Naperville Youth Symphony Orchestra (NYSO)

“Although NYSO might seem like a great opportunity from an outside perspective, its organization is very poorly run, and is truly not “for the students.” As a percussionist in Encore for three years, my experience was, quite honestly, miserable. Percussionists who qualified for Encore were expected to fill in for Philharmonia as well, which, as you can imagine, was often boring and honestly felt like a waste of time. We never got breaks, and had to be at dress rehearsals and concerts twice as long as other sections. Although some might have seen this as an opportunity to play even more, the music was a lot easier than what we play in our school settings, and felt like we were being taken advantage of. The administration struggled significantly with time management. Rehearsals frequently took place outside of the 2:30–5:00 Sunday rehearsal window that we all signed up for. Rehearsals would often start late, breaks would be longer than announced, and at seemingly random times, if kids were late to rehearsals, or had to leave early, they would be immediately shamed in front of the entire ensemble by the director without allowing the student to explain themselves which should have been done privately anyway. After multiple requests, there was only one rehearsal that included a rehearsal schedule, and even then, the schedule was not accurately followed. Concert call times were unreasonably early as well. In our last concert, Philharmonia students (the younger players and ALL percussionists and basses) were called at 4:30 for a 7:30 concert. If you are a parent who doesn’t live close by, this requires you to wait at least 3 hours in order to see your child perform. Additionally, the music selection often either excluded players or repeated pieces we had already performed during the previous two years. During our final concert cycle, I emailed the directors and the entire NYSO board expressing my frustration with the limited playing opportunities while paying $600 to essentially sit and do nothing. Only Mr. Bobek responded, despite being the director of Philharmonia while I was registered in Encore. He stated: “In hindsight, I could have spread the percussion parts across the year more evenly. However, catering programming entirely to percussion is not feasible—doing so would reduce the educational and musical experience for the rest of the orchestra and leave out essential standard literature.” While I appreciate that he took the time to respond, it was disappointing that no one actually acknowledged the concerns that my percussion colleagues and I had experienced throughout the season. There is a large amount of orchestral literature that includes meaningful parts for the entire ensemble, including percussionists and they refused to pick different pieces and instead requested that I, a senior in high school, offer repertoire suggestions for them. Most rehearsals, I spent more time listening to Mrs. Richter and Dr. Page beg for money than I did actually playing. I have been left extremely disappointed with my final experience in NYSO, and because of that, I have stopped recommending it to my peers. If you are looking for an ensemble that will truly challenge you and help you grow as a musician, NYSO is not the place for you.”