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Staff Spotlight: Stacy Beltran

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I began my career of bringing music to children ten years ago. I was given the opportunity to be the Assistant for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s Education Department, while I was still a young Political Science major at Rutgers-Newark. It was there that I met Jeff Grogan, former NJYS Artistic Director, who asked me to join him at the New Jersey Youth Symphony.

For the last five seasons, it has been my privilege to call New Jersey Youth Symphony my home. As we look ahead to the program’s 40th Season, I am excited to see how we continue to grow with some of the state’s top young musicians.

At NJYS, our mission is to provide the highest quality of music education to a wide range of students in a supportive and inclusive environment, where striving for personal excellence inspires and connects those we teach to the communities we serve.

It has been incredibly humbling to work with some truly talented conductors who inspire me every day. I am also so grateful to work with highly committed teams of parent volunteers. Their contributions greatly enhance the experience of all our young musicians. I remember being part of a different youth orchestra as a young violinist.  Looking back, I now have a new appreciation for all the time my parents spent driving me to rehearsals and staying to move chairs and stands.

My love for music makes me proud to be NJYS’s Manager of Orchestras and I can’t wait to see what’s next!

New Jersey Youth Symphony Violinist Wins Seat in Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra

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Meet violinist and New Providence resident, Kingston Ho, 16, who has won a coveted seat on the roster of young musicians in Carnegie Hall’s 2018 National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). He is one of only five musicians from New Jersey to be selected for the highly competitive 100-member ensemble. A junior at the Academy for Allied Health Sciences in Scotch Plains, Kingston studies violin with New York Philharmonic’s Duoming Ba and serves as co-concertmaster for the New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS).

He is also a member of the NJYS String Quartet which is coached by Philip Setzer of the Emerson String Quartet and frequently performs throughout the Garden State. This summer will mark Kingston’s second year with NYO-USA. Last summer, he performed with the orchestra at Carnegie Hall and toured Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia under the baton of Marin Alsop. In 2016, he was selected to be the concertmaster of the inaugural NYO2 orchestra. He was a semifinalist at the 2018 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players and held the position of concertmaster of the New Jersey All-State Orchestra from 2014-2016. As a soloist, Kingston has appeared at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and the Rose Theater at Lincoln Center. From 2015-2017, Kingston was the concertmaster of the InterSchool Orchestras of New York, a full scholarship youth orchestra.

Says Kingston, “To be a  part of NYO-USA again is very exciting. This year we will be working with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano, and we will perform at Carnegie Hall and other venues in Asia including Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, and Daejeon.”

When asked what he likes best about music, Kingston responded, “I enjoy chamber music because of the collaboration with other players and everyone has a part. I like playing with the New Jersey Youth Symphony because the level is very advanced and I am friends with many players in the orchestra. And NJYS is also very convenient as I can walk from home to rehearsals in several minutes!”

Each summer, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute brings together the brightest young players from across the country to form the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), a free program for all participants. Following a comprehensive audition process and a three-week training residency with leading professional orchestra musicians, these remarkable teenagers embark on a tour to some of the great music capitals of the world, serving as dynamic music ambassadors. In 2018, the orchestra travels to Asia with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, performing a new Carnegie Hall–commissioned work by Ted Hearne alongside works by Sibelius and Gershwin. The tour kicks off with the orchestra’s annual concert at Carnegie Hall, continuing with stops in Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, and Daejeon. In 2019, NYO-USA returns to Europe with conductor Sir Antonio Pappano and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.

As part of the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts, the New Jersey Youth Symphony has a rich history of fostering musical talent for nearly 40 years. Each of its 15 ensembles offers participants a different, yet fully rounded experience. The family of orchestras serves students from 3rd to 12th grades. NJYS is committed to providing the finest ensemble musical training led by our staff of experienced and renowned conductors, and is known for its high standard of excellence throughout the United States and internationally.

Students become composers, lyricists, writers in Musical Theater Company

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Over the past few months, students in the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts (WIPA) Musical Theater Company have been writing their own full length musical using stories from the Grimm Brothers to be showcased in two performances on June 9 in Wharton’s black box theatre. With the help of instructors Timothy Maureen Cole and David Seamon, the cast is using fairy tales to create an original story, script, and songs.

The Musical Theater Company is a 27-week course where students ages 10-15 explore storytelling through acting, singing, and movement. This year marks the Company’s third season and first endeavor in writing their own musical from start to finish.

Says Musical Theater Arts Director Timothy Maureen Cole, “It has been very rewarding for everyone involved to go through the creative process of writing a musical. At the beginning of the course, it was obivous that students were a little shy to give input about the story’s plotline or what a melody should sound like for a new song in class. Many weeks later and those same students are excited to share opinions and have them reflected in our story!”

Adds Cole, “Most students are accustomed to being given a role and memorizing a script, but this class is so much more. The students are learning to work together to create something brand new. At the end of the process, they can look at this show and say ‘I made that.’ It’s incredible.”

Timothy Maureen Cole holds a Master of Music degree in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College and a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Ithaca College, and has been teaching voice, music theater, and piano since 2007.  She holds certification in Early Childhood Music Education from Kindermusik International, and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.  In addition to private and group instruction, Cole has collegiate teaching experience at Horry Georgetown Technical College and James Madison University. She has extensive performance experience in classical and musical theater repertoire.  Recent productions include La Boheme (Mimi), Le Nozze Di Figaro (Countess), Wilde’s Wild West (Frenchie), Aics and Galatea (Damon), Elixir of Love (Adina), Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart, and Scarlatti’s La Giuditta (Giuditta).  Favorite Music Theater performances include: Kiss Me Kate (Kate), Anything Goes (Reno), You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown (Sally), Once Upon A Mattress, and My Favorite Year.

The Company show takes place on Saturday, June 9 at 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. at 60 Locust Avenue in Berkeley Heights. Tickets are $10, available at the door or by calling 908-790-0700.