WWSYO provides an unique opportunity to rehearse and perform in a large, full-symphonic ensemble alongside other musicians from across the region. This ensemble includes strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Musicians rehearse weekly with Bruce Walker, and perform 2-3 concerts each year.

Schedule

Fall 2024 rehearsals will be Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:15, from September 18 through January 15, with one Sunday afternoon "Rehearse-a-Thon" on September 29 and the Spring Concert on January 22.

Spring 2025 rehearsals will be Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:15, from February 5 through April 30, with one Sunday afternoon "Rehearse-a-thon" on Fabruary 23 and the Spring Concert on May 7.

A full rehearsal and concert calendar can be viewed on Google Calendar. Please note that this calendar is subject to change but that we hope to stick to it!

Location

Most rehearsals are held in the Pioneer Middle School orchestra room. Thanks to Ms. Woods for the space! Occassionally, due to building use conflicts, a rehearsal may be held at the Walla Walla High School orchestra room. Concerts, Dress Rehearsals, and Rehearse-a-thons are held at Chism Hall on Whitman College Campus.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible to participate in WWSYO, you must also be enrolled in your school's music ensemble, if one is offered. If instruction on your primary instrument is not available at your school, we encourage you to participate in another ensemble of your school music program. Students who are homeschooled full-time, or who are enrolled full-time in Running Start, the Opportunity Program, or Online School (and do not matriculate to any other school programs offered), are strongly encouraged to participate in a school music program, but are not required to do so. 
Please contact us if you are not sure that you are eligible!

Although this program is designed for musicians in grades 8-12, exceptions can be made! We welcome registrations from younger musicians who are up for the challenge of a higher level orchestra.

Auditions

Auditions are a very casual part of the WWSYO Program, meant to help Director Bruce Walker to know the skill set of his ensemble and to help place students when there is more than one part per instrument. You're welcome to join the ensemble before you audition to "try it out first."

To submit your audition, please prepare 2-5 minutes of musical material which demonstrates your technical and lyrical ability on your instrument. You can record yourself playing this material and submit a "virtual audition" in this matter, or request a time to audition live for Mr. Walker.

Auditions will be taken throughout the month of September for Fall session - this means a student can join WWSYO for the first several rehearsals while still preparing an audition. All students will need to audition, even if they were enrolled in WWSYO in the previous year.

Virtual Auditions: You can record yourself performing this material on a phone, tablet, or other device if you choose to audition virtually, and you will receive a link to submit your audition video via email upon submission of this form, at the email address you provide. You may submit your audition video any time between when you register and September 30th.

In-person Auditions: You may choose to request an in-person audition  with WWSYO Director Bruce Walker when you complete this registration form. These auditions will be held after rehearsals in September or at the Rehearse-a-Thon on September 29th.

Communication

We seend weekly emails to all participants and their parents/guardians with general information about rehearsals, extra musical opportunities, free concert tickets to Walla Walla Symphony events and other partnering musical events, and other announcements. Please be sure to provide a working email address during registration, where you will receive these emails!

Questions

Please direct all questions to emily@wwsymphony.org.

SPARK! is a free online composition course geared toward brand new through advanced young composers in grades 3-12.

The Fall Mini-Session will take place from Oct 20 - Nov 24, 2024.

Throughout each session, participants will meet via Zoom for private lessons with Kristin Vining to develop an individual project. Participants will also meet as a group at the beginning of the session for Orientationn and at the end of the session for a "Composers Workshop" to share theirwork with one another.

*Note: the Fall Mini-Session will not conclude with a Composition Showcase as other sessions do.*

The Course will consist of the following elements, all conducted online:

• ONLINE ORIENTATION (Oct 20, 4:00 pm PT)
  An introductory meeting with all participants to go over the different elements of the course, and give composers a head start on brainstorming their composition.
• PRIVATE LESSONS (flexible scheduling)
  Study music composition with Kristin Vining. In your lessons Kristin provides individual attention to help you start, develop, and complete your project. Schedule lessons at your convenience using an online Calendly sign-up form.
• COMPOSERS WORKSHOP (Nov 24, 4:00pm PT)
  Informally share your works with your composing peers in this Composers Workshop! Because the mini-session does not include a Composition Showcase, this is the culminating event of the SPARK! Fall Session.

