Symphony of sound
Symphony of sound
The 70 members of the Bakersfield Youth Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maxim Eshkenazy, are rehearsing for the second performance of their three-concert season on March 24 at CSUB’s Doré Theatre.
The music will include select movements from Antonin Dvorak’s VIII Symphony, and Bernhard Crusell’s Clarinet Concerto No. 3 by soloist Isaac Nacita.
After more than two decades in existence, the BYS remains the top musical training ground for the city’s most talented young people looking to play original repertoire.
“This provides the best opportunity for anybody looking for orchestral experience,” said 19-year-old Tom Keel, a skilled trombone player who was selected as one of three soloists this season. A freshman at Cal State Bakersfield, Keel is majoring in music and hopes to perform professionally.
“I have a long way to go, but this is a perfect place to start,” said Keel.
According to BYS president Helen Hess, the original community orchestra for young players began in 1985 as a Bakersfield College class under the direction of Dr. James Mason, but eventually disbanded after a few years of inactivity.
In 1992, Bakersfield Symphony string players Barbara Byers and Rebecca Brooks approached conductor John Farrer with a proposal for reorganizing the orchestra under Symphony sponsorship. Bakersfield College agreed to include the new group in their Community Services Program with the conductor serving as an adjunct professor. By the second season, the group was fully organized with a constitution and bylaws, board of directors, and paid conductor and manager.
Today, the BYSO remains an affiliated group of the Bakersfield Symphony, operating under its board of directors with assistance from manager Dana Svedberg, parents, Symphony coaches, and private teachers.
Membership in the orchestra is open to fourth- through 12th-grade students who take music instruction in a public or private school in the metropolitan area.
Auditions are held once a year in the fall.
Funding is provided by corporate and private contributions, ticket sales, and player tuition; each member of BYS pays a $200 annual fee. Recitals held in private homes raise money for scholarships that are awarded annually.
Hess said the purpose of the BYS is threefold: 1. To provide young musicians with orchestral education; 2. To introduce players to advanced orchestra literature; and 3. To provide music and enjoyment to the community.
“Our goal for participants is that they would be able to go on to play in another orchestra either professionally or as a hobby,” said Hess.
Immediate past president and Panama-Buena Vista Union School District music teacher Amy McGuire echoed her sentiments.
“Our hope is that BYS participants become appreciators of art, lovers of performing, and lifelong musicians,” said McGuire, who added that interest in music is growing among parents and students, due in large part to studies that show participating in music corresponds with better grades and test scores.
“It’s a case of which came first — the chicken or the egg? Do smart kids participate in music or does participating in music make them smart? It’s probably a little bit of both,” said McGuire, who has taught in the district for 10 years and is in charge of orchestras at Tevis and Earl Warren junior highs.
“Music teaches self-discipline and the importance of working not only as an individual but as a group,” said McGuire.
High school senior Chelsea Dunlap is in her third year of playing with the BYS. She has played the violin for eight years under the direction of Rebecca Brooks, and this year was selected as principal violinist.
“I enjoy making music with this group. The collaboration is something not many people get to experience,” said Dunlap, who said she practices on her own five days a week.
Dunlap hopes to attend the University of Southern California and either double major or minor in music.
“I would love to perform professionally,” said Dunlap, who said her skills have benefited greatly from the “unique perspective” provided by Eshkenazy, who is in his third season with the BYS.
Before being hired as director, Eshkenazy twice served as assistant conductor during the two-year tenure of the previous music director, Tomasz Golka, and has proven himself a charismatic and energetic teacher.
“He’s tough, but I like the challenge,” said Warren Junior High student and violinist Victoria Choi.
It’s not uncommon for Eshkenazy to assign pushups or jumping jacks to students who arrive late to practice. But such slaps on the wrist work both ways.
“One day there was a fire on the 5 and I was late for rehearsal, so the kids had me do pushups,” said Eshkenazy, chuckling.
“I have a good relationship with the kids, and that’s 80 percent of the deal. But that doesn’t mean I don’t push them to their limits. I want them to create very beautiful music,” he said.
Eshkenazy, who often commutes from his home in Pasadena in his private plane, has been described by the Beverly Hills Outlook as a conductor with “vigor and intelligence…” who conducts with “complete assuredness and insight beyond his years…”
Eshkenazy, 31, began his career at the age of 5 studying violin with his father, a distinguished member of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra in Bulgaria.
After completing his undergraduate education at the Sofia Conservatory, Eshkenazy moved to the United States to pursue a double master’s of music degree in conducting and violin performance at USC.
His conducting appointments have included music director of the Pasadena Youth Symphony; music director of the Music of Changes Chamber Orchestra; guest conductor of the Sofia Philharmonic; principal guest conductor of the Sliven State Orchestra (Bulgaria); assistant conductor of the American Youth Symphony; and assistant conductor of the Herbert Zipper Chamber Orchestra.
Eshkenazy said his favorite part of working with young people is their enthusiasm.
“I’d liken it to the difference between coaching a college basketball team and coaching a professional basketball team,” he said. “The college team players are willing to go the extra mile.”
Eshkenazy speculates that while many of his pupils will grow up to be scientists and engineers, a couple might actually be musicians. For the others, music will always be there, like an old friend, to return to.
“It’s your escape. It’s your little place that you will always have to go to,” said Eshkenazy.
What: Bakersfield Youth Symphony
When: March 24
Where: CSUB’s Doré Theatre,
9001 Stockdale Highway
Cost: $10 general; $5 students
Call: 323-7928
