‘Who doesn’t love this?’: MMYO at Mt. Blue on March 3

FARMINGTON – Mid-Maine Youth Orchestra, featuring some of the best student musicians in central Maine, will perform their annual dual concerts at Mt. Blue High School and Messalonskee High School in Oakland early next month.

The Mt. Blue concert is scheduled for Sunday, March 3 at 3 p.m. in the Björn Auditorium, while the Messalonskee concert will be held in the Performing Arts Center on March 1 at 7 p.m. Admission to the concerts is free, although donations are welcome at the door.

Now in its 35th season, MMYO offers its student musicians the rare chance to participate in a full orchestra: strings, brass, wind and percussion. The collaboration draws 37 students in grades 7 through 12 from eight public school districts, one private school and homeschooled students. The students must audition to get into the orchestra, rehearsing rigorously from late October through February. MMYO is conducted by Andrew J. Forster, Music Director; and Daniel Keller, Associate Conductor.

This year’s concerts include “Metalfare” by Ilari Hylkilӓ, “Carmen Suite No. 1” by Georges Bizet, “Romance No. 2 in F Major” by Ludwig van Beethoven featuring concert master Gwinna Remillard, “Funeral March of a Marionette” by Charles Gounod, “On Top of the World” by Brian Balmages, “Pavane, op.50” by Gabriel Fauré, and “Dry Your Tears, Afrika” by John Williams. The percussion section will be featured again this year in a piece called “Quadrinomial” by Brandon Dittgen.

The program is carefully selected by MMYO organizers, Forster said. Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 1 for example, features classical style melodies followed by a more contemporary fanfare.

“We pride ourselves on a diverse program for the students and for the audience,” he said, listening as Keller took the orchestra through the Carmen Suite. “I mean, who doesn’t love this?”

In a new twist this year, MMYO will be joined by the Messalonskee Master Singers for two pieces, Fauré’s Pavane and Dry Your Tears, Afrika from the movie Amistad. Beethoven’s Romance No. 2 will feature a solo by Remillard, while other pieces were selected or adapted to take advantage of the presence of Linnea Estes, a harpist.

“We try to expose them to as many different styles as we can,” Forster said.

MMYO partners with the Kennebec Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra in Augusta to allow student participation in both full orchestra programs. A number of the students participate in other programs: 17 high school members of this year’s orchestra were selected via audition to perform in the Maine Music Educators’ Association’s 102nd annual All-State Music Festival on May 16 through 18 at the University of Maine campus in Orono. Another 17 middle school and high school students participated in the honors band or chorus at the Kennebec Valley Music Educators Festival on Feb. 2 at Messalonskee. Students have also been accepted into the All-Eastern Music Festival in Pittsburgh, Penn.; the District 3 Music Festival and the New England Music Festival.

The Mid-Maine Youth Orchestra is sponsored by the students and their families, and donations are welcomed to defray the costs of music and other supplies. Advertising opportunities are available. The website is www.midmaineyouthorchestra.com. Please contact Kathleen Pike at 897-5815 for more information about the concerts, advertising in the concert program, sponsorship, or future membership. Follow MMYO on Facebook at www.facebook.com/midmaineyouthorchestra.