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Max Zorin"Max Zorin takes you by surprise with his virtuosity and tastefulinterpretation." "Extremely compelling ...n "Astonishingly mature.""Truly moving." These are just a few of the descriptions that Maxhas received in reviews of his international performances. MaestroEdelstein was putting the finishing touches on our 2011-2012season around the time of last spring's Hollywood Connectionsconcert. The WSO was in the process of looking for a violin soloistat the time. Max's performance of the themes from Schindler'sList on that Hollywood program got such rave reviews fromaudience members and musicians alike that Maestro knew wehad already found our soloist without searching any further. Maxwill delight you with what are sure to be show-stopping renditionsof Carmen Fantasy by Sarasate based on themes from Bizet's operaand Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso, the great violin showpieceby Salnt-Saens, Between teaching full time at Penn StateUniversity, serving as the WSO's Concertmaster, and his numeroussolo engagements, Max stays very busy. However, the WSOdid manage to catch up with him for a short interview.

What is your dream gig?

Used to be a world tour with the Israel Philharmonic.Now, I realize that I really like performing in open airvenues, it has to be in the summer time and in a spectacularnatural setting.

What do you like to do when you're not playing violin?

I like to play poker, ski in the winter, and travel inthe summer.

s} Is there a back story behind your violin?

My dad (also a violinist) bought this instrument, it's a JeanBaptiste Vuillaume (best known french violin maker) andwas crafted in the middle of the 19th century. My fatherplayed on it for 20 years, then gave it to me. I'm veryhappy with it, it fits me perfectly and to know that itbelongs to my dad is a nice bonus.If you would like additional information about Max and a chance

to preview his playing, please visit his website at maxzorin.com! (Continued on page 3)

Williamsport Symphony Orchestra! 220 West Fourth Street, Third Floor J Williamsport PA 17701-6102 570.322.0227! www.williamsportsymphony.org

Conductor's CornerDear Friends,

It is hard to believe that summer is almost over but I hope you enjoyedit as much as I did! I spent some time with my family, conducted someconcerts, practiced my cello and piano and traveled to Germany toattend for the first time a performance of Tristan and Isolde by Wagnerin the famous Bayreuth Festpiele. The experience overall wasunbelievable but what inspired me the most was to visit afterwardsthe city of Leipzig, where Bach and Mendelssohn lived and workedfor many years. The feeling of standing in front of Bach's grave at theThomaskirche while listening to the sound of its majestic organ issomething I will never forget! Back home, I can't be more excited aboutthe WSO's new season that promises to be absolutely wonderful.

The orchestras' first concert of the season features our concertmasterMax Zorin, who mesmerized the audience last March playing the violinsolo for Williams music from the movie, Schindler's List. This time hewill delight us with two popular, flashy and exotic pieces by Sarasateand Saint Saens. The program starts with a composition by JohnAdams, perhaps the most prominent living American composer, calledShort Ride in a Fast Machine, a Fanfare for Orchestra. His veryappealing and accessible music has won many fans over the last yearsand I guarantee you will want to jump from your seats with excitementafter you hear this popular piece. To close the first concert, I havechosen Sibelius Symphony No.2. Written between 1901-1902, thispiece was an immediate success in Finland when premiered and I amsure you will agree why when we reach the final chords. From itspastoral mood in the beginning we can hear later the suffering andpain of a country under foreign rule finallyfollowed by a very optimistic messageof love, hope and redemption.I am confident you will have a greattime and the opportunity toexperience again the most preciousjewel in Williamsport, WSO!!!

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Calendar

2011

October

10 Meet the Maestro LuncheonCapitol Lounge, Community Arts Center 11:45am

11 WSO Hear it! Live it! Love it!Community Arts Center 7:30pm

16 Close Up ConcertMary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall, Lycoming College 4:00pm

November

6 WSYO Concert - freeCommunity Arts Center 7:30pm

13 Simply Grand ConcertSordoni Theater, Pittston, PA 3:00pm

22 Billtown Brass ConcertCommunity Arts Center 7:30pm

27 Close Up Concert 2Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall, Lycoming College 4:00pm

December

12 Meet the Maestro ReceptionCommunity Arts Center 5:30pm

13 WSO A Broadway Holiday ConcertCommunity Arts Center 7:30pm

2012

February

13 Meet the Maestro ReceptionCommunity Arts Center 5:30pm

14 WSO Invitation To Dance ConcertCommunity Arts Center 7:30pm

20 Free WSYO ConcertCommunity Arts Center 7:30pm

26 Close Up Concert 3Mary LindsayWelch Honors Hall, Lycoming College 4:00pm

March

10 Free WSO Family ConcertTBA Noon

10 WSO Let's Tango ConcertCommunity Arts Center 7:30pm

May

14 Meet the Maestro LuncheonCapitol Lounge, Community Arts Center 11:45am

15 WSO About Heroes & LoveCommunity Arts Center 7:30pm

Pre-Concert LectureWhat better way to enhance the concert experience than with apre-concert lecture with Dr. Gary Boerckel? Gary has been providingthis service for many years and it is always extremely informative andfun. He always manages to dig past the text book information aboutthe pieces and can provide stories that give you historical, political,and cultural perspective on the works that you will be hearing thatnight. The tradition continues on October 11th at 7:00 prn in theCapitol Lounge of the CACand the event is free and open to allconcert-goers!

