NYS Alumni

I loved my time with the Norwalk Youth Symphony - fond memories of performing at Carnegie Hall!! I did my undergrad work in piano (music education) at James Madison University. I'm now a member of AEA and am currently going to The New England Conservatory as an MM candidate in voice performance.

I largely gave up trombone after high school. Thirty years after I stopped, though, I took it up again to play in the pit band for a production of Three Penny Opera my kids were in last year, and since have started playing with a big band, and in several different orchestras with my kids (both of whom play cello). While the lip is slow to come back, all the musicianship I learned with NYS came back well, and let me truly enjoyed getting back to playing.

In reading about the colleges that NYS alumni attended, I didn't see Indiana University listed. During the summers of 1960 and 1961, around 30 string players received full scholarships to attend IU's High School Music Clinic, due to the efforts of Hilda Jay, a board member at that time who was an IU graduate. It was a fantastic experience, leading to enrollment of many of us at IU, although not all of us, myself included, pursued careers in music. I ended up with three degrees from IU, and I lived in Indiana for 18 years after I completed my third degree in Library Science. I don't have much time for music, since I have been working as a reference and instruction librarian at Cape Cod Community College for twenty years, and have owned a bed and breakfast and a motel, but I hope to resume playing both violin and harp after my retirement.

I really enjoyed my time with the Youth Symphony and felt honored to be associated with such fine musicians, as I was a middle of the road trombonist and did not take music seriously. I always thought there was a shortage of trombone players for me to be accepted by the NYS, but with my participation in the Youth Symphony, bands, orchestras; I met some people and had experiences that I will never forget. Once leaving high school and entering college, I never picked up the horn again. I now am retired and live on Candlewood Lake where I mess around with wooden boats, my trombone or axe still hangs on wall with my other tools in my workshop.

I was in the Norwalk Youth Symphony for seven years and it was a major part of my development as a young musician. I experienced great opportunities through all 3 of the orchestras I played in. I still have vivid memories of playing at Carnegie Hall! The Principal Orchestra allowed me to experience important pieces of the classical repertoire that in turn, greatly helped me as I studied in music school. After graduating from high school, I attended Ithaca College where I completed a double major in music education and cello performance. I was heavily involved in chamber music, something I also did with NYS, and even served as principal cellist of both the Ithaca College Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. Had it not been for my participation in NYS, I certainly would have never been as prepared for college as I was. After graduation from Ithaca in December of 2007, I returned back to CT where I am currently the orchestra director of Trumbull High School.

I loved the NYS...it was one of my favorite musical experiences. The friends that I made in the orchestras and the experiences that happened there were amazing. I miss the feeling that rushed over me when I played a concert with my orchestra, it was so exhilarating. Since the NYS I havent had the opportunity to play the violin as much as I would like. To be honest I havent touched my violin in over two years; time goes by so fast! I now have a two year old daughter, Sophia, who is the most beautiful thing and I hope one day to listen to the gorgeous music that she will make. My musical influence is something that I pray she inherits and grasps.

I have very fond memories of playing in the NYS. I didn't realize how spoiled I'd been being part of such a top-notch group until I moved outside of the area. I teach clarinet and sax as well as early childhood music up in NH, and have just started pursuing a graduate degree in music therapy. NYS definitely helped shape who I am today.

Hello! I'm glad to have found NYS online. I particularly remember playing the world premiere of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's oratorio Tobias and the Angel, and a Mozart Horn Concerto with David Ohanian. I'm currently playing with the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra and help with our school orchestra. I still use NYS conductor John Huweiler's fiddle tricks!

I loved every single one of my years at NYS, and will miss everyone!

