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Youth symphony has new season, co-director

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By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer 10:40 AM Thursday, November 19, 2009

The Middletown Youth Symphony kicks off its 2009-2010 season with a new concert, and a new co-director.

The concert will be Nov. 24 at Middletown High School, 601 N. Breiel Blvd. It will consist of a selection of soloists at 7:05 p.m., followed by the concert proper at 7:30 p.m.

The new co-director is Middletown’s Deborah Dornon, although she is not completely new to the youth symphony, or to working with young musicians. Two of Dornon’s children have been in the youth symphony, and she has been the music director for Middletown Summer Youth Theatre for the past three years. Dornon joins symphony director Lucy Firlie Ginther, replacing Victor Firlie, Ginther’s husband.

Dornon and Ginther complement each other well, the new director said.

“We’ve worked together previously,” Dornon said. “Lucy is a string specialist, and I’m a wind and brass player.”

Dornon was also a member of the youth orchestra herself years ago.

“I played in the youth symphony when (founder) James Veith was there,” Dornon said. “To be affiliated as the director is quite fun.”

Dornon plays saxaphone and teaches clarinet, is director of the First United Methodist Church youth choir and was the assistant director of the Centerville Youth Orchestra for five years.

“It’s just wonderful. Deborah comes with a lot of experience working with youth,” Ginther said. “She’s a wonderful complement to the program.”

Tuesday’s concert will include a prelude, chorale and fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach, “Night on Bald Mountain” by Modest Mussorgsky, and “Greensleeves,” arranged by Alfred Reed.

The guest conductor for the concert is Doug Eyink, an orchestra teacher in Centerville who has a program called “alternative strings,” in which the string instruments play styles other than classical, such as bluegrass and jazz.

The Middletown Youth Symphony is comprised of 65 kids who successfully auditioned for the orchestra from 14 schools in Southwest Ohio. The concert is free and open to the public.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2836 or erobinette@coxohio.com.