( Max Zorin interview Continued from page 1)

What is the most interesting/unique/bizarre musicalexperience you've had?

I've had many interesting experiences, usually it depends onthe people I collaborate with. One of my favorites was whenI played the role of a ghost/violinist in a theatricalproduction. I collaborated with the YaleDrama School whenI was a student there; it was really exciting to be surroundedby so much interdisciplinary talent and I learned a lot fromtheir work process.

What do you like the most about teaching at Penn State?About teaching in general?

Teaching makes me a better violinist, and over time, a betterteacher. Its a win win situation really, I help young violinists,and they help me (although they don't know that). Workingwith them constantly refines my practicing technique. I liketo be as efficient as possible and teaching forces you toquestion your methods since every student is different. Ifind that very interesting.s} Anything you want to say about the upcoming concertseason or your own career?

I'm very excited about this season and look forward to allthe concerts and sharing all this music with the community.

FALL 2011

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WSYOThe WSYOhas an exciting season planned for 2011-2012. Dr. JenniferSacher Wiley has been busily preparing a whole array of events! Thissummer she hosted the 2nd annual WSYO retreat on campus atSusquehanna University which culminated in a performance at CentralOak Heights in Milton, PAwith the Uptown Music Collective. Inaddition to their two regular season concerts, the WSYOwill be doinga repeat of their collaboration with Uptown Music Collective in Januaryof 2012. Auditions are scheduled on September 18th and you can alllook forward to hearing the amazing programs that these students willperform this season! For more information, please visit ourwebsite and follow the Youth Orchestra link.

WSO Education CelebrationThe community of Williamsport and the surrounding areas will beenriched even further this season with a return of the Free FamilyConcert! It is going to expand into a more robust series of events thanit has in previous incarnations - events that should make it moreengaging for the communities and schools throughout Lycoming County!

To support the active engagement of students and families, the WSOwill produce a program called the "WSO Education Celebration" thatserves as a culmination of multiple events in the public and privateschools. University music education majors will compete for thechance to present personally created lesson plans based on the concertprogram and that align themselves with school music curriculums.These lesson plans will be available for download to any schools fromthe WSO website. After the classroom presentations have beencompleted the schools, families, and students will be invited to aperformance in a non-traditional venue with seating in the round anddirect access to the orchestra during the performance.

The performance is scheduled for March 10th 2012! Look for moreinformation soon on our website!

From Reuben's DeskHow exciting to be starting our new season in earnest! It has been mypleasure to be so directly involved in the planning, selection of dates,selection of guest artists, fund raising, marketing, staffing, and all ofthe other myriad details involved to make the WSO's 2011-2012concerts possible! It is always humbling to me how our communityrallies around our symphony. The fact that we continue to exist inthese turbulent times is a real testament to our history, our mission,and - most lmportantlv-e- our future!

Maestro Edelstein has programmed a glorious season for us all withmusic for every taste and preference! Please visit our wonderfullyupdated website to explore all that each program has to offer. We arevery proud of the work that Dave Bailey (2nd trumpet and webmaster)has done for us in that regard and it will continue to become more andmore user friendly as the season progresses.

When I joined the staff in January, WSO had much "catching up" to do.am happy to say that we have indeed "caught up" and in fact aremanaging to look ahead, plan ahead, and refine ourselves as anorganization! We have a new member of the team in the office (whomyou can read about in this newsletter!), we have over 70 new first timedonors in our annual fund drive, our season ticket sales are significantlyhigher this year than last, we returned the summer Pops in the Parkconcerts, and we will also be bringing back the Free Family Concert inMarch 2012.

Let me end with a rousing "Thank you so much" to our donors andpatrons! As Maestro Edelstein likes to say, this is truly YOURORCHESTRA! We will all (staff, musicians, and board) continue to doour level best to make sure that it remains exciting, relevant, andenriching to our community.

Be the MaestroAfter Jeannette Winner's commandingperformance of Chariots of Fire lastseason, the WSO has decided to onceagain hold our Be the Maestro contest!Raffle tickets will go on sale for $100 eachstarting at the October 11th WSO concert. The winner willreceive private conducting lessons with Maestro Edelstein, a chanceto rehearse the WSO before the performance, and a chance to conductthe orchestra live and in concert at the CAC! Who could resist (foryourself or a gift)? Please call the WSO office at 570.322.0227 formore information. All proceeds benefit the Williamsport Symphony.

