Dear parents, family, teachers, friends and community members,
Welcome to the 2022-2023 season of the South Dakota Symphony Youth Orchestra!
Recently, I have been reflecting on our purpose. Why do we need a youth orchestra? Why join a youth orchestra with so many engaging activities vying for our young people’s time? Our answer: Connection.
As we have all experienced, music connects us with our thoughts, emotions, and spirit. But orchestral music gives us something special. It connects us. It allows us to belong to something.
An orchestral performance is a visceral demonstration of community – a large group of people from diverse backgrounds playing different instruments but working as one to create a sense of belonging in all who hear the sound.
The South Dakota Symphony Youth Orchestra is a destination for our area’s most talented young musicians eager to make music with other young people like themselves. Our purpose is reflected in the unique activities we have in store for this season.
We are excited to join once again the South Dakota Symphony onstage, side by side, during a subscription performance. This is a critical opportunity for our Youth Orchestra to learn from their SDSO counterparts and to experience a professional environment.
Building upon the success of three new pieces written and performed by our very own young composers last season, we continue to grow Creativity Club, a program designed for students to nurture their skills in critical listening, music composition, and other innovative approaches to problem-solving.
Prelude Strings, Sinfonia, and Philharmonia continue to be training grounds to prepare our students to advance their musical skills and hopefully a place to discover a passion for music.
And finally, we look forward to the end of this season, when the Youth Orchestra will perform the compete 5th Symphony of Tchaikovsky in Kansas City. This trip will offer many opportunities for our students to connect with a new audience, a new city and to deepen their connections with each other.
I hope you enjoy the 2022-23 season and thank you for supporting music education in our community.
Musically yours,
Thomas Fortner
SDSYO Music Director