Sheboygan Area Youth Symphony - Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra

Sheboygan Area Youth Symphony

Have you attended a concert by the award winning Sheboygan Area Youth Symphony? We invite you to attend one of the three season concerts and experience for yourself the depth and quality of the young musicians from our area. The Sheboygan Symphony and the Sheboygan Area School District proudly sponsor the Youth Symphony and its many endeavors.

The Sheboygan Area Youth Symphony is a group of 65 talented Middle and High School students representing 9 different communities from around Sheboygan County. This artistic group, led by conductor Philip Scales, prepares three outstanding performances each season. In addition, they are involved in various music festivals throughout the state and nation.

Conductor Philip Scales is string instructor at both Horace Mann Middle School, and Wilson Elementary in Sheboygan. As well as an educator, Mr. Scales is also an experienced youth symphony conductor and performer. He created a Youth Symphony in South Dakota that included students from a 90-mile radius, and toured both nationally and internationally. The Youth Symphony took first place at two Orlando music festivals, and also performed in Texas, New York City, Boston, Washington DC, the Bahamas, Sweden, England and Greece..

Mr. Scales currently plays viola with the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, and has played with the Pittsburgh (PA) Symphony, the Hutchinson (KS) Orchestra, the Austin (TX) Civic Symphony, the Brookings, Watertown and Huron (SD) Symphony orchestras (serving as music conductor in Watertown and Huron) and had the rare pleasure of directing the backup orchestra for Mr. Bob Hope at the SD State Fair.

In February 2004, the Youth Symphony started a new tradition by performing in the new Stefanie Weill Center for the Performing Arts in Sheboygan. The orchestra worked hard to prepare musically for this special concert, and received rave reviews from the audience. Mr. Scales looks forward to another outstanding year with the Youth Symphony as they extend their reach for even greater musical heights.

SHEBOYGAN AREA YOUTH SYMPHONY EARNS SILVER MEDAL AT HERITAGE MUSIC FESTIVAL IN BOSTON

During the spring of 2003 the Sheboygan Area Youth Symphony were involved in the Heritage Music Festival in Boston, Massachusetts. This festival is a national competition where many fine Youth Symphonies from all over the country participated. The festival offers an opportunity for the students to grow both in their own performance as they compete, and in their musical knowledge gained through listening to other fine groups.

At the Heritage Music Festival, the Youth Symphony performed three selections for judges, took part in a mini-clinic, and listened to another orchestra perform. The same evening, youth symphony musicians and chaperones enjoyed an Awards Banquet, sponsored by the Festival, and were presented a 2nd place award in the Youth Orchestra classification.

Debbie Williamson was extremely happy with the performance of the group and stated, "It was a real joy for me to watch the musical growth and commitment of our students throughout the year, and even more rewarding to have them perform their best . . . with incredible energy, focus and precision. Sheboygan would have been proud!" Debbie went on, "Festival officials even complimented the group, following our performance, saying, 'we thoroughly enjoyed listening to your group . . . and what a wonderful bunch of kids too.' "

In addition to performing, the 65 musicians and chaperones enjoyed some sight-seeing and learned about the numerous historical sights of Boston. The group took a guided tour of the city, including parts of the Freedom Trail, explored the USS Constitution battleship, visited the Museum of Science, saw an Omni theater presentation of STOMP, and relaxed on a historical cruise of Boston Harbor. The whole trip was a wonderful experience for all.

For additional information about the Youth Symphony, contact the Sheboygan Symphony Office at 920-452-1985.