You will receive an invitation to schedule your private lessons and a link to the Zoom Orientation event after completing your registration.

Walla Walla Symphony Youth Orchestra (WWSYO) Concerto Competion

January 29, 2025, 6-8pm

Chism Hall, Whitman College, Walla Walla

The WWSYO Concerto Competition is an opportunity for our region's up-and-coming musicians to prepare and perform an audition for a panel of professional adjudicators. The competition takes place in Walla Walla, WA. Participants compete in one of two divisions:

  Intermediate Division (Up to grade 8), and
  Senior Division (Grades 9-12)

In addition to three monetary prizes, selected participants may be invited to perform with the Walla Walla Symphony Youth Orchestra in concert.

Guidelines and Procedures Checklist:

• Geographical Limits: The competition is limited to residents of Walla Walla County and Columbia County, WA, plus Umatilla County, OR.
  
  
• Membership in the Walla Walla Symphony Youth Orchestra is NOT required. (But we'd love for you to join us!)
  
  
• Instrument Restrictions: WWSYO students are NOT restricted to performing only on the instruments that they play in WWSYO. All instruments and vocal parts are welcome to participate. Participants may also choose to prepare multiple auditions on more than one instrument, if they wish!
  
  
• Audition Time: Each participant will be given up to 12 minutes to audition. These audition slots will be between 6-8pm on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, on stage at Chism Hall, with the panelists and a live audience present.
  
  
• Choice of Piece: 
  Instrumental participants should prepare a movement of a concerto or similar concert piece.
  Singers should prepare an aria or similar selection.
  Participants may choose a piece longer than 12 minutes, but must choose which movement or portion to present to the adjudicators to meet the time limit.
  We recommend that participants choose a piece written in 1850 or earlier if possible, due to instrumentation considerations and accessibility of parts. Pieces written after 1850 may be accepted, but are less likely to meet director approval for these reasons. Musical selections should have readily available orchestral parts.
  We will ask for a publisher or source of these parts during registration, but if you have trouble finding them just let us know, we may be able to help!
  
  
• Piece Pre-Approval: The piece or movement which each participant chooses is subject to the approval of WWSYO Music Director Bruce Walker. Upon submission of each participant’s Registration Form, we will review piece selections and will contact participants if their piece is NOT approved. Email bruce@wwsymphony.org and/or emily@wwsymphony.org if you'd like to know ahead of registering whether your piece will be approved.
  
  
• Piece Memorization: Participants may use sheet music during the audition. Competition winners should be prepared to perform their selections by memory at the Spring Concert.
  
  
• Copies of Music: Participants are responsible to bring three copies of the music for the adjudicators during the competition. Music can be returned at the end of the performance if requested.
  
  
• Accompanists: Participants may choose to audition either with or without an accompanist. If playing with an accompanist, participants are responsible for arranging and compensating their own accompanists. WWSYO may be able to help participants locate an accompanist if needed. When scheduling audition times we try to group students together based on the accompanists; i.e. an accompanist performing with four students will play for the students back-to-back in order to be considerate of the accompanist’s time.
  
  
• DVD submissions and electronic submissions are NOT permitted. The intention of the competition is to provide a live adjudication experience for participants.       
  
  
• Competition Day Instructions, including each participant’s audition time, will be emailed at least five days prior to the competition. Please be sure to provide a working email address during registration to ensure that you receive these instructions.
  
  
• Additional Requirements for Winners: If a participant is selected to perform their piece with the Walla Walla Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Music Director may limit the number of movements or total performance time to fit a specific concert program. In addition, only selections with readily available orchestral parts will be programmed for a concert performance. Participants who are selected to perform must be available for the Spring 2025 WWSYO Concert on Monday May 5, 2025 and for several rehearsals leading up to the concert. Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings between 6:00-8:00 pm, February through May, in Walla Walla. Rehearsal dates specific to each Concerto will be announced after the competition, during the Spring 2025 session. If winners choose to perform only on their selection, and not enroll in the ensemble, they will only be required to attend those rehearsals in which that piece is rehearsed. Winners are encouraged to, but not required to, enroll in WWSYO to participate in the other pieces on the program.

To participate, please click "Register" on this page and complete the registration form. Further instructions including each participant's audition time will be sent via email to the email address or addresses you provide during registration. Contact emily@wwsymphony.org with any questions.

We look forward to seeing you in January!