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First Annual Austin College Summer Music Camp

First Annual Austin College Summer Music Camp

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

 

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Maestro Dominick - 30 years with the SSO

Maestro Dominick – 30 years with the SSO

Maestro Dominick recognized for 30 years of service

At the closing reception of our April 30, 2022 performance, Daniel Dominick was recognized for his 30 years of service as Music Director and Conductor of the Sherman Symphony Orchestra. The Sherman Symphony Orchestra Association Board of Directors framed the programs from the 2021-2022 concert season. Pictured here is Maestro Dominick (l) receiving this gift from SSOA President Mark Nagel (r).

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Watch our next TV broadcast on Sunday, June 11 at 7:30 am on KXII-CBS Channel 12!

Watch our next TV broadcast on Sunday, June 11 at 7:30 am on KXII-CBS Channel 12!

We present a new broadcast each month, so check back regularly to find out when.  These programs feature works from recent concerts and from past seasons.  Also, be sure to check out our YouTube channel for older previous broadcasts.

See a previous broadcast on our YouTube Channel:


A Free Concert Broadcast on KXII Every Month

KXII broadcasts excerpts from our live concerts monthly, usually on KXII-CBS12 and sometimes on KXII-Fox. Watch this space or our Facebook page to find out the date and time of the next broadcast.

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Featured Soloists: Carmen, April 29th

Featured Soloists: Carmen, April 29th

The Sherman Symphony Orchestra is thrilled to share the stage with these fantastic artists at our April 29th performance of Carmen. This is a concert you don’t want to miss!

 

Molly Fillmore, Carmen

Described by Gramophone as “a compelling interpreter”, Molly Fillmore made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Helmwige in Die Walküre, which won a Grammy award for Best Opera Recording. During her seven seasons at the Met, she also appeared as Mrs. Naidoo in Satyagraha. Fillmore made her solo operatic debut with the Washington National Opera while a sophomore at American University. By the completion of her MM degree from the University of Maryland, she had sung six additional roles with the WNO at the Kennedy Center, and within a year of her graduation was named principal mezzo-soprano soloist with Oper der Stadt Köln (Cologne Opera), where she sang over 20 roles. As a soprano, Ms. Fillmore's roles include the title role in Salome (San Francisco Opera and Arizona Opera), and Marietta in Die tote Stadt (Theater St. Gallen). This she achieved alongside her activities at The Met and as a faculty member at Michigan State University, then University of North Texas. Highlights as a concert soloist, both as a mezzo-soprano and a soprano, include singing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Kennedy Center, Spoleto Festival, and Tanglewood Festival.  Her recent album of art songs by Juliana Hall, “Bold Beauty” (2021), was given a Critic’s Choice recognition by Opera News

Patricia Vigil, Micaël

As a performer, Patricia Vigil has been described as ‘visually and vocally formidable’ with ‘staccatos like lightning bolts’ (The Lancaster Intelligencer). She has sung with Opera Company of Philadelphia, Intermountain Opera, The New Sigmund Romberg Orchestra, Asheville Lyric Opera, Concert Opera of New Jersey, Ridge Light Opera, Atlantic Coast Opera Festival, Lancaster Opera Company, Utah Festival Opera, Opera Delaware, Baton Rouge Opera, Opera Iowa, Des Moines Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Southwest, Cleveland Opera on Tour, and Opera Theater of Philadelphia. Her roles include: Gilda in Rigoletto, Norina in Don Pasquale, Susanna and Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Fire in L’énfant et les Sortileges, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, Madame Goldentrill and Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Héro in Beatrice and Benedict, and Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute.  Ms. Vigil is a recipient of the prestigious Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation, as well as winner of the Diamond Award at the Vera Scammon International Voice Competition.

Patricia Vigil holds a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of New Mexico, a Master of Music Performance degree from Louisiana State University, and both a Professional Studies Certificate in Opera and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Temple University. Recently, Dr. Vigil taught Voice, Diction, and Vocal Pedagogy at Abilene Christian, Hardin-Simmons, and McMurry Universities in Abilene. Currently, she teaches voice at Texas Woman’s University.

Daniel Lickteig, Morales and Escamillo

Baritone Daniel Lickteig is garnering praise throughout American opera houses for his powerful, soaring voice. He has appeared with Opera in the Heights, Annapolis Opera, Cleveland Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera, Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Utah Festival Opera Company, Natchez Opera, and Opera Theater of Philadelphia. Highlights of his large operatic repertoire include Mozart's Don Giovanni, Rossini's Figaro, Verdi's Rigoletto, Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca, Marcello in La Bohème, Alfio in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, and Tonio in Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci. Equally comfortable on the concert stage, Daniel has appeared as a soloist in works by Bach, Brahms, Fauré, Bruckner, Handel, Mendelssohn, Bernstein, and Orff.
Dr. Lickteig has been teaching voice throughout his performing career. He holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Temple University in Philadelphia. He recently completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of North Texas, where he was a Teaching Fellow. Dr. Lickteig currently serves as a private voice instructor at Allen ISD, working with many talented high school students.

