I competed for years with Dennis Dearth for the first bassoon spot, and he always won. Finally in his senior year he could only come every other Saturday, so I shared the Principal seat with him. And the pieces had REAL bassoon parts!--not the doubled 2nd trombone line I got to play in band every day!

Oh yes, and we composed! Another bassoon colleague wrote a concerto for four winds and orchestra that was performed on a concert, and I decided I could do that! I wrote a piece influenced by Charles Ives’ Symphony No. 1 which we had just performed, wrote out the parts and got to conduct a read-through for the last hour of rehearsal one magical Saturday. I imagine it was actually awful, but it was an “aha! moment” for me, and one for which I remain ever grateful to Irv Wright!

One of the highlights of my recent composing career was writing a piece for TYS last spring and hearing my old orchestra play it so beautifully. When I listened to them play it, the years melted away and I was the same delighted kid I was back then, in 1971, listening to committed musicians make passionate music for their greatest fans.

Greg Youtz has taught music composition at PLU for the last 25 years. He studied at the University of Washington and the University of Michigan where he received his DMA in Composition in 1987. He recently got to attend a performance of his Percussion Concerto in Carnegie Hall, and thought about all the times the TYS has played there! You can hear some of Greg’s recent pieces at his MySpace page: search for Gregory Youtz.

» Visit Greg’s web site

After graduating from the New England Conservatory, I joined “The President’s Own” US Marine Chamber Orchestra. In addition to playing at the White House, we present orchestra, chamber music, and school outreach performances throughout the year. A highlight of my career occurred last spring, when I was invited to play a concerto with Dale Johnson and the wonderful musicians of the Young Artists orchestra.

I have many fond memories of my time in the TYSA, including Mahler’s First Symphony and Stravinsky’s Petrushka at Evergreen with Mr. Davidson; run-out concerts and meals at the Old Spaghetti Factory with the String and Junior Symphonies; softball at Evergreen with Mr. Johnson umpiring; chamber music marathons in December; and Dr. Cobbs’ first year as director, which was also my final year in the TYSA. Words cannot adequately express how proud and fortunate I am to be a TYSA alumnus.

» Visit Charlie’s “Teiber Trio” web page

Upon high-school graduation in 2004, I attended The University of Puget Sound for two years, where I studied composition with Dr. Robert Hutchinson and violin with Maria Sampen. In the summer of 2006, I transferred to the Cleveland Institute of Music where I attained my BM of music in composition in 2008 under the direction of composers Margaret Brower and Paul Schoenfield.

The musical opportunities that I’ve been blessed with are amazing! I’ve received commissions from not only TYS, but also the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Santa Fe Youth Orchestra, and violinist William Preucil, concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra.

I am currently in my final semester of my Master’s degree at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and am currently studying with Dr. Arthur Gottschalk and am a former student of Pierre Jalbert. This summer I’ll be getting married (sorry, not to a fellow TYS alum, but to a violinist nonetheless) and next year continuing on to get my Doctorate, at a currently unknown location!

» Listen to Lexi’s compositions for William Preucil

To visit the Tacoma Youth Symphony website, please to go www.tysamusic.org.