Newsletter of the InterSchool Orchestras of New York • Spring 2012

The InterSchool Orchestras’ 40th Anniversary Gala Con-cert at Carnegie Hall took

place on February 2, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg had proclaimed to be “InterSchool Orchestras Day in New York City.” It was a triumph in every way. Not only were the perfor-mances exceptional, but we also had a record attendance and raised more money than at any other concert in ISO history.

Stellar PerformancesRarely have all the ensembles sounded better. The ISO Symphonic Band played brilliantly for guest conductor

and composer Steven Reineke when he led them in his Rise of the Firebird. The Carnegie Hill Orchestra abso-lutely sparkled in Glière’s “Russian Sailors’ Dance,” and the Concert Orchestra impressed everyone with its excellent ensemble playing in both of its selections. The combined play-ers from the ISO at Turtle Bay, Morn-ingside, and ISO Trinity Florentine Orchestras demonstrated just how musical even young kids can be when trained by such excellent conductors. And the Trinity Youth Choir added another dimension to the concert. The ISO Symphony once again demonstrated its ability to take on

many kinds of music, giving a great performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony and presenting a nuanced world premiere performance of Lowell Liebermann’s Air for Flute and Orchestra with the Metropoli-tan Opera’s Stefán Ragnar Höskulds-son as soloist. ISO alumni gave additional depth and excitement to performances by the Band and the Symphony, helping to rattle the rafters in the Respighi Pines of Rome finale. What went on backstage and before the concert were just as impressive. Our guest host for the

Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson (left), Jeffrey Grogan (right), and the ISO Symphony in the world premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s Air for Flute and Orchestra

Trinity Youth ChoirGretchen Burke, violinist in ISO Symphony

continued on page 2

The InterSchool Orchestras at 40

2 ISO Quarter Notes • Spring 2012

evening, Midge Woolsey, remarked with amazement how nearly 400 young performers performing in five groups got on and off stage with such efficiency and grace. The morning following the concert, she opened her program on WQXR by speaking at length about how impressed she was by ISO’s talented musicians.

Phenomenal Ticket SalesAnother important part of the evening was the SOLD OUT sign across our poster. ISO members really

got into the spirit of the ticket sell-ing concert, with five students sell-ing more than 35 tickets each. Hats off to the winners: Sarah Dunphy (55 tickets), Aiden McGorry (54 tickets), Lily Greenspon (45 tick-ets), Elizabeth Egan (41 tickets), and Lucas Cohen (37 tickets). The Carn-egie Hill Orchestra collectively sold the most tickets and received a pizza party as their reward.

A Special Presentation Continuing ISO’s tradition of recog-

nizing others who promote the performing arts for young people, ISO presented a special award to Susan T. Rodriguez, FAIA, a founding part-ner of Ennead Architects (formerly Polshek Partnership) for her design of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts. The Frank Sinatra School, located in Astoria, Queens, and founded by Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto, has won many design awards includ-ing the AIA’s New York State Excel-lence in Design 2010.

At 40... continued from page 1

Very Notable Income!The $245,000 raised by this event will support all ISO’s programs and helps put ISO on firm financial footing for this year and years to come. Many thanks to all of those who contributed to the gala, including the following who donated $5,000 or more:

• 42nd Street Development Corporation• Florentine Music School• New York Electrical Power Services, LLC• The Niederhoffer Foundation• The Alfred and Jane Ross Foundation, Inc.• Arthur Ross Foundation, Inc.• J&AR Foundation• Donna and Marvin Schwartz Foundation• Sperry, Mitchell & Company, Inc.• Turnaround Management Association

The Gala by the Numbers: Number of seats in Carnegie Hall: 2,801

Seats given to teachers and school groups: 300

S eats sold by ISO students online: 1,410

Money raised to support ISO programs: $245,000

ISO students participating: 275

Trinity Youth Choir members: 47

Alumni performing: 30

Coaches and conductors: 29

Total performers: 381

Above (left to right): Susan T. Rodriguez accepting the ISO Award; Right: Carnegie Hall Symphony WindsBrass: ISO Symphony Winds and Brass during Respighi’s Pines of Rome

continued on page 3

3 www.isorch.org

At 40... continued from page 2

Above (left to right): David Hume, Midge Woolsey, Annabelle Prager, Edward Altman, and Jerry Stolt

Caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption.

Current and first Board Presidents: Barbara Tracy and David Hume

Former board member Audrey Grieco with husband, Anthony Grieco

Board member Etty Bousso (left) and Lee Ann Grogan (right)

Waddy Thompson, Executive Director (left), and Jeffrey Grogan, Artistic Director (right), celebrating a fantastic evening

(left to right) James, Olivia (ISO alum), Olympia (ISO alum), and Elma Moy of the Florentine School of Music, Art & Academics

(left to right) Douglas Dinger, Orliana Morag of Concert Orches-tra, Rachel Zizov, Joseph Morag, and Viola Kanevsky

Notable People There were many ISO nota-bles in the audience, most signifi-cantly, founder Annabelle Prager and David Hume, who served as ISO’s Board President for its first 20 years. Other past Board members in atten-dance included Judith Bachleitner, Joanne Bernstein-Cohen, Audrey Grieco, Patricia Ordway (who also once played oboe with ISO), Rich-ard Neel, Patricia Selch, and Alison Smith (a former ISO cellist). Bärli Nugent, a former parent who once ran our chamber music program, was on hand to cheer us on. She is now an assistant dean and director of cham-ber music at the Juilliard School.t

