PYSO Wind Orchestra and Symphonic Winds are back for the 2022-23 season! This ensemble combines our talented high school and junior high students from schools across the Valley into a symphonic wind ensemble. Weekly rehearsals are led by the Wind Orchestra conductor. Sectionals and chair auditions are held once per concert cycle, and are led by professional musicians from the Phoenix Symphony, college music professors, and local secondary music educators. Season plans also include a weekend retreat. As part of the ‘stair-step’ process of PYSO, the Wind Orchestra and Symphonic Winds are intended for students as they progress through their musical, instrumental and ensemble skills. It is the intent of the program for older students to progress into Philharmonic or Symphony Orchestra.
Wind Orchestra and Symphonic Winds have been combined for the 2022-2023 Season.
High School and Middle School
$635
Wednesdays, 7:15 – 9:15 PM
The School of Ballet Arizona
2825 E Washington St, Phoenix 85034
Performs literature from levels 2-4. Music includes works by composers such as: Balmages, Grainger, Hazo, Smith, Sparke, Ticheli, Van de Roost.
Unaccompanied Solo of your choice. Please perform a total of 3:00 minutes of music from the work. Include both fast and slow passages and show advanced techniques. Please bring three copies of your notated music for the solo to your audition.
2 major scales of the student’s choice – 1 tongued and 1 slurred*
Full range chromatic scale – slurred**
*Harder scales will receive a higher score than easier ones. However, a well-played scale, no matter the difficulty, is best.
**You may perform as many octaves as you are able on both the scales and the chromatic. A greater range will receive a higher difficulty score. However, a well-played scale, no matter the difficulty, is best.
Sight reading material will consist of one or two short selections, selected by the adjudicators. Don’t neglect practicing sight reading pieces you are unfamiliar with to help prepare for this part of the audition.
Best of luck in your preparation, always start slow and work with a metronome!!
View our stars in concert!
The Fall All Ensembles Concert will be on Sunday, October 29 at 3:30 PM at the Mesa Arts Center and will include all PYSO ensembles. Buy Tickets.
The Symphony Orchestra Fall Concert is on Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 2:00 PM at the Tempe Center for the Arts.
The Philharmonic Orchestra performs in a Side by Side concert with Arizona State University's Philharmonia Orchestra on Tuesday, November 28, 2023 at Gammage Auditorium at Arizona State University. Time TBD.
The PYSO Symphony Orchestra participates in a Side by Side Concert with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at 7:00 PM at the Phoenix Symphony Hall.
The Teacher's Appreciation Concert will be on Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 3:30 PM at the Mesa Community College Performing Arts Center.
Music Memory is on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at Phoenix Symphony Hall. This event an education concert for students in grades 1-5 from all over the valley. Visit our Music Memory section for more information.
The Season Finale Concert takes place at two concerts on Sunday, April 28, 2024 at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. An Awards Ceremony is held in the lobby between the concerts. The first concert features Prelude Strings, Percussion Ensemble, Wind Orchestra, and String Orchestra. The second concert features Philharmonic Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra.
This collaborative performance is presented by The School of Ballet Arizona and the Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestras. Dates, Times, and Location will be announced later in the season.
Dr. Stephen Meyer
Conductor, Wind Orchestra
Dr. Stephen Meyer is currently the director of bands and assistant professor of music at Northern Arizona University. He previously served on the faculties of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and the University of South Carolina. As director of bands at Clear Creek High School, the Clear Creek Wind Ensemble was a featured performer at the 2013 Midwest Clinic, was a three-time National Winner in the National Wind Band Honors project, and a two-time national finalist for American Prize in Wind Ensemble Performance.
Prior to Clear Creek, Dr. Meyer taught at Harrison High School in Cobb County, Georgia, where he assisted with performances at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, the Georgia Music Educators Association, and the University of Georgia. As co-director of the marching band, the ensemble was a consistent Bands of America Regional and Super-Regional Finalist, a Bands of America Grand National Finalist in 2007, and a featured ensemble in the 2009 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Dr. Meyer graduated magna cum laude from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a bachelor of music education degree and earned both a master’s and a doctorate from the University of Michigan. He is the author of Rehearsing the High School Band, Rehearsing the Middle School Band, and Rehearsing the Marching Band.