They make beautiful music together

Each Saturday, a group of string instrument players from Sparta and other towns practice vigorously “Brahms Academic Festival Overture,” “Finale to Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony” and pieces from musical “Chicago.” They play with polish and finesse. The youngest in the group is only 7 years old, the oldest ones in college. These are the young musicians from Sussex County Youth Orchestra practicing for their upcoming concerts for the year 2009. The orchestra has four levels, the Suzuki Violins and Cellos, Rocking Strings, the Preparatory level and the Youth Symphony. The players are from Sussex, Morris, Passaic, Essex and Warren and nearby counties of New York and Pennsylvania. “The orchestra provides young musicians the opportunity to develop their musical talents by making them available a platform to share their talents with the community. This not only enriches the young musicians but their families and communities as well,” note Jerry and Dawn Tedesco, the founders of the orchestra. Thirty-seven private teachers, including the Tedescos, teach these musicians. The orchestras’ concerts are not limited to the county. They have played around the globe, giving performances as far away as France and China. This year the orchestra will have the honor of performing at the world famous Haydn Orchestra Festival in Vienna, Austria. Member of the orchestra have performed with the NJ Youth Symphony and the Manhattan and Julliard Schools of Music. They have also had the opportunity to play at the Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. The first in a series of three upcoming concerts for 2009 is a scholarship fundraising concert on Sunday April 19th at 3 p.m. at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Sparta. The concert will feature a solo performance by Megan Feibusch, the principal bassoon with the orchestra. Feibusch has played with the New Jersey Youth Symphony for five years and with the orchestra since 2007. She has also performed in Carnegie Hall and in Italy where she took her master classes. Donations raised will be awarded to high school seniors in the orchestra who plan to major or minor in music in college. The orchestra’s founder and music director Dawn Tedesco established the fund in memory of her brother, Niles Nagel. The Newton Wal-Mart will match the concert donations. The second concert will take place on Sunday June 7 at 3 p.m. at Newton High School. The final concert will be the Bon Voyage Concert on June 21 at 3 p.m. at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church to celebrate the orchestra’s departure to Vienna for the Haydn Festival. All concerts are held in handicapped-accessible venues and are free to the community. Performances in these concerts will include serious pieces such as Haydn’s Surprise Symphony and Bach’s Musette to sure-fire audience favorite “Vive La Vida” by Coldplay.