I was a member of the NYS when it was under the direction of John Master. During that time the symphony did a joint concert with the Boston Youth Symphony - still have the recording! The oboe was my instrument. My parents drove me to Long Island to study with Whitney Tustin. Also, I studied piano with Catherine Master and would walk to the Masters' house from the former NHS. (Cathy Jo and Gigi were darling girls!) Today I live in Stonington Village with my husband Tony, a graduate of Hartt School of Music. We both were Connecticut Public School teachers. While attending Newtown CT Public Schools, our son Tony was a member of the NYS. He played the violin and still does. In Stonington we enjoy sailing, Tony does some composing, and I play the piano every day - remembering the technical lessons taught to me by my mother Julita Weed and Catherine Master. I am happy to have been a graduate of NHS and a member of the NYS.

I was only with NYSO for my senior year in high school, but I continued to play at Brown, with the Wind Ensemble and Marching Band. Now I'm involved with youth symphonies in the Pacific Northwest. My son plays percussion with the Seattle and Bellevue Youth Symphonies. My rewarding experience with Norwalk led me to encourage him to audition here.

coming soon....

Well, I no longer play the bassoon but I will always remember being the lone bassoonist in the Reserve Section and playing the bassoon solo in the Lt. Kije Suite. Since then my music making has turned to choral music. I began singing in church choirs in Houston in 1981 and have been singing ever since. I guess NYS may have helped me to read the bass clef. My checkered career has included working in a library, being a university fund raiser, and graduate study in urban planning and historic preservation. For the last 15 years, I have been an architectural historian with John Milner Associates, Inc. in Philadelphia, and I enjoy my work. My wife Lois Maynard, an elementary school teacher, and I live with our cat and dog in subruban South Jersey,

Oh my gosh! I came across this site accidentally. What a thrill! I want to correct Linda Walton Kirkwood's anecdote. I was playing in a summer string quartet with her and couldn't make rehearsal and asked James to substitute for me. Who knew I was a matchmaker!! And I saw a note from Shem's brother! I have tremendously fond memories of NYS - and all of the community groups I played with through high school. Still playing as an amateur in central New Jersey. Sorry I missed the reunion!

My funniest memory was when my chair fell off the riser in the middle of a concert. Mr. Huwiler just kept conducting, but he pulled off his glasses and mouthed the words, "are you okay?" I remember just holding my instruments up as high as I could, and as long as they were okay, I was okay!! Loved playing with the group, and went on to major in music. I played a year with the 'grownup' Norwalk Symphony (piccolo) after college, played lots of chamber music and taught lots of flute students before settling down to a "real job." After my son was born, I didn't play for almost 10 years, but I now enjoy playing chamber music with friends, and playing in community groups in my area.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Norwalk Youth Symphony!

Ah, yes, all those Saturday mornings. While my friends were sleeping or watching cartoons, my siblings -- John (trumpet), Peter (trombone), and Ellen (oboe) -- and I were rehearsing at the old Norwalk High School. It was a wonderful 9 years. I am now immersed in music on the business side with Jive Records, home to several pop and R&B stars including Usher, Outkast, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake. There is no classical music on our roster; that is left to our sister label Masterworks. Although I have not played the French horn in several years, I enjoy listening to my children play the trumpet and piano.

I was in the Norwalk Youth Symphony for a long time and attend the summer program at Indiana University twice. I enjoyed it very much and spent my first year in college as a music major. When I saw that I lacked the discipline and dedication to music that other musicians had I switched my major and dropped out of music for a while. Later an acquaintance who knew that I played the violin asked if I would be interested in playing chamber music. That evening I realized how much I missed my violin and began to play regularly and to practice again. I joined a local symphony. Eventually a few people asked me if I would like to teach. Although the idea had never interested me I decided to give it a try. One teaching opportunity led to another. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the work and how satisfying it could be . I encouraged my students to audition for the Norwalk Youth Symphony and now several are in it. I felt so proud when the student that I had been teaching the longest finally got accepted in the Principal orchestra! So, yes, music is a big part of my life and I am happy that I am able to share that love of music with my students and chamber music colleagues.

I am in my 12th season as 3rd horn/associate principal horn of the New Mexico Symphony, based in Albuquerque. I was always very active in music, but it was the stimulating atmosphere of the Norwalk Youth Symphony which pushed me to strive to become a professional musician. I went to Northwestern and after 10 years and dozens of auditions, got a tenured position here. I still love music and playing in orchestra and feel privileged to still be doing it.

