2010-2011 Registration

Registration is now open for the 2010-2011 season. See below.

About the orchestra

The College Park Youth Orchestra was created in 2006 to help young string players develop their reading and listening skills and to introduce them to the joys of ensemble playing. The orchestral repertoire is carefully selected to challenge the reading abilities of the advanced beginner through advanced intermediate level string player.

To best meet the needs of its members, the CPYO comprises two ensembles. The Primary Ensemble emphasizes the development of fundamental reading and listening skills while introducing its members to the joys of ensemble playing. The Intermediate Ensemble offers a more challenging repertoire to students with previous ensemble experience, more technical skill, and greater reading proficiency.

CPYO is a program of the College Park Arts Exchange and is supported by parent and teacher volunteers and by its sponsors.

About the director

Kenneth Whitley received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Performance degrees from the University of Michigan. He spent nine years with the D.C. Youth Orchestra program, where he served as both conductor and cello instructor. In 1992, he helped found and became director of the Mount Royal Symphonic Orchestra, a nonprofit organization that offered musical instruction to children who would not otherwise have been able to study a musical instrument. He has been guest conductor for the InterSchools Orchestra of New York and the Junior Philharmonic of Tokyo, and festival conductor and adjudicator throughout Maryland and Virginia. Mr. Whitley lives in Baltimore where he oversees the Middle School Music Program and directs two vocal ensembles at The Bryn Mawr School. He lives with his wife, Jane Cromwell, and son, Cooper.

Locations

Rehearsals are held in the Old Parish House at 4711 Knox Road (at Dartmouth Avenue) in College Park.

Sectional rehearsals on October 3, January 9, and April 3 will be held in the classrooms at Riverdale Presbyterian Church at 6513 Queens Chapel Road in University Park. (You cannot turn from Route 1 onto Queens Chapel. From Route 1, turn west onto Underwood, then drive 2 blocks and turn left onto Queens Chapel.)

Dates and times, 2010-2011

The College Park Youth Orchestra meets on scheduled Sunday afternoons from September through June. The orchestra performs concerts at the end of the fall, winter, and spring seasons.

The CPYO's Primary Ensemble rehearses from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m. The Intermediate Ensemble rehearses from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.

For tuning and warm-up, players should arrive 15 minutes early for rehearsals and one hour early for concerts. Players should bring their own music stands to rehearsals.

Membership requirements

All members must be taking lessons, either privately or in a group, apart from CPYO.

Members of the Primary Ensemble are expected to have skills which, at minimum, include reading knowledge of the notes in first position; quarter, eighth, half, and whole notes and rests; and a comfortable physical set-up. Suzuki students should be working on or beyond the Bach Minuets in Book 1.

Members of the Intermediate Ensemble will be competent readers with knowledge of third position and experience with keys of up to three sharps and three flats. It is recommended that students be working on solo repertoire comparable to that in Suzuki Book 4. They will typically have had some previous ensemble experience, such as a prior CPYO year.

Auditions

Auditions are required for new members of the Intermediate Ensemble, whether they are entirely new to the CPYO or moving up from the Primary Ensemble. Returning members of the Intermediate Ensemble, and new members of the Primary Ensemble, need not audition.

Auditions for the Intermediate Ensemble may include 2-octave scales up to 3 sharps or flats, sight-reading, and the following excerpts. Auditioning students should download, print, and practice these excerpts. The student's teacher will be able to help the student prepare for the audition.

• Cello audition music
• Viola audition music
• Violin audition music

Fees

Tuition for the year is $275, refundable until October 3. New members of the Intermediate Ensemble must add a $15 audition fee. Checks should be payable to College Park Arts Exchange.

The CPYO will try to provide financial assistance as necessary to allow every qualified and motivated young musician to participate. You may send your confidential inquiry regarding financial assistance to admin@cpyo.net.

How to join

Print the CPYO registration form, fill it in, and mail it by August 31, with the required fee, to the address on the form. Early registration is recommended as spaces are limited.

Repertoire

• Georges Bizet, Carillon from L’Arlésienne
• William Byrd, Non Nobis Domine
• Marin Marais, Old French Dance
• Soon Hee Newbold, A Gypsy Tale
• Soon Hee Newbold, Dance of the Samodivi
• Soon Hee Newbold, The Cold of Winter
• Keith Sharp, Fiddle O’Finnigan
• Carl Strommen, Rigaudon
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Danse Russe

• William Byrd, Pavana
• Percy E. Fletcher, Fiddle Dance
• Morten Lauridsen, O Magnum Mysterium
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony No. 25 in G minor, 1st mvt.
• Soon Hee Newbold, Fire Dance
• Carl Orff, O Fortuna! from Carmina Burana
• Gioachino Rossini, The Barber of Seville
• Franz Schubert, “Unfinished” Symphony No. 8 in B minor, 1st mvt.
• Doug Spata, Agincourt

• Johann Sebastian Bach, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, BWV 147
• Elliot Del Borgo, Celtic Fiddle Tune
• Joseph Brackett, Simple Gifts
• Reinhold Glière, Russian Sailors' Dance from The Red Poppy
• Jean-Joseph Mouret, Rondeau from Suite des Symphonies No. 1
• Soon Hee Newbold, Dragon Dances
• Soon Hee Newbold, Song of the Sea Mariner
• Gioachino Rossini, William Tell Overture
• Carl Strommen, Stone Mountain Stomp

• Ludwig van Beethoven, Allegretto from Symphony 7
• Arcangelo Corelli, Christmas Concerto, op. 6 no. 8
• Girolamo Frescobaldi, Toccata
• Kirt N. Mosier, The Dance of Iscariot
• Modest Mussorgsky, Hopak from The Fair at Sorochinsk
• Soon Hee Newbold, Arabian Dreams
• Henry Purcell, Chaconne from The Fairy-Queen, Z.629 ("Dance for the Chinese Man and Woman")
• Peter Ilyich Tschaikowsky, 1812 Overture
• Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto alla Rustica in G Major, RV 151

• Johann Sebastian Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, 1st movement
• M.L. Daniels, Air and Dance
• Gustav Holst, Brook Green Suite
• Terry McQuilkin, Salisbury Overture
• Antonio Vivaldi, Violin Concerto in A Minor, 1st movement

• Johann Christian Bach, Sinfonia in D Major, Allegro
• Johann Sebastian Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, 1st movement (abridged)
• Ludwig van Beethoven, Ode to Joy (from Symphony No. 9, 4th movement)
• Michael McLean, March

Concert DVD orders

The CPYO's 2006-2007 concerts are available on DVD, and the 2007-2008 season will soon be available. Orders for the 2008 CPYO t-shirt can be placed until August 29th only. DVDs and t-shirts cost $15 each and can be ordered on our downloadable order form.

CPYO in the news

6/19/2008: Van Caldwell's column in the College Park Gazette featured the CPYO as an exemplary addition to Prince George's County.

12/12/2006: Outlook, the University of Maryland's faculty and staff newspaper, spotlighted Ashleigh Butler, an undergraduate majoring in music performance and music education, who has volunteered her time with the CPYO.

2/23/2006: The College Park Gazette profiled the CPYO shortly after its formation.

Sponsors

The College Park Youth Orchestra is supported in part by generous donations from:

• Gailes' Violin Shop
• Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
• Prince George's Arts Council
• City of College Park

Questions?

Contact a CPYO administrator by e-mailing admin@cpyo.net or call the College Park Arts Exchange at 301-927-3013.