Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra, one of the Northside’s cultural gems, continues to instill a love of the arts in area students.
This story originally appeared in the February 2016 issue of Living Northside magazine.
Back in 2011, JCSO held an intensive five-day summer camp for string players, led by its music director and conductor J. Wayne Baughman and concertmaster Adelaide Federici.
"Students received instruction in small groups and were given daily informal performance opportunities in addition to a formal, full-length public concert on the final day of the camp," Baughman says.
The JCSO will take over the Theater at Johns Creek High School for the final two performances of their 2015-16 season. The first event — "Side by Side!" — will be held on Feb. 27 and showcases professional instrumentalists alongside the next generation of musicians in the Georgia Piedmont Youth Orchestra.
Now in its third year, the GPYO selects high school musicians from Cobb, Gwinnett, Fulton and Forsyth counties through a rigorous audition process consisting of scales, a two-minute performance and a sight-reading test, in which each student is given an unfamiliar piece of music to perform. Rolando Salazar, assistant conductor for the Atlanta Opera, is artistic director for GPYO.
"'Side by Side!' is a very old idea that gives youth orchestras the opportunity to collaborate with professional orchestras," Baughman says. "Atlanta Symphony has done this in the past. Buffalo Philharmonic is another that comes to mind. I'd say it's been a common practice for at least 30 years."
Selections include Brahms' "Academic Festival Overture," Wagner's "Prelude to Die Meistersinger" and Saint-Saens' "Danse Bacchanale" from "Samson and Delilah," with a finale of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5."
"We wanted repertoire that would be challenging and entertaining for both the orchestras and our audience," Baughman says.
The collaboration helps the professional musicians to grow, as well as the students, he adds. The second concert — "Salute to Love!" — takes place on May 14.
"The collaboration of a good professional orchestra with a good youth orchestra bringing approximately 100 musicians together on stage is exciting enough to justify the [$13-$32] price of admission," Baughman says. "When you think about the fact that these outstanding young people give hours upon hours of their time and effort to make GPYO excellent, you just want to support them."
Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra. "Side by Side!" Feb. 27; "Salute to Love!" May 14. Theater at Johns Creek High School, 5575 State Bridge Road, Johns Creek. 678-748-5802. johnscreeksymphony.org
About the Author