I continue to enjoy orchestral playing (Chapel Hill Philharmonia) and also love the annual Chapel Hill Chamber Music Workshop that draws participants from all over the world (some of you NYS alums might like this too!!). My son (a cellist) also enjoyed youth orchestra, and plays in Boston's Longwood Symphony. I am looking forward to seeing Mr. Huwiler and to thanking him for everything he did for us. The rehearsals did get to be a bit tedious (sometimes it seemed as though the strings were always playing and the winds were always waiting to play), so one week I decided to bring some knitting to rehearsal to make "better" use of the down time. The next week, the entire flute section brought knitting along, and at that point Mr. Huwiler put a stop to it... I always have "music in my head". Sometimes it is distracting, but usually it is enjoyable, and I have the NYS to thank for a life-long engagement in making so many wonderful pieces a part of me.

Saturday morning NYS rehearsals was always my favorite time! After many years working as an electrical engineer, I now combine my interests in science, engineering and music at D'Addario & Company where I design musical strings. I serve on the board of directors of the Violin Society of America (VSA) and I organize a violin acoustics workshop every summer at Oberlin College for violin makers interested in violin acoustics. I have run into many NYS alumni. During a recent trip to Houston, I played string quartets with violinist Mary-Ellen Shea for the first time since our Youth Symphony days! My younger sister Lilly also played violin in the NYS and she now works for Microsoft in Seattle, where my parents recently moved to. My father had served on the NYS board and one of his responsibilities was keeping the membership address list on his work computer. This was long before PCs and I had to type the addresses onto old fashion IBM punch cards!

Music has shaped my life, and the NYS had a profound impact on that. It was my Saturday mornings for 8 years; I played some of the world's greatest classical repertoire there, and it became the foundation for many more orchestral experiences in the ensuing years. I developed tendonitis in my wrists in 1990, and so I had to stop playing altogether for about a decade. Recently, I was able to return to my violin and discover a talent for improvisation and playing from memory. I wouldn't have known how much music I have on the insides of my eyelids and embedded in the marrow of my fingers if I hadn't stopped playing "from the score" for that length of time. I have picked up or returned to several interests since then (watercolors, knitting, earth-based spirituality, writing, teaching, choral singing) which have taken the time slots formerly held by practice, rehearsals, and concerts, but I still bring out my glorious violin every so often, and it plays as richly as ever. The experience helped me realize that whether or not I ever play another note, I will always be a violinist, and the NYS had a major part in makinng me one.

I am a senior at the University of Connecticut, and am planning on graduating in May, 2007 with a double major in English and Classics. I have played violin with the university symphony, if not every semester. The band I started here in Storrs, The Reversible Shirts, plays gigs all around the area, and I enjoy playing lead guitar with them. Playing in the Norwalk Youth Symphony gave me a sense of belonging that I really needed at the time, and I remember the numerous friendships I had with my fellow NYS players.

After playing the piano for two years I took up the cello, and after two years of study joined the Norwalk Youth Symphony. I played in the Chamber Orchestra for two years, then went straight into the Principal Orchestra. I loved playing music in a social setting, and in particular the NYS got me into chamber music, where I have focused much of my energies. Currently I am a sophomore at Columbia University and am leaning towards majoring in architecture. I am involved in three chamber music groups at Columbia, and at Juilliard I am taking cello lessons with Darret Adkins and am playing in a string quartet. No matter what I do, I know that I am going to be involved with chamber music, and I am grateful that through the chamber music program of the Norwalk Youth Symphony I was able to discover the joys of small ensemble playing, to help found the Spectrum Quartet with three other members of the NYS, and to play numerous recitals, weddings, etc. in the area. I went on from the Norwalk Youth Symphony to the Pre-College program at Juilliard, and graduated in 2005. At Juilliard I played in the orchestra and in several chamber groups, and made more friends than I can count. I also spent summers at Tanglewood, Meadowmount, and most recently at Kneisel Hall.

