Education and Community Outreach

Over the years, the Newton Symphony Orchestra has engaged in a number of activities designed to enhance the local and classical music communities. These activities include the folowing:

The Lasker Young Soloist Competition and Free Family Concert

The Lasker Competition was established in 1967 in honor of NSO founders Gertrude and Henry Lasker. The late Henry Lasker was a distinguished music educator, composer, author, and teacher at Newton North High School, where the Lasker Auditorium is named in his honor. Gertrude Lasker served on the NSO Board for many years. The winners of the Primary, Middle, and High School categories have the unique opportunity to perform with the NSO at the annual Family Concert. Many winners from previous years have gone on to careers in music, and all have carried with them the memory of substantial accomplishment and joy. Sebastian Baverstam, a winner in 2003, performed the Schumann Cello Concerto with the NSO a short time before making his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing the same work.

The concert is funded in part by the Newton Cultural Council through a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

* About The Lasker Young soloist Competition

Newton Symphony Chamber Players

The Newton Symphony Chamber Players and soloists from the orchestra have offered education and entertainment programs in local youth centers such as the John M. Barry Boys and Girls Club of Newton. This season they are presenting three concerts at the Newton Free Library. In the first concert, held on December 9, several wind players performed Mozart's Serenade in Bb ("Gran Partita") and the Dvorak Serenade in D Minor, with cello and double bass. The second performance held on February 15, featured Dvorak: String Quintet opus 77, Schumann: Violin Sonata in A minor, opus 105 and Brahms: Two Songs for Alto Viola and Piano. The remaining chamber music performance of the season will take place on Tuesday April 14, at 7pm and will include songs by Mahler, Beethoven 9th Violin Sonata, The Kreutzer, and a duet for Flute and Viola by Devienne.

Other Collaborations

The NSO collaborates with other organizations to bring special and culturally diverse performances to the Boston area. In 2001, in partnership with the Polish-American community, NSO gave a concert at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston to commemorate the centennial celebration of Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, Primate of Poland and Archbishop of Warsaw. The NSO has collaborated with the Chinese Arts Exchange for several years in the "East Meets West" series, performing both Western and Chinese music in sold-out performances at Boston's Symphony Hall and New York City's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.