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AT&T High School Concert Tour Announced

January 13, 2009
  • Contact: Don Hill - Director of Public Relations - (512) 476-6064

The 2009 High School Concert Tour of the Austin Symphony Orchestra begins January 27th with “SYM-PHONE-Y.” Part of the James C. Armstrong Youth Education Programs of the ASO, “SYM-PHONE-Y” will transform the high school gymnasiums of Anderson, Austin, Bowie, LBJ & McNeil High Schools into concert halls overflowing with sounds of classical music that is heard in everyday life. Thanks to title sponsor AT&T, the ASO will present a concert centered around available ringtones for cell phones. Other sponsors include Topfer Family Foundation, Supercuts, St. David’s Healthcare Partnership, Applied Materials, State Farm Insurance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Austin Arts Commission. Bleachers will rock as over 10,000 would-be musicians and patrons prepare themselves for their future ties with the arts. Concerts will cruise for 45 minutes with selections of classic and light classic favorites, showing students that music that they hear in everyday cell phone rings may just be “classical.” Also featured in these concerts will be performances by the teenage winners of the Austin Symphony Youth Awards. Each concert closes with a surprise spirit-filled finale, an orchestrated version of their high school fight song conducted by their own school’s music director.

Select student instrumentalists from each school, as well as the Austin Symphony Youth Award winners, will blend their musical talents with the Austin Symphony side-by-side in this popular educational program. The Austin Symphony Youth Award is a competition judged by the Austin District Music Teachers Association that chooses student musicians to perform with the ASO during these concerts.

The 2008 recipients of the Austin Symphony Youth Awards are Miki Sasaki, Austin Harris and Brian Park. Mr. Sasaki, a trumpeter, is a student at Anderson High School. He is a student of his father, Ray Sasaki and has been playing for 10 years. Mr. Harris, a violinist, attends Westlake High School, a student of ASO concertmaster Jessica Mathaes and has been studying for 9 years. Pianist Mr. Park attends Westwood High School and is a student of Dr. Saida Kafarova.

The Austin Symphony Orchestra proudly presents its High School Concerts to provide quality educational programming and motivation for the student population of Central Texas. Whether they’re toddlers or graduates, students are constantly exposed to various musical programs featuring musicians of the ASO. This outstanding fusion of music, education, and students’ musical accomplishments will seduce ambitious musicians as well as give outstanding students the chance of a lifetime.