musicians in Youth Symphony, Philharmonia, and additional strong brass students by invitation;

• Chamber Music Institute (open to both members and nonmembers of the EYSO at Prelude Orchestra level and up): provides an opportunity to work closely with professional coaches in groups of 3-5 students. An audition for the CMI is required if not auditioning for a large ensemble. Chamber group assignments will be made in the fall.

Focused comprehensive learning environment with concert programs is created around a central season theme. Performances are at venues and locations such as Ravinia, Park West, Scotland and Atlanta. Alumni have studied at internationally recognized institutions and have successful music careers, and there are opportunities available to work and perform with world-renown musicians.

The EYSO Honors Chamber Ensembles includes the Maud Powell String Quartet, Sterling Brass Quintet, and the Hanson String Quartet; Brass Choir, a large ensemble for brass players; and Chamber Music Institute.

Since 1976, its focus is on a comprehensive learning environment, exploring the music beyond performance skills and concerts. This begins in the weekly rehearsal where the emphasis is on how the music is put together, and how it is a reflection of where and when it was written. Concert programs are imaginative, challenging, and diverse, and are often created around a theme.