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Young Artist Competition

Each year, the Mid-Texas Symphony sponsors a Young Artist Competition rotating among piano, strings, voice, and winds. The winner’s prize is a paid contract to perform with the Mid-Texas Symphony. Additional cash prizes are awarded.

The 2012-2013 Mid-Texas Symphony Young Artist Competition for vocalists was held on February 2, 2013. Nine vocalists competed for an opportunity to sing with a professional orchestra.

The competition serves several purposes. It gives university students the chance to perform with a symphony orchestra, and it helps the Mid-Texas Symphony fulfill one of its major goals - the promotion of classical music among young people.

Soprano Ashly Neumann, currently a student at University of Houston was awarded First Prize. Second Prize was awarded to Natalie Cummings, a student at the University of Texas. Third Prize was awarded to Elizabeth Pasichnyk, a student at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Ms. Neumann will be performing with the Mid-Texas Symphony on Sunday, March 3, 2013.

The Young Artist Competition has been supported by generous grants from the Cecilia Young Willard Helping Fund.

Children's Concert Series

Download information about Peter and the Wolf.

One of the Mid-Texas Symphony's proudest contributions to the community is the annual Children's Concert Series. Thousands of students from Comal, Guadalupe and northern Bexar Counties are bused to the concert venues where they hear the Mid-Texas Symphony perform just for them. The Mid-Texas Symphony provides curriculum material and free CDs to assist music teachers in preparing the students for the concert. Next season's Children's Concerts will be held September 16, 2013 at 9:00 am and 10:30 am in Jackson Auditorium on the campus of Texas Lutheran University in Seguin and on September 17, 2013 at 9:15 am and 10:45 am in the New Braunfels Civic & Convention Center. Sign up your 4th and 5th graders by emailing the Mid-Texas Symphony.

Music Director David Mairs, an outstanding music educator and Denton ISD 2010 Teacher of the Year, ensures that the concerts help schools meet Texas educational objectives. And with the help of generous supporters, it is all done at no cost to the children or the schools.

Community Music Academy

TLU/MTS Community Music Academy

For many years, the Mid-Texas Symphony sponsored string lessons for young students in Guadalupe and Comal counties. In 2006, the program was expanded in cooperation with Texas Lutheran University and became the Texas Lutheran University/Mid-Texas Symphony Community Music Academy, a non-profit community music school providing music education to students of all ages and levels of ability.

The C.M.A. offers private strings and guitar instruction and the opportunity for performance experience in vocal and string ensembles. The staff instructors have extensive teaching experience and are qualified to promote individual student advancement in the area of music skills, knowledge and appreciation. The C.M.A. strives to provide a supportive environment where students are encouraged to achieve their full music potential. In addition to private lessons, the Community Music Academy offers group lessons, chamber groups, a Youth Orchestra and a Youth Choir.

The Community Music Academy offers quality musical training, education and performance opportunities. For information about the Community Music Academy, contact Laurie Jenschke, CMA Director, at 830-456-3016 or communitymusicacademy@tlu.edu or visit www.tlumtscma.com.

Through the Lindenbaum Suzuki Outreach Program, the C.M.A. also provides free instruction in strings to interested students who may not otherwise have this opportunity. The vision of the program is to build a thriving strings program for youth in the Seguin and surrounding communities. The program is funded by the Lindenbaum Music Education Fund, created by a generous donation to TLU by the Lindenbaum family. A grant from the Elizabeth Huth Coates Foundation allowed the program to expand to New Braunfels ISD.  In 2012-2013, the program included:

Don’t miss these CMA events:

Music Memory

The annual Music Memory Competition serves as another way for the Mid-Texas Symphony to introduce classical music to our young people. Using the same selections as the UIL Music Memory contest, third, fourth and fifth grade students from the surrounding area schools in New Braunfels, Seguin, and Navarro are introduced to classical composers and their works by their classroom music teachers. In the spring, teams of students from area schools gather with their teachers for the MTS Music Memory Competition. Prizes donated by local businesses are awarded to teams and individual winners. This season's Mid-Texas Symphony Music Memory Contest will be held on March 23, 2013. For information, contact Marj Peters at 830-372-1930.

The annual Mid-Texas Symphony’s Music Memory Competition was held at Wupperman Little Theatre on the TLU campus on February 25, 2012. First Place Winners in the grade level team competition were 3rd graders - Jessie Athas, Parker Peterson, Kaitlyn Fedde, Katy Brown (Memorial Elementary, NB); 4th graders- Eril Mitchan, Joseph Picket, Maddie Balderrama, Mikel Gonzales (Klein Road Elementary, NB); and 5th graders- Braxton Rush, Phillip Brown, Jose’ Giron (Memorial Elementary, NB).Individual winners included Katy Brown, Memorial Elementary (First place), Erin Mitchan, Joseph Pickett, and Maddie Balderrama from Klein Road Elementary (Second place), and Isaiah Granado and Ellie Wipf from Klein Road Elementary , Kaitlyn Fedde, Bryan Gonzales, Javier Salazar, and Phillip Brown from Memorial Elementary (Third place). All participants received prizes.Special thanks go to the following businesses for the prizes they donated: Schlitterbahn, Marble Slab Creamery, Lazer X Tag, Fiesta Bowling, Baskin Robbins in New Braunfels, Seguin’s Sonics on Court St. and Kingsbury St., CiCi’s Pizza, ZDT and Clear Springs Restaurant in Clear Springs. 

Each student that took part in the contest also received a pass for themselves and an adult to accompany them to the Mid-Texas Symphony Pops concert at the New Braunfels's Civic Center presented on May 6, 2012.  The MM students were recognized as a group at the concert.

 

Guild Educational Programs

The two chapters of the Mid-Texas Symphony Guild sponsor a number of educational programs. For information about any of these programs, contact Trina Eastwood, Seguin or Lisa Lasseter, New Braunfels.

The Debutante Program
The Debutante program for high school senior girls offers young women a year-long program teaching social skills, etiquette, event planning, community service, and financial planning. The debutantes, selected in the spring of their junior year, serve as concert ushers, provide help with other symphony events, and have regular workshops and training sessions during the year. The debutante year culminates in the presentation of the young women at the annual Mid-Texas Symphony Balls (one in each Guild chapter community). The program not only raises very significant funds for the Symphony, it transforms girls into poised young women. The escorts and stags are invited to many of the functions throughout the year. For more information about the Debutante program in New Braunfels, contact Doreen Fisher, and in Seguin, contact Trina Eastwood.

The Cotillion Program
The Cotillion program for younger boys and girls is modeled on our very successful Debutante Program. This educational program provides this age group an opportunity to plan for and attend at least one cultural and one social event during the year. Emphasis is placed on learning social skills, manners, and etiquette in a relaxed and enjoyable setting. A service component is also included.



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