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[Rehearsals]  [Director Profile]  [Special Events]

Symphony Orchestra

The MCMC Symphony Orchestra is a full orchestra generally performing original orchestral repertoire, not arrangements. Most of the orchestra's members are high school students. This orchestra performs three times a year in November, March (Pops concert) and May. Membership in the Symphony Orchestra is by audition.


Cremona, Italy - June 2007
Symphony Orchestra Italy Tour
Click here for full size photo

Barcelona, Spain - June 2009
Symphony Orchestra Spain Tour
Click here for full size photo

Listen to an excerpt from our Symphony playing "Symphony No. 5, Movement 4 by Shostakovich - WMA File (Windows Media Player) - Right Click to download or Click to play
 

Rehearsals

Rehearsals of the Symphony Orchestra are held from 10:45a.m. to 1:30p.m. The location is the Sage Gallery of the Lakeside Legacy Arts Park (Dole Mansion) in Crystal Lake.  401 Country Club Rd.  Activities Calendar is located here.

The current Rehearsal Notes can be found here...

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Director Profile

Eugene Power is the newly appointed Music Director and Conductor of the McHenry County Youth Orchestras. He also serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where he has conducted the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia, and Illini Strings. In addition to his conducting duties, Mr. Power supervises future music educators during their professional semester. He has also served as a section coach for the East Central Illinois Youth Orchestra and as an ensemble coach at The Chamber Music Symposium at Allerton Park.

Mr. Power holds a bachelor's degree in music education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where he was the winner of the first annual UWEC Bands Conducting Competition in 2002.  Before coming to Illinois, Mr. Power taught middle school and high school band in Wisconsin and Minnesota for eight years - most recently serving as Director of Bands at North High School in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. During that time he was also appointed as Music Director and Conductor of the Chippewa Valley Youth Symphony, a position he held for four years. In addition to his duties as an educator, Mr. Power served as assistant conductor for the Chippewa Valley Symphony for six years and in that time made numerous guest appearances on the podium with the orchestra. He also conducted Broadway musicals for the Eau Claire Children's Theater and the Chippewa Valley Theater Guild. Mr. Power was also a freelance musician in Wisconsin and Minnesota where made with appearances with, among other groups, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and Five by Design.

Mr. Power is a member of the Conductor's Guild and has participated in festivals and workshops in the United States and Europe.  Most recently he attended the International Conducting Workshop and Festival in the Czech Republic with Larry Rachleff and Donald Schleicher and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic.  He has also participated in the Donald Thulean Conductors Workshop with Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony, the Conductors Retreat at Medomak with Kenneth Kiesler and the Portland Symphony Orchestra, and the Texas Tech Summer Conductor's Workshop with Andrew George.  Mr. Power is a masters student in orchestral conducting and will begin work on his doctoral degree next year at the University of Illinois.

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Special Events
Each Fall, the Symphony Orchestra musicians attend the Orchestra Overnight, held at beautiful Conference Point, at William's Bay, Wisconsin. There is plenty of rehearsal time and musical fun and games.

Other activities include a Tour and the winner of the Concerto Competition performs with the Symphony Orchestra at the Spring Concert. 

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