Hear Central New York’s most talented young musicians perform a wide variety of orchestral music in their final concert of the 2022-23 season. This performance features Symphoria Youth String Orchestra, Symphoria Youth Repertory Orchestra, and the Symphoria Young Artists Orchestra.
PROGRAM
Symphoria Youth String Orchestra
WEBBER/HART/MOORE: The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera
SCHWARTZ/RICKETTS: Medley from Wicked
BISHOP: Artemis Rising
GREIG/FROST: In the Hall of the Mountain King
Symphoria Youth Repertory Orchestra
PROKOFIEV: Montagues & Capulets from Romeo & Juliet Suite No. 2
BEETHOVEN: Allegro from Symphony No. 5, Op. 67
Symphoria Young Artists Orchestra
MOZART: Allegro from Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216
Alexa Rose Battaglia, Violin (Winner of the SYO ’22-’23 Concerto Competition)
ABOUT THE CONDUCTORS
Mrs. Rebecca Dodd
Becky Dodd is from Eugene, Oregon and is still an Oregon Duck at heart. She started teaching private music lessons at age 16, and taught in the public schools for over 30 years, 26 of those in the Liverpool Central School District. She earned her Music Education degree from Wichita State University and her master’s degree in Reading from SUNY Oswego. Becky recently retired from the public school system, but not from being involved in the musical community. Besides her private studio, she is enjoying her fifth year as the conductor of the SYSO as well as assisting with the Salt City New Horizons adult orchestra. She recently became a certified NYSSMA judge and enjoys guest conducting, working with budding musicians of all ages and is trying her hand at composing and arranging music. She was nominated for Teacher of the Year four times and received the Optimist Teacher of the Month five times. In 2009 she received the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra Musicians’ Award for Outstanding Music Educators. Becky and her late husband Kit were honored by the Civic Morning Musicals with the Tiffany Award for family contribution to the community in 2015. Becky currently serves on the Education Committee for Symphoria. She has two sons, Nicholas and Aaron, and her dog Emma.
Dr. Paul McShee
Described by the Baltimore Sun as both a “lyrical and rhythmically incisive” conductor, Paul McShee, Artistic Director of Instrumental Studies and Assistant Professor at Binghamton University, is known for the “energy and sincere expression” of his performances. Equally at home on the podium and in the opera pit, Dr. McShee is sought after as a conductor for opera productions in the US and Europe. He was a staff conductor for the Baltimore Opera Project, guest conductor for La traviata and Madama Butterfly at Paul Hamlyn Hall in London, and music director of the PopUp Opera Program in Edinburgh, Scotland. He also serves as music director of the Connecticut Valley Symphony Orchestra based in West Hartford, CT.
Paul has conducted the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, the London Paradisal Players, L’Orchestre QuiPasseParLà, L’Orchestre Band-Son, the Philharmonie Mihail Jora, and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic.
A champion of new music, and works of underrepresented composers, Paul is currently preparing a collected edition of the instrumental works of Margaret Bonds. Additionally, he has worked with composers including Kenneth Fuchs, Avner Dorman, Anna Clyne, and Nathan Fletcher.
A passionate believer in the importance of music in our communities, Paul is also the director of the Symphoria Youth Orchestra program. There, he conducts the Symphoria Youth Repertory and Young Artists’ Orchestra, which perform multiple concerts each year throughout the Syracuse area and collaborate closely with local school programs to bring high-quality music making to the Central New York area.
He holds the DMA in conducting from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and a MM from the University of Connecticut. He has served on the faculties of the University of Minnesota, the University of Connecticut, and Binghamton University. Dr. McShee studied under Marin Alsop, Gustav Meier, and Harvey Felder. His principal flute teachers were Emmanuel Pahud, Verena Bosshart, and Teresa Bowers.