Post-Concert Reception at Le Parker Meridien

4 ISO Quarter Notes • Spring 2012

This season ISO proudly wel-comed Amelia Hollander Ames as the conductor of the

ISO Trinity-Florentine Orchestra. We are happy to have her working with our newest orchestra, which now is in its second season. In addition to her position with ISO, Amelia is the founder and artistic director of Con Vivo, a non-profit organization that produces free chamber music con-certs in the diverse neighborhoods of Jersey City, NJ. As a passionate educator and conductor, Amelia is also on faculty at the Third Street Music School Settlement (her alma mater), and has taught, conducted, and coached at Summer Interlude at the Brearley

School, City & Country School, and the Hasadna Conse r va -tory in Jeru-salem. In the s u m m e r s of 2008 and 2009,

Amelia trav-eled to Mexico

with Cultures in Harmony, where she conducted the Youth Orchestra of the Ollin Yolitzli Cultural Center in Mexico City and worked with indig-enous communities in Michoacan. From 2004-2007, Amelia was the violist of the award-winning

Israel Contemporary String Quartet (ICSQ), with whom she performed throughout Israel and on tours to the U.S., Canada, and Asia. With the ICSQ, Amelia collaborated with composers such as Josef Bardanashvili and Steve Reich, as well as in genre-bending productions with luminar-ies of the Israeli dance and theater worlds. Amelia earned her Master’s degree in Viola Performance at the New England Conservatory, and her Bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music. She lives in Jersey City with her husband Christopher, who teaches in the NYC Public Schools, their baby son Griffin, and two dogs.t

Amelia Hollander Ames

Auditions for Next Season OctoberAll current students, except for ISO Symphony, will be re-quired to audition in the spring for ISO’s 2012-2013 season on one of the following dates:

May 22, 23, and 24June 4, 5, and 6

Current ISO Symphony and Symphonic Band students will audition for next season during spring seating auditions. New students for all ensembles can audition during the above dates or at the fall auditions in September, pending openings.

Please see our website for more information at www.isorch.org, or call our office at 212-410-0370.

For reasons not yet known, there appears to be a recent flourishing of the oboist Americanus iuve-nis (or young American oboist) in

New York City. As a result, oboes have been prominently heard in virtually every ISO ensemble this season. Stu-dents wishing to learn oboe will con-tinue to be considered for subsidized lessons under the Endangered Instru-ment Program until their numbers have met or exceeded the available positions for three seasons. It is hoped that bassoonists, horn-ists, trombonists, violists, and contrabassists will soon see a similar increase in numbers.t

Endangered Instruments Alert: Oboes Moved to the “Watch” List

ISO Welcomes ISO Trinity-Florentine Conductor – Amelia Hollander Ames

5 www.isorch.org

Teacher David Jimenez (left) working with Maximilian Warner (right) from P.S. 225 Ella Baker Elementary School as part of our Teaching Intern Program (TIP), where advanced ISO players provide free weekly lessons that give beginners their first instrumental experiences.

Upcoming EventsApril 29: Concert Orchestra with the Trinity Youth Chorus – 2:00 pm St. Paul’s Chapel, Broadway & Fulton Street, Manhattan

May 4: American Brass Quintet Master Class – 4:00 pm

May 7: Spring Concert at Symphony Space – 7:00 pm Carnegie Hill Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, and Symphonic Band

May 8: Spring Concert at Symphony Space – 7:00 pm ISO Symphony, ISO Trinity-Florentine, ISO at Turtle Bay, and Morningside Orchestras

May 9: Percussion Master Class with Valerie Naranjo – 4:00pm

May 22-24: Spring Auditions for 2012-2013 Season

May 28: Symphonic Band Memorial Day Concert – 2:30 pm Green-Wood Cemetery, 500 25th Street, Brooklyn

June 1: Symphonic Band Concert – 7:00 pm New Utrecht Reformed Church, 18th Avenue & 84th Street, Brooklyn

June 4-6: Spring Auditions for 2012-2013 Season

Combined Morningside, ISO Trinity-Florentine, and ISO at Turtle Bay Orchestras performing an assembly concert at P.S. 115, Glen Oaks School, in Floral Park, Queens

Carnegie Hill Assembly: Carnegie Hill performing an assembly concert at MS 167, Wagner Middle School

London Philharmonic principal trombonist Mark Templeton (here seen with Concert Orchestra’s Elizabeth Egan) was one of four players from the LPO to conduct master classes for ISO students last December.

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDNew York, N.Y.

Permit No. 8357

1556 Third Avenue, Suite 601 New York, NY 10128

Annabelle F. Prager, Founder

Barbara B. Tracy, PresidentJane Ross, Executive Vice President

Carmel Fromson, Vice PresidentCynthia Mencher, Treasurer

Jacob Bousso, Secretary

Betsy AldermanEdward I. Altman

David BernardEtty Bousso

Allan A. BrownTheresa Dolak

Martin S. FridsonCarmel Fromson

Eva GerardMaria Herrera-Chomnalez

Pearl Lau

Nancy LeeBeatrice MitchellGretchen Nicholas

J. Craig OxmanWilliam Pinzler

Adrian RossAlfred Ross

Rita F. SalzmanRonald Schaefer

Sally Smith

Board of Trustees

The InterSchool Orchestras of New York 1556 Third Avenue, Suite 601, New York, NY 10128

Tel: 212-410-0370 • Fax: 212-410-1606 • Email: info@isorch.org • www.isorch.orgSee us on Facebook!

ISO STAFF Waddy Thompson, Executive Director

Jeffrey Grogan, Artistic DirectorGary Tigner, Program Director

Beverly Simon, Administrative CoordinatorCarlie Kilgore, Development & Programs Associate

Jonathan Strasser, Music Director Emeritus

Design & Layout by Concepcion Design Studio LLC

March 8, 2011