Not Quite Ready for Carnegie Hall Players
performs at Carson City Senior Center
Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018

The Not Quite Ready for Carnegie Hall Players (NQR) performs at Carson City Senior Center on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018, at 11:00 a.m.

The "Not Quite Ready for Carnegie Hall Players" is the creation of Carson City Symphony Education Director and former Concertmaster Sue Jesch. Each week, a group of adult musicians, some of them beginners, get together to play music at the Carson City Senior Center. The group meets Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. The primary purpose of this is to give adult musicians who may not be ready for a regular adult orchestra, such as the Carson City Symphony, an opportunity to play and enjoy easy music. The group has performed at assisted living events, and many of the members participate in the annual Christmas Carol Play-along for Strings each December in Carson Mall (see Dec. 21 event).

Joyful Noise Carson Children's Choir
performs for Food Pantry
Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018

The Joyful Noise Carson Children's Choir perform on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. at the Carson City Seventh Day Adventist Church & Food Pantry, 405 College Parkway, Carson City, NV.

Joyful Noise Carson Children's Choir became an affiliate of the Carson City Symphony Association in fall 2017. This choir gives children the opportunity to develop their voices and learn music concepts of rhythm, pitch, expression, and performance in a small group. The Joyful Noise choir sings a variety of tunes - hymns, folk songs, and silly, playful pieces. No musical background is required, and all children are welcome to participate. Choir members learn musicality and performance skills through the joy of singing with a choir. For kids ages 4 through 12 in Carson City, Carson Valley areas.

Information about the group can be found on the Association's website at http://ccsymphony.com/JoyfulNoise.htm.

Find information about the group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Joyfulnoisekidschoir.

STRAZZ Play at Trader Joe's
Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018

STRAZZ, the advanced group from Carson City Symphony's Symphony Youth Strings program, play for the entertainment of shoppers at Trader Joe's, on Topsy Lane in Carson City on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018, at 4:00 p.m. Come out and enjoy this free entertainment.

Christmas Carol Playalong for Strings
Friday, December 21, 2018

String players are invited to join the 11th annual Christmas Carol Playalong at the Carson Mall on Fri, Dec. 21, 2018, at 3:00 p.m. For registration and sheet music, contact Sue Jesch at 775-450-5584 or sue@tahoefiddler.com. Come and listen or come and play.

Carson City Symphony Association events are supported by the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, and by private donations.

Attached Photo: String instrument players of all ages at a previous Christmas Carol Playalong at Carson Mall.

Three Carson City Students Awarded
Rosemary Nebesky Memorial Scholarships

Media Release - Dec. 11, 2018: Ashlyn Parnham, Diana Banuelos Ibarra, and Jasmine Wong-Fortunato were awarded the third annual Rosemary Nebesky Memorial Scholarships by the Carson City Symphony Association this month. The scholarship was established by John and Jennifer Webley of Santa Rosa, Calif., in memory Rosemary Nebesky, who loved music, loved children, and had been a friend and board member of the Carson City Symphony Association. It is awarded each year to one or more Carson City students age 5 to 17 for instrumental music lessons. The winners this year were selected from several applicants.

Ashlyn Parnham, 16, is a sophomore at Carson High, where she plays in four bands on different instruments. Clarinet is her main instrument and this year she added alto clarinet in concert band, and tenor sax in jazz ensemble. Ashlyn plans to teach music. She has attended the Lake Tahoe Music Camp the past two years, and will use her scholarship to attend again this summer of 2019.

Diana Banuelos is a 13-year-old student who lives in Dayton, NV, where they do not have a string program in the schools. She studies violin in Carson City with Lissette Rivas. Diana said, "All my life I've wanted to play violin. I started lessons almost a year ago and it's been really great." Through violin, Diana has met new people, explored the music world, and become closer to family members who play instruments. Diana will use her scholarship to continue her violin lessons.

Jasmine Wong-Fortunato, 15, a ninth grader at Carson High School, plays in three bands on different instruments in each. She also plays in three community groups: Carson City Symphony, Carson Valley Pops Orchestra, and Capital City Community Band. A second time winner, Jasmine plans to make music education her career and will use the scholarship to continue private lessons on bassoon.

The next round of scholarships will be awarded in fall of 2019. For more information about the scholarship and the application process, contact the Symphony at 775-883-4154.

Concert to Feature Premiere of Saxophone Piece
Sunday, February 24, 2019

The Carson City Symphony will be presenting a concert with saxophone soloist Rhett Bender on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Carson City Community Center at 4:00 p.m. Dr. Bender will be performing the orchestral premiere of the alto saxophone concerto "Duality" by composer Carleton Macy. "Duality" was originally written in 2003 for Bender to perform with wind ensemble. Carleton Macy will be present to participate in the concert preview at 3:15 p.m. and other activities. Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 ("Pastorale") will also be on the program.

Dr. Bender is a Professor of Music at the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University where he teaches graduate and undergraduate saxophone performance and chamber music. In the summers, he is the Director of the Ashland Chamber Music Workshop and the Siskiyou Saxophone Workshop. Bender is a founding member and soprano saxophonist with the Mazama Quartet and Globe Saxophone Quartet; the Artistic Director for the Siskiyou Saxophone Orchestra (SSO); and saxophonist with the Rogue Valley and Britt Festival Symphony Orchestras. He is the Region One Director of the North American Saxophone Alliance (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming). Bender travels to China as Guest Artist-Teacher at the Sichuan Conservatory of Classical Music, Honorary Advisor to the Chengdu Saxophone Society, Visiting Professor at the College of Arts of Yantai University, and Guest Artist for the Yantai Children's Palace of Music and Art. Bender earned degrees from Iowa State University (Bachelor of Music) and the University of Georgia (Master of Music, Doctorate of Musical Arts) where he was a student of Kenneth Fischer. His website is at http://saxophone.sou.edu. He previously appeared with the Carson City Symphony in 2011.

Tickets are $15 general admission; $12 for seniors, students, and Symphony Association members; and free age 18 and under. Tickets will be available in advance at the Nevada Day Store, 716 N. Carson Street; online at CCSymphony.com; and at the door.

Symphony Youth Strings Spring Concert
Thursday, April 25, 2019

The Carson City Symphony's Youth Strings will present its spring concert on Thursday, April 25, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. at the Carson City Community Center. Symphony Youth Strings (formerly Strings in the Schools), Carson City Symphony's comprehensive program of string instruction, inspired by the teachings of Kato Havas, creator and author of The New Approach to Violin Playing, provides free beginning violin lessons for students grades 2-5 and ensemble/orchestra experience for all interested string students in the Carson City School District. Tuition and books are subsidized by the Carson City Symphony Association. The instruction is guided by Sue Jesch, Carson City Symphony's Education Director and former Concertmaster, who is assisted by Laura Gibson, Carson City Symphony Associate Concertmaster, and Lou Groffman, principal cellist of the Symphony.

This is a free concert. Further details will be posted on this website.