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Anytime Concert TicketsA Great Gift Idea!Have you ever tried to come up with the perfect gift for someone?Something unusual, interesting and meaningful? Well, look nofurther! The WSO is offering Anytime Concert Tickets for salethrough the CACbox office! You can purchase vouchers for family,friends, coworkers, or even yourself that valid for any of theWSO's five regular season concerts.What a great gift for the holidaysor for any special occasion! Thelucky recipients can bring thevouchers to the CAC box office andtrade them for the best availableseating in Section II. For more information, call the WSO office or tomake a purchase, call the CAC box office at 570-326-2424.

New Member of the OfficeRebecca Clark, the W50's Operations Manager / Librarian sadly had torelocate this summer to Everett, PA.After a careful search, we wereable to find an extremely capable replacement! Christopher Merklehas joined the WSO office staff as the new Operations Manager andLibrarian. He comes to us highly recommended and has already had avery positive impact as a member of the WSO team.

Chris recently graduated from the Sunderman Conservatory ofGettysburg College where he received a BA in Music with a minor inGerman. He is a fine bassoonist and singer and also managed allaspects of the university orchestra - librarian duties, staffing extraprofessional players, seating within the organization, and coordinatingall aspects of performances and travel. In short, he is well preparedfor his role within the WSO. We can count on having him around for awhile - he is taking a couple years off from school to decide his nextcourse of study. He is interested in both orchestra management andconducting as potential career paths and his position with WSO shouldput him in an excellent position to make those decisions! You'll beseeing him around at rehearsals and performances and hearing himanswer the phones in our office. You'll also get to hear him play onour next concert in October! Short Ride in a Fast Machine requires anadditional bassoon player ...so that was a particularly easy sub for himto locate!

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Gary's NotesMr. Finland

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) occupies a place of pride in his nativecountry that few artists have achieved. In 1865, the year he was born,Finland was a province of the Russian Empire and most of its literatepopulation spoke Swedish. The composer himself was raised in aSwedish speaking home, but his parents enrolled him in a Finnishlanguage school where he first encountered the Kalevala, an epic poembased on the mythology and folklore of the ancient Finns. Sibelius'first great success was Kullervo (1892), a symphonic poem for soloists,chorus, and orchestra based on characters in the Kalevala. Anothertone poem, Finlandia (1899), made Sibelius the symbol of Finnishnational aspirations. When independence was achieved in 1917,Sibelius was the most widely respected citizen of his country. Althoughhe composed very little during the last thirty years of his life, Sibelius'reputation remained high at home and grew stronger abroad. In 1930,he was the most popular living composer in the United States,according to a survey conducted by Time Magazine. The nationalmusical conservatory of Finland is named for Sibelius and his portraitappeared on Finnish currency until it adopted the euro in 2002.

A little Vaudeville

Everyone admired Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908). The general publicwas enthralled from the moment he walked onto a stage - aselegantly handsome and charming as a Spanish grandee. His fellowmusicians were under his spell by the end of the first musical phrasethat emerged, perfectly shaped and utterly beautiful, from hisStradivarius. In his technical precision and musical integrity, Sarasateprefigured the new breed of twentieth century violinists such asKreisler and Heifetz who valued musicianship over showmanship. Butthere was still plenty of shtick in Sarasate's bag of tricks. Imagine acontemporary soloist pulling off a routine like the one described myMrs. Fritz Kreisler. "When Sarasate had placed his violin under his chinand everybody thought he was about to start, he would drop it again,clamp a monocle into his eye and survey his audience. He had a wayof seeming to drop his fiddle that would takethe audience's breath away. That is, hewould let it slide down his slender figure,only to catch it by the scroll of the neckjust in time. It was a regular showman'strick of his." You can hear Sarasateperform some of his own compositionson youtube.com. The recordings weremade in 1904, just four years before his death.

A Fast Ride

Short Ride in a Fast Machine is one of the most exciting fanfares writtenby a modern composer. You can listen for the woodblock that keepsa steady tempo throughout the piece as Adams plays with the beatcenter throughout this 4 minute work. When asked to describe thepiece, Adams asks, "You know how it is when someone asks you toride in a terrific sports car, and then you wish you hadn't?" Adams isconsidered primarily as a minimalist composer and the piece showsmany earmarks of the genre - steady beat, repetition, and harmonicconsonance. Fasten your seat belts for this one and enjoy the ride!

Featuring dinner, dancing, music, raffles, auctions and more! From 6pm untilthe stars come out ...dance along with us!

This once a year fun and fundraising event benefits WSO. Invitations will be

mailed in May. Open to the public.