I only remember playing in the NYS for one year, actually only one concert sticks in my mind, but I may be forgetting. I was a sophomore in high school and had never played in an orchestra that big and that good. We played Schubert's Great C Major Symphony, a performance I still remember. What ever happened to the wonderful horn player, then very young, whom I only remember as Marco?

The violin and music in general has been a great source of joy and satisfaction to me throughout life. I remember playing first or second violin with the symphony for a few summers at the old Norwalk High School and recall that the selections were very challenging. Like any child, I didn't realize how precious the symphony and music education was at the time. I went on to graduate from the University of Arizona and took violin, voice, piano and guitar classes as electives. I briefly flirted with performing folk songs in the early seventies, and was an assistant instructor of violin in my daughter's elementary school. Sadly, music and fine arts education is today not offered in many state's public education programs. With the recent arrival of my first granddaughter, Virginia, I am playing again in anticipation of passing on the tradition.

It was during my tenure with NYS that I decided to attend a conservatory and be a professional. I attended New England Conservatory, joined Boston Symphony, formed Empire Brass, played 12 years with Canadian Brass and remember my time with NYS as if it were last week.

I joined the Norwalk Youth Symphony when I was in 2nd grade. I remember how nervous I was when I auditioned in front of Jim Andrews; a moment I would never forget. The Chamber Orchestra was small back then, very small compared to how large it has grown. It was much easier for Mr. Andrews to hear who didn't practice during the week. Then came the Concert Orchestra. We took a trip to play at Lincoln Center in New York City. Remember the wind? Our wire stands and paper music were no match mother nature. It was fun, annoying and comical at the same time. And a trip to the Ives Center. Well that was less dramatic. Thank you Mr. Brooks. Principal Orchestra. Don’t think you can come into rehearsal without practicing and get away with it. Tara knows. It’s her sixth sense. In Principal we were all presented with hard music that took practice more than any other group. But with hard work came great rewards. I had the honor of playing at Carnegie Hall with the Principle Orchestra on two separate occasions; truly an amazing experience. Those are the days you don't forget. Now, NYS has grown to a new level. More musicians than ever are participating. I am proud of how far this organization has come. It is a chunk of my life that I ill never forget, especially the part where I devoted all my Saturday mornings to practice for nearly 11 years. But it was worth it. Many faces have come and gone. But the players, parents and directors should be proud of the NYS and all of its achievements. There is a bright future for this organization. Currently, I am a student at the School of Engineering at the University of Connecticut. I am studying Mechanical Engineering and Economics. I work at Sealed Air Corporation as an engineer in Danbury. I still pick up the violin whenever I have time. And whenever I do it really does bring back memories of NYS. And speaking of time, I have a report due in an hour. See you later NYS.

I'm an active amateur, playing in an orchestra (Boston Philharmonic) and countless chamber music activities. NYS was definitely part of the groundwork that led to a lifelong enjoyment of music making. Bumped into John Huwiler in an airport in Reykjavik, Iceland (of all places) and enjoyed reminiscing about old times.

Saturdays were to live for! Even though the 9 a.m. rehearsal didn't complement my teenage sleep cycle, Saturday mornings invariably brought me the joy of gathering with my musician friends for several hours of inspired musical collaboration. I will never forget the sound of the first downbeat that I expeienced in the Norwalk Youth Symphony. I was chilled by the blend of this most amazing palate of sounds that surrounded me. Never before had I experiened such a sense of awe. I had made a new discovery and I was in love with it. Having pursued professional music studies and a career as a music educator, I love to re-live this thrill of discovering music's magical qualities with my students.

