Member Qualifications
Membership Auditions
Seating
Attendance Policy
Rehearsals
Concerts
HSYO Symphony Orchestra Concert Dress
HSYO Prelude String Orchestra Concert Dress
Maximum Membership
Tuition
Communication with Members and Parents
Dismissal and Grievance Procedures
Important Numbers and Addresses

Member Qualifications
All interested students, 12 to 21 years of age, from Henderson County and the surrounding area may be admitted for membership by audition.

Membership Auditions
Membership Auditions are held once in the fall and once in the spring every concert season. Returning HSYO members need not re-audition unless membership was revoked for any reason.

Audition results will be communicated as soon as possible to the prospective members and their parents via email or telephone.

Auditions for the HSYO Youth Symphony will consist of a solo of choice, selected prepared excerpts of repertoire from the upcoming season, and a scale. Audition excerpts will be determined and posted on the HSYO website on an annual basis. Go to our Auditions page. Read about the audition requirements and then scroll to the appropriate ensemble and click on the appropriate instrument to download a PDF of the required prepared audition excerpt(s).

Seating
Seating in both orchestras, including principal chairs and concertmaster, is determined by the orchestra conductors and is intended to produce the best results in terms of the artistic and educational aims of the orchestra.

HSYO Youth Symphony Violin Seating Assignments: HSYO Youth Symphony violin seating is determined based on what is in the best interest of the orchestra. All violin members perform first and second violin parts in order that all violin members gain experience performing both. Therefore, there are two violin sections, designated as garnet and gold, each with their representative concertmaster and assistant concertmaster. The garnet and gold sections switch position during the concert to ensure that the first violin part is always positioned on the outside of the orchestra with the second violin part positioned between the first violin part and the violas.

Attendance Policy
All members are expected to attend all rehearsals for their full duration (including the dress rehearsals) and concerts.

Schedules for all rehearsals, concerts, and required special events will be distributed to all members and posted on the HSYO website at the beginning of the season. Please review the schedule as a family in a timely manner and compare HSYO rehearsal and concert dates with school obligations, extracurricular activities, and family obligations insofar as that information is available. If conflicts are noted, advise your ensemble director immediately so that a solution can be found.

If illness or planned absences cause any member to miss more than one third of the required regular rehearsals for a particular concert, the member or member’s parent should notify the appropriate orchestra director and the member is expected to take a leave of absence for the period of that concert. (specific numbers of rehearsals per concert fluctuate, please check the current rehearsal schedule)

If unexpected conflicts occur, please give your ensemble director as much prior notice as possible so that alternate plans can be made with sufficient lead-time.

If conflicts require any member to miss a dress rehearsal or a concert, the member or member’s parent should notify the appropriate orchestra director as soon as possible. If a dress rehearsal is missed, the member’s participation in that concert will be at the discretion of the conductor.

To remain a member in good standing, members should miss no more that one concert per season. Principal/associate principal players who miss more than one concert in a season retain membership but give up their chair.

In the rare case that a member of an ensemble is repeatedly absent, or absent from dress rehearsals or performances, then the ensemble director, in consultation with the HSO Education Committee Chair, may pursue one of a variety of remedies, including consultation with the student and parent, leading to probation or, in the most egregious examples, dismissal from the HSYO.

Members who are dismissed from the HSYO may be readmitted, but only with permission of the conductor in consultation with the HSO Education Committee and the HSYO Player Committee.

Rehearsals
Rehearsals are from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday evenings for the Symphony Orchestra and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday evenings for the Sinfonietta Orchestra. Both orchestras will meet throughout the school year and will follow the Henderson County School Calendar concerning holidays. Rehearsals will not be scheduled when students are not to attend school (i.e. holidays, teacher work days).

Both orchestras will schedule a minimum of a 10 minute break during the two-hour rehearsal time.

The purpose of rehearsals is to work on ensemble issues and interpretation. Members are expected to practice and master their parts outside of rehearsal, following the initial rehearsal for each concert. One sectional rehearsal will be scheduled per concert to assist members with specific passages in the repertoire.

Members are to be in their seat and warmed up at the beginning of rehearsal. If a member is seated after the tuning pitch is given they will be considered late. Members are expected to not talk or play unnecessarily during tuning and rehearsals. A second tuning pitch will be given after break. Any member seated after the tuning pitch will be considered late. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken if a member is habitually late, including, but not limited to speaking with the member, speaking with the member’s parents, and in the most extreme circumstances, dismissal from the HSYO.

Concerts
The HSYO Symphony Orchestra performs four concerts per season, one fall concert (the Berrian String Festival), one winter concert, one spring concert and one concert in March to celebrate the National Music Educators’ Association’s (MENC’s) Music in Our Schools Month. The Sinfonietta Orchestra performs on the same programs as the HSYO Symphony Orchestra, except for the fall concert.

HSYO Symphony Orchestra Concert Dress
Men: black tuxedo, white shirt, black bow-tie, black cummerbund, black dress shoes, black socks
Women: black full-length or ankle-length dress or skirt, or black dress pants with matching black blouse (minimum elbow length sleeves, no high slits, full backs, no plunging neckline), black closed-toe dress shoes, black hose

HSYO Sinfonietta Orchestra Concert Dress
Men: black pants, black dress shoes, black socks, white shirt
Women: black pants or mid-length skirt, black closed-toed dress shoes, white blouse

Maximum Membership
The HSYO Symphony Orchestra will have a maximum of 99 members. Maximum numbers for each section in the Symphony Orchestra will be:

Woodwinds- 4 each instrument
Horns- 6
Trumpets - 4
Trombones- 4
Tuba- 1
Percussion- 6
Violins - 32
Viola- 12
Cello-10
Bass- 8

The Sinfonietta Orchestra will have a maximum of 62 members. Maximum numbers for each section in the Prelude Orchestra will be:

Violins - 32
Viola - 12
Cello - 10
Bass - 8

Once the maximum is reached, the section is closed until one of its members leaves the orchestra.

The conductors, in consultation with the HSO Education Committee will determine the need of creating additional orchestras to accommodate the availability of members beyond the maximum numbers described herein.

Communication with Members and Parents
The HSYO contacts families regularly via email, postal mail, and telephone. Please notify the appropriate conductor promptly of any changes or if regular communications (notifications of concerts, locations, times, directions, etc.) are not being received.

Dismissal and Grievance Procedures
Dismissal from the HSYO may occur for the following reasons
Poor musical preparation/performance
Borrowed music not returned or paid for when damaged or lost
Excessive absence or tardiness
Sexual harassment
Disruptive behavior
Substance abuse

If said conditions persist (with the exception of sexual harassment and substance abuse), a private, confidential meeting will take place with the individual and their parent(s)/guardian(s), the Music Director and the HSO Education Committee Chair. If the member remedies the situation, no further action is necessary.

If it becomes apparent to the director that a student has engaged in sexual harassment or substance abuse, the director will immediately notify the member’s parent(s)/guardian(s). The parent/guardian will be asked to come to the rehearsal/concert to pick up their son or daughter and appropriate disciplinary actions will be set into motion.

If, concerning other behaviors, the situation is not remedied, a written notice will be given to the member and their parent(s)/guardian(s) explaining the justification for dismissal.

A written appeal may be made to the Music Director. A decision will be made promptly and the member will be notified of the decision. Dismissed members may contact the HSO Education Committee Chair for reinstatement once the issue has been fully resolved.

Important Numbers and Addresses

Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra Inc.
P. O. Box 1811
Hendersonville, NC 28793

HSYO Symphony Orchestra, Music Director and Conductor
Dr. Michael Weaver
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
(864) 879-2956