Meet the MaestroFor those of you that have been regulars at the Meet the MaestroLuncheons these past few years you can look forward to us continuingthe tradition - with a twist! For the October and May concerts wewill have the usual luncheon the day before the concert where youwill get to hear Maestro Edelstein speak about the program and theguest artist speak about their background and performances. InDecember and February, we will be having evening receptions the daybefore each concert.

We will be sending more information about these receptions in thecoming months, but plan on plan on an event that will provide lightfood, a choice of beverages, a chance to meet the Maestro and guestartists, and a special invitation to observe part of the dress rehearsalfor the next evening's concert. In March for the Let's Tango concertwe've got big plans...look for more details in our December newsletter!

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Erin Dietrick, WSO's Summer Intern

As April quickly gave way to May and final concerts and examscommenced, I was looking at a rather boring summer. Listening to myfellow music majors, many of them were talking about summer jobs,vacations, mission trips - and internships. The idea of interningsomewhere had occurred to me before, but because of my remote,rural home and my mostly choral and operatic background, I thoughtchances of finding an internship were slim to none. Then I thought ofthe WSO.

Despite being a music education major with a focus in voice, I have afairly extensive background on my secondary instrument, the violin.Playing for a little over ten years, many of my past teachers andmentors have been or are current members of WSO, and I have playedwith WSYOfor several years, under the direction of Chris Para and,most recently, Jennifer Sacher-Wiley. The experience made a profoundimpact on me as a musician, because opportunities to actually read,learn, and play real orchestral music did not present themselves veryoften in my small, rural high school's budding orchestra program. Italso gave me the opportunity to play with musicians as passionate asI under very gifted direction. Remembering all of this, I called the WSOoffice, and they happily took me on as a summer intern!

I look back on the summer working for WSO with a feeling of pride andaccomplishment. From starting out clipping articles from the newspaper tooverhauling and organizing the entire library into an easy-accessdatabase, I have learned an immense amount about music, marketing,advertising, public relations, and even what to expect when I startteaching. I think my shining moment of pride was actually when theexecutive director, Reuben, told me that I "scored serious points" withhimself and board president, Dianne Peeling, by pulling up someinformation on donations this past year.

I feel rather sad about leaving such an amazing job and experience,but I believe that if I showed any interest in coming back, I'd bewelcomed with open arms. I genuinely feel like I'm an integral part ofthe orchestra, and that I made an impact. I walked in here in my blacksatin stilettos hoping for something to put on my resume when I startteaching - I'm leaving with so much more.

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Contact us locally at: 570-204-2000

FALL 2011

Young Artist CompetitionCongratulations to the winners of Williamsport Symphony Orchestra's 38th annual Young Artist Competition held May 15, 2011 in Clarke Chapelat Lycoming College! Our winner this year is Gladys Duh and our runner up is Jonathan Walker-VanKuren. Gladys will be featured in the WSO'sDecember concert and Jonathan is invited to perform with the WSYO in their spring program pending his availability. Both students presentedbeautiful performances and the judges could not have been any more complimentary of the quality of their music making! Pictured from left toright are Emily Wertz, judge; Jonathan; Gladys; Maestro Gerardo Edelstein, judge; and Gary Boerckel, judge.

Season Sponsor

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A special thank you to our sponsors

Simply Grand ConcertWEALTH RESOURCES-------_._---_ ..... -.------------

The WSO is excited to announce that on November 13, 2011 severalmembers of the WSO will be featured on a WVIA Simply Grand Concert.Reuben Councill (Executive Director/Principal Flute), Andrew Rammon(Principal Cello), and Tracey Schmidt-Jaynes (Piccola/Third Flute) willperform with pianist Chi-Chen Wu from Susquehanna University. Theconcert will take place at 3:00 in the Sordoni Theater at the WVIAstudios in Pittston, PA. More information about tickets to the concert,program information, and dates for rebroadcast will be available onWVIA's website, wvia.org, in October.

Concert SponsorOctober ar=r

FirstNational Bank

Guest SponsorOctober '*HYSICIANS,~o R MUS Ie The WVIA Simply Grand Concert Series hosted by WVIA FM's Program

Manager and afternoon host, Larry Vojtko showcases the talent ofregional classical musicians. Since the series began in 1990, dozens ofregional musicians have been featured.

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Inside this Issue

Max Zorin

Conductors Corner

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WSYO

WSO Education Celebration

From Reuben's Desk Come Celebrate with the WSO!Be the Maestro

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W SOP e rs 0 n n e I Gerardo Edelstein, Music Director ond Conductor I Reuben Councill, Executive Director I Hind Jabbour, Executive Assistant and Marketing CoordinatorChristopher Merkle, Operations Manager and Librarian

Sym p h 0 ny notes A publication of the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, 220 West Fourth Street, Third Floor, Williamsport PA17701-6102 I Phone: 570.322.0227Email: info@williamsportsymphony.org Visit us at: www.williamsportsymphony.org

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