Thursday, February 22, 2007 Older Editions

Eight local students selected to play

By Michelle Wiener
What's Up contributor

Eight young Andover musicians have been chosen to play with the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras for the 2006-07 season.

Andover High School sophomore John Diodati is one of these young musicians - and he has been playing the clarinet since the second grade.

Like others John says he enjoys GBYSO because it allows him to work "with other musicians who have the same interest and who are really passionate about music. I've made a lot of friends over the years, and every year there are new people."

He says watching a youth orchestra perform every year on the Disney Channel inspired him to begin playing. On the suggestion of his private teacher, John auditioned for the GBYSO program four years ago, and has been involved ever since.

He now performs in the program's symphonic orchestra and chamber orchestra, the latter of which is a smaller orchestra that allows musicians to study other types of music.

GBYSO seeks to provide high quality orchestral training and performance opportunities to qualified musicians in grades K-12. It includes three full orchestras, a string orchestra, four chamber orchestras, a chamber music program and the Intensive Community Program, which is a string-training program for underserved youth.

Each year, GBYSO auditions nearly 700 students and accepts more than 350 of them. Other Andover students accepted to GBYSO include violinists Jun Ishihara, Ruby Mercure, Mari Nagahara, Miki Nagahara and Simon Ye; cellist Sasha Scolnik-Brower; and flute player Chisato Suga.

To be accepted, musicians must perform a solo piece, know how to play specific scales, and be able to sight read a piece of music.

"It's nerve-wracking," says John about the audition process. "You want your performance during the audition to reflect how much work you've put in."

Sixth-grader Sasha Scolnik-Brower, a student at Doherty Middle School, has been playing the cello for six years. He is involved in one of the GBYSO's main orchestras and plays with two of the smaller chamber orchestras.

"It's really fun to play with kids that you like and that have the same interests," he says.

"I like being able to perform a piece finally after you've been working on it. Especially," he adds, "with an orchestra, because everyone's relieved."

Sisters Miki and Mari Nagahara are both involved in GBYSO.

Miki, a West Middle School sixth-grader, has been playing the violin for five years. She is part of GBYSO's Repertory Orchestra, a smaller chamber orchestra.

"It's fun to play with a lot of other people," she says.

"And it's nice to get to know other people like you who really love music."

Eight-year-old Mari, who attends Sanborn Elementary School, is part of the GBYSO string orchestra. "She gets to experience what I experienced," explains Miki.

Miki says she began playing violin after going to a few concerts at Symphony Hall and in Andover when she was younger. She started with the piano, but did not enjoy it and decided to switch to violin.

"There was something about music that just made me feel really good and I liked it a lot," she says. "Ever since I went to those concerts I listened to the violin and I liked it and it's what I'm playing now."

Students who are accepted to GBYSO rehearse every Sunday. Each practice is divided into three, 90-minute sections. There is always a full symphonic rehearsal, but the other periods allow performers to focus on different areas and to rehearse with smaller orchestras.

These young performers have the opportunity to play in venues such as Symphony Hall and the Sanders Theatre at Harvard University. Its Senior Orchestra tours internationally.

Upcoming GBYSO performances include Sunday, March 4 at Sanders Theatre and Sunday, April 22 at Symphony Hall.