All County Orchestra - Monday, April 26

Who may attend?

String players in grades 6 through 12 who attend Aiken County Public Schools are welcome to attend.  Students must audition for their strings teacher.  If your public school does not offer a strings class, please contact Mr. Ryan Westberry at Aiken High School NO LATER THAN MARCH 22 to schedule an audition. 

A limited number of orchestra seats are open to Aiken High School Band wind and percussion students interested to participate.  See Mr. Westberry for more information.

Registration is due by March 29, 2010

Cost $20 (includes t-shirt and dinner) Please bring a brown bag lunch.

You may request a registration form from your strings teacher. 

If you do not have a form, you may register by mail.

Please include: Students name, School, grade, instrument, tshirt size (S, M, L, XL), parent/guardian name and contact information.

Make Checks Payable to Public Education Partners and mail to:  All-County Orchestra, PO Box 3821, Aiken SC 29802-3821

If you prefer, you may Register and Pay Online here. 

Schedule for the Day

8:30 a.m. String players arrive
Seating for chairs.

9:00 a.m. Rehearsal begins.

12:00 noon Lunch break. Please bring a bag lunch.

12:30 p.m. Wind players arrive, unpack.

12:45 p.m. Rehearsal begins

4:00 p.m. 6th Grade Concert

4:45 p.m. Break for dinner (provided)
Change for concert

6:15 p.m. Warm-up

7:00 p.m. Concert

The Concerts are free and open to the public. They will be held in the Etherredge Center, University of South Carolina, Aiken.

Clinicians for the Festival

Ms. Kathryn Dey for the Senior High Orchestra
Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, violist Kathryn Dey is currently a member of the viola faculty of the SC Governor’s School for the Arts. Active as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player, she has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe. Festival appearances include Sarasota Music Festival, the Festival at Sandpoint, Idaho and the Schloss Festspiel in Heidelberg, Germany. Ms. Dey is currently principal viola of the Greenville (SC) Symphony Orchestra and violist of the GSO string quartet.

Ms. Dey earned degrees in viola performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Eastman School of Music, where she served as teaching assistant to John Graham. Ms. Dey performs on a modern viola made by Tetsuo Matsuda of Chicago.

Ms. Brenda Gustafson for the 7th and 8th Grade Orchestra

A native of Augusta, Georgia, Ms. Gustafson received a B.A. of Music Education from Georgia Southern College and did graduate studies at the University of South Carolina.  She taught string orchestra in grades 4-12 in the Richmond County school system for 30 years, directing both 6th grade and the 7th and 8th grade All-County Orchestras for many years.  Retiring in 2009. Ms. Gustafson currently teaches violin and viola at her private studio and is an active chamber musician, performing with the Westside String Trio and the Westside String Quartet.  She has also performed with the Statesboro-Georgia Southern Symphony, the Augusta Symphony and currently performs with the Cool Spring Symphony near Nashville, TN.