Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony
Member Handbook

Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony Membership

Membership is open to any young musician through college, including home-schooled students, who plays an orchestral instrument, including percussion, harp, piano, and advanced saxophone. To be accepted, students meet the entry level performance skills and qualify in the audition process.

2010-2011 Tuition

Tuition fees from students help to offset the costs of administration and artistic direction and are due at the first Parent Meeting of the season. Read a description of the SVYS ensembles here. Tuition fees are:            

• A $5.00 audition fee is due at the time of the audition (per student, per instrument) Full tuition is due at the first rehearsal (on the same night as the parent meeting). Students joining second semester will be charged a pro-rated tuitioin. There is no discount for multiple siblings.

These fees cover only a portion of the total SVYS operating expenses. It is for this reason that we so highly value family and community contributions, both monetary and volunteer time, to keep the Youth Symphony thriving.

Scholarships

Need-based financial aid is available. We are committed to serving talented, dedicated students, regardless of financial constraints. Please call the office at 217-753-8000 for more information.

Attendance Policy

Maintenance of the traditional high standards of the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony requires conscientious participation of all its members. This means not only learning to play the music competently, but also regular attendance at rehearsals and concerts. Attendance is recorded five minutes before each rehearsal. To ensure fair and equitable treatment of all orchestra members in regard to absences, the Board of Directors has established the following rules:

• If you are aware in advance that you will miss a rehearsal, you must notify the SVYS and turn in an absence slip no later than the rehearsal prior to the one to be missed.
• In the event of illness or family emergency, notify the SVYS immediately by calling the office at 753-8000 (leave a message if no one is available to take your call), or by sending an e-mail to: richardhaglund@netscape.net. You must then provide an absence slip at the next rehearsal you attend.
• If more than two rehearsals are missed within a semester, or the rehearsal prior to a concert is missed, members must contact the conductor of the orchestra to see if they will be allowed to perform in the concert. The conductor may assign members to another part or another seat for that concert. Members excluded from performing at a concert, may return at the first rehearsal of the next concert period.
• All members are expected to arrive early for rehearsals to check in, warm up and tune instruments. Attendance is taken five minutes before rehearsal and members must be there or they will be marked absent or tardy.

Sheet Music

Music for use in the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony is issued to students on loan. Members are responsible for the care, maintenance and return of their music. Since copyrighted music is valuable and sometimes difficult to replace, members will be charged for any music that is not returned. Concert folders will be provided prior to each scheduled concert and they must be returned before leaving the concert.