Wayne Crannell, Don Jose

Wayne Crannell is Associate Professor of Music at Austin College where he has been Director of Vocal & Choral Music for 28 years. Before coming to Austin College, Wayne taught at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee and Simpson College in Iowa. He has been an active singer throughout his career and has appeared with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Des Moines Symphony, Racine Chamber Orchestra, Des Moines Metro Opera, Sherman Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, Milwaukee Civic Orchestra, and other orchestras and opera companies throughout the Midwest and in Texas. He has sung under and for such conductors as Copland, Levine, Solti, Hillis, Shaw, Foss, and Faletta. Wayne received his M.M. in Choral Conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a D.M.A. in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory where he studied with Anne DeLauney, a noted Wagnerian soprano.
His current academic focus includes courses in vocal pedagogy, conducting, opera and vocal literature, choral literature, and choral techniques. Other teaching areas include music appreciation courses on the social history of rock and roll and modern American music. He also regularly teaches a travel course on the culture and history of Scotland. His Austin College vocal ensembles include traditional choirs, chamber groups, and an a cappella vocal jazz ensemble. The Austin College A Cappella Choir has performed around the world, including such venues as Notre Dame in Paris, San Marco in Venice, St. Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne, St. Stephen’s in Vienna, and St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. 

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Austin College Summer Music Camp 2023

Austin College Summer Music Camp 2023

Registration is now open for the second annual Austin College Summer Music Camp, which will take place June 12-16 2023. Operated by the Sherman Symphony Orchestra and hosted by Austin College, this day camp is available to middle and high school musicians with at least one year of experience in voice, percussion, strings, woodwinds, and brass. Students will take part in chamber music ensembles, electives, large ensembles, and a final concert in Wynne Chapel. Faculty include area band, orchestra, and choir directors, Austin College professors, and Sherman Symphony Orchestra musicians. 
Enjoy a snapshot  of the inaugural Austin College Summer Music Camp!
For questions, please write to summermusic@austincollege.edu
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April 29: Bizet's CARMEN

April 29: Bizet’s CARMEN

Come see what the SSO can do with one of the most famous operas of all time–Carmen!  We’ve invited four great soloists (and will introduce a few wonderful new singers) for the major roles of Carmen (Molly Fillmore), Don Jose (Wayne Crannell), Micaëla (Patricia Vigil), and the Toreador (Daniel Lickteig).  But this opera needs a big chorus, so we’ve assembled a great one: the SSO will be joined by the choirs from Austin College (directed by Wayne Crannell) and Sherman High School (directed by Heidi Scheibmeir).  If this isn’t enough, there’s even a children’s chorus, sung by members of the Children’s Chorus of Greater North Texas (directed by Heidi Scheibmeir).  Seduction, betrayal, love, and death: come find out how these lives all fit together–and then how they all fall apart.  Reception to follow the performance.

Students attend this concert FREE of charge

Purchase tickets here

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Local Leaders Join SSOA Board

Local Leaders Join SSOA Board

The SSOA has named 6 new local leaders as our newest members of the SSOA Advisory Council:

Jason Jeffcoat, Sherman Chief of Police

Dr. David Kirkbride, Denison ISD Superintendent

Gail Utter, Wells Fargo Advisors

Dr. Tyson Bennett, Sherman ISD Superintendent

The Honorable Bruce Dawsey, Grayson County Judge

The Honorable David Plyler, Sherman Mayor

As part of the SSOA’s Advisory Council, these leaders will help the Council to identify community needs and suggest new ways that the SSOA can serve our region.  Please help us welcome and thank them for their service!

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21st Annual Children’s Educational Concerts

21st Annual Children’s Educational Concerts

On November 3, nearly 2400 5th graders from across the region attended the 21st annual Children’s Educational Concerts at Kidd-Key Auditorium. With students from 29 different schools, the audiences for these concerts were the largest the SSO has ever seen. This year’s program included a new element – a sing-along – that required students and teachers to learn a chorus part in advance. These interactive and informative concerts are offered free of charge each year so that students can learn more about the orchestra, and see and hear instruments that they will soon have an opportunity to learn to play themselves. This year’s concerts were sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and First United Bank.

To see more about this year’s program, check out KXII and the Herald Democrat’s excellent coverage of these concerts:

Sherman fifth graders attend educational concerts

https://www.kxii.com/2022/11/03/sherman-symphony-orchestra-performs-2400-texoma-students/

Photography: Todd Kleiboer, Sherman ISD

For more information about the Children’s Educational Concerts, click here:

Children’s Educational Concert

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SSO Featured in County Line Magazine

SSO Featured in County Line Magazine

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. 

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It’s Concert Week!

It’s Concert Week!

We are opening the 2022-2023 season with a big concert that will feature Brahms’ Symphony No.1 in C Minor.  It’s a fantastic work with emotions that run the gamut from stormy despair to wild hope to a final acceptance of the world as a beautiful place to be.  This symphony will lift your spirits and make you glad you came!  We’ll also play two Danzons by the contemporary Mexican composer, Arturo Márquez.  These are strongly rhythmic dances with a wide range of feeling and soaringly beautiful melodies.  Don’t miss this concert!

Students attend this concert FREE of charge.

Purchase tickets here:

October 22 — Brahms, Symphony No. 1