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WBAA Arts Spotlight: Wabash Valley Youth Symphony

http://www.wvys.org/

The Wabash Valley Youth Symphonypresent their 17th season opening concert Sunday, November 12th at 7 pm at the Long Center for the Arts in Lafayette. The program includes Mendelssohn's Fifth Symphony "Reformation," and two works by Maurice Ravel, the Mother Goose Suite, and Tzigane - featuring violinist Christina Shi.

WBAA's John Clare spoke to the founder, Regan Eckstein, and the newly appointed Artistic Director of the WVYS, Wilbur Lin about the organization's history, and what to expect in the future!

Learn more about the concert here.

Wabash Valley Youth Symphony was founded in 2000 by Mrs. Regan Eckstein to provide Greater Lafayette with a much-needed resource. Despite an abundance of musically talented youth, there is little opportunity for orchestral or ensemble playing outside the realm of public schools. In fact, some local schools do not offer an orchestra for students.

WVYS provides opportunity, both for those who play in a school orchestra but want to explore a repertoire that is more demanding and fulfilling, and for those whose schools are currently without an orchestra. The Wabash Valley Youth Symphony offers this community the chance to fully nurture and enjoy the musical talents of its youth. Students come from Tippecanoe and surrounding counties. It has grown to over 80 students playing a variety of instruments including strings, wind, brass and percussion. Students meet for 2 hours every week all through the school year and these rehearsals culminate in three full size concerts which are free and open to the public.

Enjoy this preview of Maurice Ravel's Tzigane:

John Nasukaluk Clare is comfortable behind a microphone, streaming video or playing violin. A former broadcaster for NPR, John has previously worked with Voice of America, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation and stations in Texas, Kansas, Nevada, California, and Pennsylvania. In 2005, Clare earned the Deems Taylor Award from ASCAP for radio broadcasting, citing his work on 20/20 Hearing. Having performed with famed tenors Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli, John has worked with the Mozart Festival Texas, Mid Texas Symphony, Nevada Chamber Symphony, Shreveport Symphony, Abilene Philharmonic and Wichita Symphony Orchestra.
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