When I was in the 9th grade, I sat principal viola in the NYS. On my left sat James Kirkwood, assistant principal cellist. Little did I know that I was sitting next to my future husband! Here is the story: In the two years that we both played in NYS, I did take notice of this strong and handsome boy sitting to my left. But we were both painfully shy and only spoke a couple of times. James then went off to Marlborough College. Two years later, I was out on a bike ride with friends headed to Pound Ridge State Park. We passed Merit Music in New Canaan and stopped to say hello to John Schwartz who was running the shop at the time. James was working there that summer rehairing bows. I told him we needed a cellist for the pit orchestra for "Little Mary Sunshine". He joined the group and soon asked me out for our first date! As luck would have it, he was transferring to the New England Conservatory that fall, the very school I had chosen. We were engaged the following spring, and married in 1973. So we call ourselves "Youth Symphony sweethearts"! I still have the programs that list our names. My NYS years gave me a strong foundation for entering the music profession. John Huwiler was an excellent conductor and mentor. I especially remember the performance of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy with Ira Braus as soloist. We played in New York City and for radio broadcast... and the Indiana Univ. Performer's Clinics were incredible. There are too many memories to put here! After graduation, I freelanced in Boston for a couple of years while James got his Masters Degree at Boston University. Then we formed the Tremont String Quartet and got a residency at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where we still teach. We've raised three sons; they are my pride and joy. In '89 I earned a Masters degree at the Eastman School of Music.I also perform with the Rochester Philharmonic. So Happy 50th Anniversary, NYS!! Warmest wishes, Linda Walton Kirkwood

My participation in the NYS definitely influenced my educational path and career. I went on to major in music performance at UConn with the intention of pursuing a career as an orchestral player. I was on that path when the radio bug bit, and I shifted gears, while never giving up my playing. Currently, I host and produce SUNDAY BAROQUE, a weekly radio program heard nationwide. I also play frequent solo chamber music concerts, get together with a weekly flute group, and recently joined a community orchestra to once again play the orchestral music that NYS taught me to love so much.

Music, both in public school in Norwalk and in the Youth Symphony in particular, kept me going during my junior high and high school years. I started in the Youth Symphony on violin, but by ninth grade, I had switched to oboe. I have had numerous careers through the years, none involving music. I am currently finishing an MLS degree and hope to find a position as a law reference librarian. This past spring, I started studying cello for the first time! I love reading what other Youth Symphony members are up to and what they remember most.

I loved Youth Symphony bus trips to Indiana so much that I ended up studying music education at I.U! My final year, I was registered with an IU teacher placement bureau and a job they had advertised for teaching in South Australia sounded interesting. Somehow I'm still in Australia and I've been a violist in the Sydney Symphony for 25 1/2 years now. It was Norwalk Youth Symphony that put the idea of an orchestral career into my head.

(...) my dad, Lou Simon, who was one of the founders of the Norwalk Symphony, its concertmaster for quite a while and its president too, was instrumental ('scuse the pun) in starting the Youth Symphony. As I understand it, it had been on the minds of many on the orchestra board but, when John Masters appeared on the scene, they had someone who could actually do it. And John and my dad sat side by side in the viola section of the "big" symphony until my dad passed away. (He had switched to viola because the E string of the fiddle was starting to hurt his fingers.) This is history as I remember it. Of course, I may be wrong! I myself hardly played in the Youth Symphony. I was a piano-player and a baritone horn player in the high school band. So my participation in both the Youth Symphoy and the "big" symphony was only occasionally as an orchestra pianist or a percussionist when there a lot of percussionists required. Thanks again for the notification. I hope you all have a joyous reunion. john simon

Unlike most of my siblings, I was a bit of a fraud when it came to practicing the violin. While Yenoin and Shem were preparing themselves for careers in music, I was dreaming of becoming the next Mickey Mantle. I never quite made it to the majors, in either baseball or music (my experience with the NYS was limited to the reserve gtoup, if memory serves). Nonetheless, the musical culture of my childhood has translated into a passion for music of nearly all genres. As in the past, it retains today the ability to touch my spirit in places unexplored by the spoken word. I believe that this has carried on to the next generation, as my 10 year old daughter has shown a love of music equal to mine. She has presently taken up the cello, after a few years on the piano. I only hope that her practice habits surpass those of her father.

