News

Last month, the Sherman Symphony Orchestra was featured in a County Line Magazine article, “Symphonies Enrich Lives Across the Region,” by Lisa Tang. Read more about the SSO here. 

The 2022 fall fundraiser, Harmony Harvest, was a wonderful event! With delicious food from Monet’s Bistro and fantastic music from the Travis Street Band, it was a great evening with friends.

We would once again like to thank our sponsors:
Homestead Winery
Bayless-Hall Insurance
Rio to Red Winery
Balloonatics
Shout Out! Signs
Bank of Texas
Stacey Olmstead – Paragon Realtors

Please join us for our season opener at Kidd-Key on Saturday, October 22!

On Thursday, October 13, Catalin Dima will present a recital at Wynne Chapel, Austin College. This program is free and open to the public.

Hailed as a pianist that displays “an expressive and unleashed interpretation, transcending all the technical challenges of the score…a gift to the audience” (Romanian Music Radio), Catalin Dima has established himself as one of the leading artists of his generation. His recital appearances and engagements with orchestras have brought him to venues throughout the United States and his native Romania. In his pursuit for innovative programming, Catalin combines mainstream and rare piano repertoire, often focusing on Romanian, American, and Japanese composers. Currently, Catalin is the Instructor of Piano at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He is also the founder of the Texoma Piano Competition and the artistic director of the Musical Arts Series at SE.

Thursday, October 13, 7:30pm
Clifford J. Grum Sanctuary, Wynne Chapel
Austin College
900 N. Grand Ave, Sherman

Program:

Franz Liszt – “Elegie” no. 2
(1811-1886)

Maurice Ravel – “Ondine”
(1875-1937)    – “Oiseaux tristes”
– “Scarbo”

Sergei Bortkiewicz – “Esquisse de Crimee”:
(1877-1952)        III. Idylle Orientale
IV. Chaos

George Enescu – “Carillon nocturne”
(1881-1955)

Paul Constantinescu – “Cantec”
(1909-1963)         - “Joc Dobrogean”

The Sherman Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce that they are receiving a grant of $10,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support its educational outreach programs. 

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations across the country, including the Sherman Symphony Orchestra. The arts help communities to thrive,” said Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD., chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. “Meaningful engagement with the arts can have many benefits, from contributing to collective healing and mutual understanding, to strengthening local economies.”

The Sherman Symphony’s education programs engage developing minds by providing affordable, high quality music education. Since 2002, The 5th grade Children’s Educational Concert has been many students’ first live orchestral experience: 2,000 students learn instrument families, concert etiquette, and various genres of music each year. In addition, as many as 400 students see classical concerts annually through the Free Student Ticket Program. Sherman High School Media students have the unique opportunity to record Classical Series concerts through the Symphony’s Broadcast partnership with local news channel KXII. 

While band programs are common in Grayson County, Sherman hosts the only string orchestra program. Most Sherman orchestra students face economic challenges: 68% of Sherman ISD students are economically disadvantaged, and only 15% of orchestra students receive private lessons. Since 2019, all Sherman orchestra students have benefited from sectionals with Symphony musicians through SSO Scholars. Practice Partners is an after-school peer mentoring program that pairs beginning orchestra students with high school string players for monthly practice sessions. 2nd-4th grade students enjoy chamber music presentations and performances as Musical Chairs brings Sherman Symphony musicians to area schools. A collaboration with the Sherman Symphony and Austin College, Austin College Summer Music Camp is a middle and high school day camp that cultivates musical development through rehearsing and performing chamber music.

“We are thrilled to be able to continue supporting students’ education with a wide variety of musical experiences. The Sherman Symphony Orchestra was founded with the intention of sharing music and educational opportunities with students in the greater Texoma region, and this grant enables us to further our mission in a rapidly growing community.” Leslie Whelan, SSO Education Director

About the National Endowment for the Arts

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.

Enjoy our summer recital series online! Each month, we will release a recorded performance on our YouTube channel.

Operated by the Sherman Symphony and hosted by Austin College, the first annual Austin College Summer Music Camp took place June 13-17, 2022. Staffed by area educators, Sherman Symphony musicians, and Austin College faculty, this non-residential program gave 40 students the opportunity to learn and perform chamber and large ensemble music over the course of five days. Sherman ISD was well-represented throughout the student body and the faculty. Many happy campers expressed their eagerness to return in 2023!

We are grateful to our sponsors for supporting this new endeavor:

Saied Music
Dallas Strings
Music & Arts

Austin College Summer Music Camp