Category: “Spotlight” Newsletter

by Michelle Hoffman Follow our amazing MYSO musicians! Violinist Solos with Madison Symphony Congratulations to Senior Symphony violinist Arisa Okamoto who took second place in this year’s Madison Symphony Orchestra Bolz Young Artist Competition. Arisa appeared as a featured soloist with the Madison Symphony and on PBS Wisconsin’s Final Forte broadcast, at the Overture Center

by Ron Oshima Sam Krajewski and Mariah Olson both joined the steel pan program as seventh graders after a recruiting visit to their respective schools by music director Tim Rush and instructor Jon Walls. Currently seniors in high school, they have grown leaps and bounds musically and personally. If you’re not familiar with the steel

by Michelle Hoffman Spreading the word about the role of mental health in healing the body is a passion of Metropolitan Symphony cellist Ashley Bongard. And for her, music fosters that healing process. Embracing this cause led to this 16-year-old from Brookfield to be selected as a Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) National Champion, one of

“At MYSO, all our smaller individual worlds are brought together to create a larger world, and it’s a beautiful thing—for everybody.” Autumn, recent MYSO graduate MYSO provides human connection through music and builds community where many can achieve what one alone cannot! By leading our Play Your Part Fundraising campaign this fall, our musicians helped

by Ron Oshima Imagine being a sixth grade violinist in Milwaukee Public Schools in 1978, and your string music teacher has you play “Eleanor Rigby,” and arranged ear training courses, in-person, with Jean-Luc Ponty, as ways to introduce you to different musical genres. That’s how Ijoister Harris, our new String Orchestra Central music director, started

by Michelle Hoffman Read about the amazing things our musicians and alumni are doing. Sinfonia Violinist First Stage Lead Did you know that several musicians from MYSO also perform with our MYAC partner organization, First Stage? One of these multi-talented young artists is Sinfonia violinist Emily Honigman who is performing as Clarice in this season’s

by Ron Oshima What comes through immediately in talking with Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra Co-Principal Cellist Adela Ramirez is her deep love for classical music. She says, “I just love playing and listening to music. I love coming to rehearsal, learning, and getting better. I think that’s just something I’ve learned from MYSO.” Adela started with

by Ron Oshima Meet Alexandra (Alex) Mueller. She plays the French horn in Senior Symphony and is graduating after four years at MYSO. Having been raised by two musician parents, she says “music is the glue that holds everything together for me. It makes you more aware of the world around you – physically and

by Ron Oshima Autumn Lee, the principal clarinetist in Senior Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, is graduating from MYSO after seven years with us. She told an interesting story about herself when she switched private teachers as a rising freshman. In her first meeting with her new teacher, she admittedly went in with a high opinion