It's a late Monday evening, and the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony is busy at work.
The basement of the Hoogland Center for the Arts is filled with the powerful sounds of trilling flutes, booming tympani drums and soothing violins.
In front of the crescent-shaped group of young musicians stands a man wearing a crisp, white shirt and tie, holding a music score and baton.
"Measure 200, guys, it is important that we start and end on time," says Richard Haglund as he navigates the musicians through "American Salute," by Morton Gould. Haglund, who leads the youth symphony, has directed the orchestra for two years. He is known for setting high standards and striving for perfection.
"He works us hard in rehearsals and always gives us challenging music to practice," says trumpet player John Michael Rotello, 17 and a senior at Sacred Heart-Griffin.
Fourteen-year-old Ebyn Neumeister, a three-year member of the symphony and SHG sophomore, agrees. "He pushes us to get everything just right and goes for perfection ... and I like that."
Haglund, 35, is a newcomer to the program, which has been helping young musicians develop and share their talents with the community for the past 30 years. Created in the 1970s after the Springfield school district eliminated its orchestra programs, the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony today is the only orchestral experience available to young people in the area. More than 100 students of varying musical abilities are part of the SVYS.
"SVYS gives kids a chance to develop skills as musicians and perform fruits of their labor," says Haglund, a native of Minneapolis and an accomplished educator, conductor and performer.
The symphony is made up of three ensembles: the Preparatory Orchestra, an entry-level group for beginner to intermediate musicians; the Concert Orchestra, for intermediate to advanced-intermediate musicians; and the Symphony Orchestra, which is made up of the most advanced musicians. Members of this top group usually are in junior high or high school and must have experience playing all scales and repertoire in all keys.
"The most challenging part of playing in this ensemble is trying to play the dynamics while still trying to blend with the other parts of the orchestra," says Ryan Petter, a Franklin eighth-grader and two-year trombone player in the symphony. "It is good, though, because it is a different setting than school band."
Auditions are required for each orchestra and usually are held in the fall and again in the winter. Each musician must audition for placement in an ensemble and to help determine his or her chair and music part.
Auditions usually last seven minutes, during which students demonstrate proficiency and range on their instrument through numerous scales, two prepared solos - one that shows technical difficulty, the other musicality - and sight reading to show technical proficiency.
"I try to encourage kids during the audition process, because some kids have never done it before," Haglund says. "If the kids become comfortable, then the job is easier on all of us."
Auditions are not a high note for any member, including returning ones.
"The whole audition process is nerve-wracking because the judges are there looking for everything you do right and wrong," says Nini Zhang, a junior at Glenwood High School and five-year member of the symphony. "One little mistake can affect your part or even what chair you get. After all, you only get one shot at it."
Beyond the auditions, scales and keys, most of the members share a passion for music.
"Music is a passion and is a big part of my life, and in return I put a lot of myself into it," says Kaiti Jorgensen, a junior and second-year B-flat clarinet player from Glenwood. "I think this program is very rewarding because it helps you look at all aspects of music. The SVYS helps you get exposed to a lot of new music and gain an appreciation for a lot of different instruments and their parts."
Kaiti, who has been playing B-flat clarinet since fourth grade, also puts in many hours practicing on other instruments such as E-flat clarinet, piano, flute and saxophone.
"I plan to major in music when I get to college," Kaiti says. "I really became interested in majoring in it this past summer when I went to a clarinet symposium in Oklahoma."
A majority of students involved in the symphony program are from the Sangamon Valley area. Some come from even farther away.
Rose Spaniel, 17, and a home-schooled violin player from Chicago, travels to Springfield once a week to be a part of the Symphony Orchestra ensemble.
"I travel all this way because there are no schools in my area that have an orchestral program. I like it because I get to be part of an orchestra and it is something that eventually becomes like a family to you," Rose says. "The diversity in this group is great. ... I've never played with kids with such amazing ability who are my age."
All SVYS ensembles perform in a winter and a spring concert, and the students also work side-by-side with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra in the Holiday Pops Concert in mid-December.
Before each concert, the students contribute countless hours in weekly rehearsals and individual practices.
It's the little triumphs during these rehearsals that are the most rewarding, Haglund says.
"It is amazing to see such a radical improvement and incredible growth with students from when they started," he says.
Madeline Landes is a senior at Glenwood High School.
