The Sounds of Summer

I don’t know why there is something so enjoyable about music in the outdoors, but as the CSO Summer Season drew to a close this week it made me think about the importance of our summer season. You will often hear musicians complain about playing in the summer. There is virtually no rehearsal time, the microphones never seem to work just right, the wind always blows during the hardest lick, the trains go by during the softest part, and it can be plenty HOT in Georgia. In my experience it is often the most difficult time to keep an orchestra’s morale high. One of the great pleasures of working with the CSO is that this orchestra takes a completely different attitude.

We relish the opportunity to share what we do for our community. It is a chance for us to relax our approach, perform for masses of people that could never fit all in our hall, spend quality time together as group, and do what we love to do best: share music with an audience! We collaborate in unusual ways for an orchestra with people like Michael Bolton and the Delfonics; play in funny settings like on a gazebo in Marietta Square with the audience close enough to shake hands, at KSU with the audience surrounding us, or at Indian Hills in front of a pool with an audience of thousands on a golf course that we can’t even see!
It is fun to perform and look out into the crowd and see people eating, smiling, and simply enjoying themselves.

What makes our summer concerts so special to me is that it encapsulates what the CSO is all about. There is no pretense. We welcome all and hope that they will share in our love for music. It makes me appreciate the power and variety of what music can do. It can let us see indescribable emotions, but sometimes it can just be there to entertain. To celebrate our community, share time with family and friends, and just have a plain good time. I believe it was Ernie Banks, the great baseball player for the Chicago Cubs, who said it best when he called out, “Lets play two!”
There are never enough summer concerts and I share in the enthusiasm of the great Ernie Banks!

By: Michael Alexander, CSO Music Director

Why programs like GYSO are important

GYSO is important to the musical field for two distinct reasons. First, it provides an opportunity for those students interested in a career in music to further their skills and be a part of an environment that runs like a professional ensemble. Students work with active musicians in the region and beyond and have the ability to explore all different aspects of music that can help a young career.

Perhaps more importantly, GYSO creates future audiences and patrons of the arts. Classical music always seems to be worried about where tomorrow’s audiences will be coming from and it is important that GYSO be a part of the solution to that problem by creating a population of informed and appreciative lovers of art. Knowledge and experience always make something easier to appreciate and this is certainly the case with music. Of the hundreds of students in GYSO, a very limited number will become professional musicians. Our success will be determined by the number of students that participate for a lifetime in the arts.

Happy New Year! Welcome back to the second half of the GYSO season!

The holiday season presents a time to reflect on where we have been and plan for the future. Our fundamental goals have not changed:

* to inspire people to discover their potential through creativity and performance,
* to build and develop discipline and spirit to accomplish a dream,
* to expand artistic opportunities available to all people and to enhance artistic opportunities available to all people, and
* to enhance the quality of our community’s life.


As we begin this year, we have many things ahead of us:

* launching the GYSO Jazz program
* the GYSO ticket initiative, an innovative way to offer fund-raising opportunities that function parallel to the mission of the organization (not simply an abstract activity)
* laying the foundation for the Zion Partnership
* holding additional auditions for the GYSO Brass Band
* Three, multi-level summer music programs (High School, Middle School and Elementary)
* Continuing to bringing the GYSO program to the forefront of American youth orchestras through innovative programming, hands on experiences and additional opportunities

I strongly believe consistent communication is key to any organizations stability and longevity. I will be using this blog to provide informal up-dates throughout the course of this year and hopefully for years to come.

Something I have never clearly defined or laid out is the vision for the GYSO program as whole. I offer it to you here and now, and I look to you to help structure the foundation upon which we will create this program.

My vision:
To create a sequential music involvement program for people ages 2 months to 90 years by offering:

* Kindermusic classes
* Early string and percussion instruction
* Sequential ensembles starting with elementary age students going through high school, complimenting already existing school programs, nurturing a pollination of different teaching techniques and ideologies.
* Private Lessons Program
* Active involvement in being a positive resource for already existing programs
* Adult music classes and lessons (stepping beyond just classical music, into Jazz and Folk traditions)

It is a very bold ambition and one that will not be accomplished in any short period of time. Some may ask what the value of such programming is, but I leave that to an up-coming post.

Leave your comments, thoughts and suggestions! I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Summer Music Programs

Ahh, the summer months seem to be a long ways off. School is just starting back for the second semester and the thought of having to take more finals ... well, that's simply not appealing at all.