I have fond memories of getting out of marching band practice early on Saturdays to make it to Youth Symphony practice. Many times, orchestra practice was a wonderful relief! I enjoyed hanging out with the woodwind sections of the Concert and Principal Orchestras since I did a lot of waiting and not a whole lot of playing. I even found a 'sister' for life, Jennifer (Zych) Lipinsky (clarinet). Jenn wasn't only my hangman partner during rehearsals, she's my SAI sister and still my best friend. I never would have met her without NYS. We still remember the great trip that we took to the World Financial Center in New York. I have been a band director at a public school in Delaware since my studies at the University of Delaware and Temple University. Last year, I took over the orchestra at my school as well. I cantor at a local church, I have a successful private studio and am currently playing bass clarinet with the Wind Symphony of Southern New Jersey. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again!

It was at NYS that I met a great friend, Liz Lockhart. We still keep in touch to this date sharing our family stories and professional experiences in music. I teach middle school band in Prospect, CT.

I've been playing non stop since high school and am in a klezmer band up in Southbury called Nefesh Klezmer Band. We recorded and played quite a bit around Connecticut and New York. www.nefeshband.com I'm married 22 years to someone I met in school in the clarinet section and we have two kids Violin and Clarinet. 21 and 19 years old.

I'm currently in my 5th year at the Hartt School of Music/University of Hartford pursuing a double degree in Viola Performance and Music Education, where I am in the honors chamber music program, Peformance 20/20. I am also currently on faculty at Summertrios, a camp for adult amateur chamber musicians. I was in Concert Orchestra for 2 years and Principal Orchestra for 2 years, my last year serving as Prinicpal Violist. NYS was where I met most of my former and current chamber music partners and for that I am forever grateful!

I owe so much to John Master, the NYS, and the music instruction I received through the public schools of Norwalk. While I've had a very long and wonderful career in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, have played chamber music with some of the great string players and pianists of our time, I always remember the thrill and enchantment of making music back then, where it all began for me. Thank you! Bob Swan

I am a violinist playing mostly improvised music, jazz, rock, pop, folk music. Composition and writing are also part of my daily life. I have composed scores for many theatre productions, including my own version of Henry Miller's "The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder". I have also conducted various orchestras (among other things the music to the film version of Knut Hamsun's "Pan") and taught courses in improvisation for classical strings. At the moment I am part of a Danish jazz group called "Mangfoldighed" (Diversity) and I am a sideman to the Danish "Barbara Streisand", Lene Siel. My quartet website can be visited at www.strings.dk.

I still associate so much of my childhood with the NYS; the Saturday morning rehearsals in the old high school, the concerts, the summer trips to Indiana University, our field trip to Carnegie Hall. Although I didn't go on to become a professional musician, the experience left me permanently attached to the symphonic world. Since joining the NYS nearly 40 years ago, there has only been one period (of about 2 years) in my life when I haven’t been a member of at least one orchestra. My busiest time was in 1972 when I was a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, and the North Side Symphony, all at the same time! Currently I play in the Concord Orchestra in Concord, MA, where I have been principal viola for the past 20 years. I also play down the road with the Lexington Sinfonietta. And every summer I go to “string quartet camp” for a week! Every so often in my musical travels I run into another NYS alum. I ran across Linda Walton (viola) and her husband Jim (cello) at UMASS when I was in grad school. I bumped into Rebecca Dragiff (cello) once in Boston. And for many years in the 90’s, our Concord Orchestra concertmaster was Fan Tao, a former NYS concertmaster. Weren’t we surprised to discover one day that we had both been in the NYS, and also had the same teacher, former NYS conductor John Huwiler!

I am an original (!!??) member of the Orchestra. I think the year was 1956. I was (and am, when not engaged in my day gig) a double bass player. I spend a lot of time playing in local amateur ochestras, and even more time playing jazz. The South Side of Chicago being the place where jazz got itself organized in the '20s and '30s, there are many places to play and many excellent players. I would not have been able to do any of this playing without the training I received at the Youth Symphony.