SUMMER EVENING ORCHESTRAS

MYAC’s Summer Evening Orchestras provide a fun, high-quality orchestral experience with fellow young musicians throughout the Chicago area.

It's a great way for students to keep up their musical studies throughout the summer, and it's perfect for students who are too busy during the day for a full-time summer music camp; you take a summer job or still attend summer school and continue to learn great repertoire and prepare to perform!

Evening Orchestras take place at the picturesque and historic MYAC Center in Fort Sheridan at 878 Lyster Road, Highwood, IL.

2024 Dates and Times:

June 25 - July 20
Rehearsals on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Final concert - July 20

Audition:

Students do not need to audition for the Summer Evening Orchestras Camp. Everyone is welcome.

Levels:

  • Sinfonietta Orchestra is for students in grades 4 - 8 as of Fall 2024

    • Examples of music repertoire for Sinfonietta Orchestra can be found here.

    • Advanced 7th and 8 graders can apply to Festival Orchestra by emailing an unlisted YouTube link to Nicholas McKee. We ask that you submit these videos no later than Tuesday, June 18th (one week prior to start date).

    • Please record the following:

      • 2 major scales of your choosing, 3 octave preferred, 2 octave minimum

      • 2 contrasting pieces

  • Festival Orchestra is for students in grades 9 - 12 as of Fall 2024

    • Examples of music repertoire for Festival Orchestra can be found here.

Faculty

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Dr. Allan Dennis brings a rich heritage of experience and energy to the Midwest Young Artists Programs, with over a quarter a century of experience motivating, rehearsing and teaching young people. He is currently the Music Director of the Kankakee Valley Symphony Orchestra. Dennis has been recognized as the 2001 Music Director of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, as well as awarded the 2001 Heidi Castleman Award by Chamber Music America. The Castleman Award is given to one recipient from the United States in recognition for “excellence in chamber music teaching.”

He has studied at the internationally renowned Tanglewood Institute in Lennox (MA) in 2000 and in 1996, and was also chosen as both an Active Conductor at the Festival at Sandpoint (ID), and a Fellow at the Conductors’ Institute in South Carolina. Dennis also has extensive experience conducting musical shows, operas and ballets. His conducting teachers have included Gunther Schuller, Harold Farbermann, and David Effron.

Dr. Dennis received his doctorate, with distinction, from Indiana University in Bloomington, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the State University of New York at Fredonia. He has studied at the Eastman School of Music and received a Performer’s Certificate from the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Music in Antwerp, Belgium.

 
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Robert Bassill is the Director of the MYAC's Chamber Music Program and a member of the Chamber Faculty as well. Mr. Bassill is active as a teacher and freelance musician around the Chicago area. He is also the Director of Orchestra and Music Theory at Lake Forest High School where he has toured with his orchestra on three European tours, and his orchestras have accompanied soloists such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra members Tage Larsen and Patrick Godon. Mr. Bassill received his undergraduate degree in Violin Performance under Mark Zinger at DePaul University, and he holds a Master of Arts in Music Education from Case Western Reserve University. Mr. Bassill currently serves on the Board of Directors for International Chamber Artists, and an MYAC Alum ('97/violin), he is on MYAC's Young Professional Board.

2024 Summer Tuition and Refund Policy

Tuition is $250 for all 4 weeks of instruction.
Flexible attendance is allowed because of summer travel.

Summer invoices will be sent out by June 1, 2024. Full payment is due two weeks before the program start date. Cancellations made prior to this date will be refunded minus the $100 non-refundable deposit. Cancellations after this date will not be refunded. There will be a 10% monthly fee for late payments.

For questions or further information, please contact us at (847) 926-9898, or email mya@mya.org.