I have a natural inclination for the GYSO summer programs - but I am equally inclined to say that I wish to see everyone who wants to be a part of a summer music program accomplish that goal. Let us know your desires and we will work hard to make your dream come true. Don't hesitate to take us up on audition preparation, applications, or ways to make summer program fees possible. We're imaginative and creative --- if you have the desire, we'll make it happen.

A few side notes on the GYSO programs ...

For any student of high school age who enjoys being challenged by the highest standards, the KSU/GYSO Summer Music Clinic represents a unique opportunity; it is a magical blend of the formal and informal, of joy and hard work. No one who spends a summer with the Summer Music Clinic leaves untouched by the experience.

Our Middle School, Arts Immersion program, is a cutting-edge exploration into a variety of art forms. Students will choose a major (instrumental music, dance, visual art, or drama) and have an opportunity to choose two minor studies from those listed above. The goal of this program is to provide a comprehensive exploration into the powers of each art form.

What makes this program particularly strong is that it brings together the areas finest resources artistically with the sole purpose of enriching and stimulating young minds.

Our Elementary programs are just simply going to be a lot of fun. Each of the weeks has a different theme (and you are not required to sign up for all weeks --- pick and choose as you want) - and enjoy a intimate class setting with 15 - 20 other kids that will immediately be like family. These one-week sessions are designed to encourage creative thought and exploration with the goal of simply enhancing awareness and enjoyment.

It is impossible to list all the talented, dedicated, and charismatic people with whom students will come in contact this summer throughout any program. Summer music programs provide an extraordinary opportunity for students to immerse themselves in music making for an unforgettable summer.

Creativity as an Economic Engine

I am asked quite often how the Cobb Symphony (and all of its programs) relate to, and what positive impact they make on, the economy of the region.

• What critical value does teaching kids how to think creatively in the GYSO program have to their business' bottom line?
• What value does singing in a chorus have to a company's overall productivity?

These are only two of several very valid questions that come out of any day's meetings. They are very important questions, very intriguing and ones that need a clear, concise answer.

Although, I'm still developing answers to all of these, please allow me the liberty to expand upon what I know.

In the United States there are approximately 24 million business firms. More than 99% of them have fewer than 500 employees, and more than 84% of them have fewer than 20 employees. That being said, small businesses account for well over half of all employment in the United States. Most importantly, they are more than twice as likely as large firms to produce high-tech, leading-edge innovations.

For example, take a moment to consider:
• the airplane
• the personal computer
• the cardiac pacemaker
• the FM radio
All things that are an integral part of today’s economic market and resulted from the creativity the environment they surrounded themselves with.

More locally, the giants of Atlanta commerce, such as Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines, were small firms in the early part of the 20th century. Today, we have a new wave of giants emerging from what were once small establishments. Although it is impossible to know which of Atlanta’s current small businesses will emerge as tomorrow’s world-class economic leaders, it is fair to that the way to such results is paved by business leaders, community leaders, politicians, educators, community organizations, and others who consistently make a profound impact on the lives of their community.

So where is all of this going? Two of the biggest challenges business leaders’ face are:

• Learning positive reactionary skills to a variety of stimuli
• Creating idea after idea after idea and not running dry

The ability to be creative is an essential survival skill in any environment. Adapting your mind to be creative (as though it’s second nature) is absolutely crucial.

Business growth, development and prosperity require people with the skills, dedication and determination to see and recognize what a community needs, where it is going and where it will be. Music, by itself, does not necessarily make you smarter, BUT, musical study requires you to develop creative thinking, demands discipline and enhances your communication skills which DO integrate themselves into everything else you do.

So, in answer to “what critical value does teaching kids how to think creatively in the GYSO program have to their business’ bottom line?” - my answer is simple. The skills, discipline and problem solving techniques they are learning here integrates into every other facet of life.

In answer to “what value does singing in a chorus have to a business’ overall productivity?” – my answer is again quite simple. As a member of the chorus, you must be actively listening, actively attentive to your surroundings and effectively communicating your ideas within the structures of the ensemble. It increases productivity because these are the people that are enhancing their listening skills – actually listening – enhancing their communication abilities and engaging those around them towards the same goal they share.

Active listening --- not preparing your answer while the other person is speaking --- leads to engaged, meaningful conversations, which lead to productive actions and products. As a musician, it is required by the very act of being a member of an ensemble that you:

• Be able to react to a wide variety of stimuli and better the overall product
• Constantly create new ideas and be able to communicate to their market

As we are all well aware, businesses and people thrive when they know how to interact and build from one another. Learning how to listen, pay attention and respond are all the founding principles of musical study and performance.

Labels: arts, bottom line, business, community, education, growth, GYSO, hard work, music, planning, productivity, vision