Lincoln Youth Symphony

LYS Policies

The Lincoln Youth Symphony is an orchestra for students in grades nine through twelve in the Lincoln Public School District. Auditions are required Because the Lincoln Youth Symphony is an extension of the instrumental program of the Lincoln Public Schools, LPS students must participate in a large ensemble within the instrumental music program at their school to remain eligible for this all-school group. Home school and private school students must also participate in a Lincoln area high school large instrumental ensemble or the home school orchestra in order to be eligible for LYS.

The eligibility requirement for participation may be waived for one semester during a student≠s high school career. This would normally be due to an academic graduation requirement conflict or a conflict caused by an academic course sequence. Students must provide proof from their school counselor that they are not able to be in any instrumental music class because of schedule conflict. They must get the waiver approved by their high school instrumental teacher, their high school principal and the Supervisor of Music for Lincoln Public Schools.

LYS Membership Levels

Four levels of membership exist in LYS - permanent member, probationary member, alternate, and appointee. Musicians in all four categories must adhere to LYS policies.

  1. A Permanent Member is a musician who has successfully auditioned for LYS two consecutive years. This member will not be required to audition for third or fourth years of participation. If, for some reason, a permanent member is unable to attend rehearsals or performances or violates LYS policies, the member may be removed and replaced with an alternate or appointee.
  2. A Probationary Member is a musician who has successfully auditioned for LYS for his or her first and second year of participation. If a probationary member is unable to attend rehearsals or performances or violates LYS policies, the member may be removed and replaced with an alternate or appointee.
  3. An Alternate is a musician who is named to be the musician who will step in at a given instrument in case the permanent or probationary member on that instrument is unable to continue. The alternate musician may be asked to join the ensemble at any time during the season. Alternates are normally chosen at the spring auditions, but no requirement exists ensuring that alternates will be selected for any instrument.
  4. An Appointee is a musician who has been appointed by the music director and the LYS coaches to replace a musician who is unable to continue in LYS. An appointee will be appointed only when an alternate had not been selected during regular auditions for that instrument. Appointees need to audition in the spring for the following year if they wish to attain permanent member status.

Absence Policy

  1. Attendance at rehearsals and concerts is mandatory.
  2. The LYS director must approve all non-emergency absences. Non-emergency absences must be presented to the LYS director for the director≠s consideration and approval no later than 2 weeks prior to the anticipated non-emergency absence. Requests for non-emergency absences must be reported on the approved Absence Request Form. Approval of non-emergency absences is at the LYS director≠s discretion. Absences that are not approved may be grounds for dismissal from the orchestra.
  3. Emergency absences should be reported to the director via email or to the instrumental music office at Lincoln High School at 436-1301 (or the current place for regular rehearsals) by 3:30 on the day of the missed rehearsal. The approved LYS Leave Form must subsequently be submitted to the LYS director prior to the next rehearsal. Examples of emergency absences include illness, injury, a dire family emergency, or other emergencies beyond the control of the student.
  4. A student may be excluded from playing a concert at the discretion of the Music Director if, because of a school sanctioned conflict, he/she misses more than 2 rehearsals for a concert. Students who will miss more than two concerts due to conflicts will forfeit their position in LYS for the year and will need to reaudition in order to be reconsidered for LYS membership.
  5. LYS members may be dismissed from rehearsals at 5:15 or 5:45 to participate in school concerts or other school performances that begin at 7:00 or 7:30 respectively.
  6. LYS members must be seated 5 minutes prior to rehearsal time (4:00), or they will be counted tardy.
  7. Students who are late to rehearsals must report to the Music Director or the assistant music director upon arriving at rehearsal.
  8. Students with three (3) tardies prior to a single concert may be dismissed from that concert at the discretion of the Music Director. Consistent tardiness may be cause for dismissal from the ensemble.
  9. Leaving rehearsal early without first alerting the Music Director counts as an unexcused absence and could result in dismissal from LYS.

Inclement Weather

In the event of inclement weather, rehearsals will be canceled if school classes are canceled by LPS. If inclement weather happens during the afternoon please log on to the LYS website (http://lys.lps.org) or call the Office of the LPS Supervisor or Music at 436-1632 to receive information about the rehearsal.

Music

Each musician will be issued a folder with individual parts provided for a particular program. The folder, the music, and a pencil are required for each rehearsal. Music no longer needed for the remainder of the season must be returned at the end of a concert. A lost-music fee of $10 per piece will be charged, up to $30 maximum. However, with rental music, additional charges may be imposed.

Rehearsal Expectations

Rehearsals are conducted in a professional manner. Students are not professional musicians but they are expected and should be able to conduct themselves in a professional manner during rehearsals. Commendable rehearsal behavior would include the following:

  1. Arrive early and be seated 5 minutes before rehearsal starts.
  2. Always bring your own music folder and mark, with a pencil, everything in it that the conductor tells you about tempo changes, articulations, phrasing, etc., at the rehearsal.
  3. Pay attention and be on task all the time during rehearsal. Gum chewing, talking and disruptive behavior during rehearsal will not be permitted and may constitute cause for dismissal.
  4. Proper playing posture will be expected from each student
  5. Always show respect and consideration for the conductor, coaches, and all other members of the orchestra.

Chair Placement

Chair placement for strings will be determined by seating placement auditions held at the discretion of the Music Director and the string coach. In general, string placement auditions will be held early in the rehearsal cycle prior to most concerts. Seating plans for woodwind and brass are established using information gathered from the spring LYS auditions and spot checks by coaches of individual players during regular rehearsals. No tryouts will be held for woodwind and brass seating. However, seating plans may be subject to change when necessary.

Concert Attire

Gentleman: White Shirt and black bow tie, black blazer jacket, black trousers, black socks and shoes.
Ladies: Black floor length dress, or black blouse with a black floor length skirt or black tailored slacks; black shoes.

Senior Soloist Award

Each year, one or more Senior Soloist Awards are given to exceptional senior musicians. Winners are selected by audition to be featured as soloist(s) in LYS concerts. In order to be eligible to audition, the student must be a member of LYS, a high school junior at the time of the spring auditions, and the student must have demonstrated strong commitment to LYS by showing excellent rehearsal manners and a great rehearsal/concert attendance record.

Students are not required to audition on the same instrument on which they perform in LYS. Auditionees should play the instrument that demonstrates their best musicianship and mastery of techniques. The music selection should be readily available in the standard repertory, and music performed in the audition shall be the same selection which the student wishes to perform in concert.

LYS staff will serve as the primary adjudicators for the auditions, and the Supervisor of Music for LPS will also be invited to participate in the auditions. Winners are chosen based on their demonstration of exceptional musicianship (such as phrasing, tempo, clarity of musical ideas presented) and mastery of techniques of the instrument (such as tone, intonation, rhythm and bowing or tonguing techniques). The audition information and sign-up will be available two weeks before the final concert. The audition date will be published on the LYS schedule and will be typically held within two weeks of the final concert.


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