Watch Thomas and Hugh Play
Help Thomas and Hugh go on tour to play throughout Japan
with the
Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra!
ABOUT FSYO
The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra (FSYO) is a music education program in Central Florida, consisting of seven primary ensembles serving 300 student musicians. Founded in 1953, FSYO is the oldest operating youth symphony in the state of Florida and is believed to be the 3rd oldest in the southeastern United States. The organization is under the musical direction of Charles Watford. Both new and returning student members are required to audition annually. Acceptance and orchestra placement is a competitive, merit-based process in which those auditioning must meet requirements for consideration.
Sixty-five students selected by audition for FSYO's Touring Orchestra participate in life-changing experiences through annually alternating international and national tours.
Your gift help enable Thomas and Hugh play throughout Japan with the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Thank you for your support!
ABOUT THOMAS AND HUGH
None of us can truly tell how much impact we have had on a
community. Nevertheless, we can endeavor to leave a beneficial
mark on the places we have been. I have brought a spirit of
dedication to rehearsals, striven for musical excellence, and
overcome obstacles such as the distance between our hometown of
Panama City and the Orlando area. Because our father’s job
assignment was delayed, what was intended to be only a few weeks
of eleven-hour drives to rehearsal and back, turned into a
semester of commuting that distance. I was not sure I could get
to rehearsals, arrive home late, and get up early Monday for
school. However, I have done both: perform at rehearsals and
concerts, and succeed in heavy academic courses at the same
time. Furthermore, it has been a wonderful experience to
contribute to the beautiful sound of the whole orchestra, where
the music becomes more than the sum of its parts. This kind of
experience is very different but much fuller than playing alone.
By bringing a spirit of dedication and perseverance to
rehearsals, I hope to model the value of striving for musical
excellence in the face of life’s obstacles.
Touring Japan provides opportunities not only to learn about another culture, but to bring actual experiences of the culture to inform future endeavors. This knowledge and experience of Japanese culture would enrich a variety of different personal projects in the future: from writing more authentic characters and settings in books or composing music inspired by the world’s musical traditions, to simply seeking a better understanding of the world we all live in: deeper understanding, better art! Finally, my great-grandparents and grandparents lived in Japan for some time, so seeing the place my family used to live provides a deeper understanding of my own family history as well as a widow into the world.
I take music very seriously. I love working with the Florida
Symphony Youth Orchestra, and bring my enthusiasm to rehearsals.
I have exercised perseverance and dedication--both in rehearsal
itself and in doing what is necessary for the privilege of
contributing. For instance, I spend eleven hours every weekend
driving from my home in Panama City to rehearsal in Orlando. In
addition, I started and manage a website development company
that serves several clients. The proceeds from this small
business help fund my FSYO tuition. I diligently practice my
orchestral music in addition to my regular daily music studies,
so that rehearsals are not for learning the notes for the first
time, but instead are the place where I can focus on the nuances
of musically fitting my part into the entire orchestral
ensemble. These efforts enable me to contribute to and in turn
learn from the talented musicians of FSYO. While at present I
contribute my skill, perseverance, and dedication to the
performance of the great orchestral pieces of the past, in the
future I hope to expand my contribution by playing music for
more diverse audiences, and ultimately, forged by my experience
with FSYO, to one day create my own orchestral music.
I love writing music, and my long-term goal is to compose music to share with the world. We are constantly exposed to our own country and its music, but how can I write music for the world without knowing the world? I believe in order to write and play great music, some kind of inspiration is required, inspiration which comes in many ways. Though hearing is primary, music can be received through all of our five senses. Music can describe things we cannot otherwise apprehend. But over the years, I believe music has increasingly lost its sincerity. It has sometimes become more technically complicated but has lost some of the nuances that used to exist in the classical and romantic periods. I long to walk the streets where some of the very musicians who contributed these great musical ideas trod, and to breathe in that environment—the sights, the sounds, even the smells—in which these great composers lived and created. What a worthwhile goal to contribute in my own small way to restoring some of the classical world's values in music. To be steeped in the ambience of the classical composers and feel something of the inspiration those composers experienced defines my great desire to participate in this musical tour.