Dear Students and Parents of the Conservatory,

As I think most of you are aware, our current situation requires adaptability and flexibility at any moment. However, we at the Missouri Symphony Conservatory are committed to turning lemons into lemonade and approaching the semester as an opportunity to provide students with learning experiences outside and beyond their normal musical routines.

Therefore, we have decided to focus this semester on chamber music! All students in the Conservatory will be engaged in a small ensemble (anywhere from 3-8 players), and they will work weekly with professional coaches to aide them in learning how to play in a smaller group, most likely without a conductor.

As a musician myself, I can tell you that this is a wonderful opportunity for students to grow as people and musicians. Playing chamber music requires teamwork, discipline, and accountability from each member of the ensemble, as you are often the only one playing your part. Therefore communication, attendance, and individual practice will be essential to success this semester.

Select students will also play in our signature group, the Chamber Players, under Maestro Trevor, which due to restrictions will have a maximum of twenty students this semester.

Because of this change, we request that you register your student as soon as possible as we may not be able to accept new registrations after the first rehearsal. We need to be able to put students into groups based on ability and instrumentation, so we need to know what those groups will be before the first rehearsal.

Thank you all so much for your continued flexibility, optimism, and support. We hope that these changes will bring joy, learning, and the good kind of challenge to you or your students!

Ashley Pribyl, PhD
she/her/hers
education@themosy.org

In order for Maestro Trevor to be able to group students together of similar abilities, we still require auditions from new students and strongly urge students who feel that they have significantly improved to do so as well. We are currently scheduling auditions via Zoom for August 29th and September 12th. Students need to prepare one short piece or etude plus at least two scales, slurred and staccato.

To sign-up for an audition, please send a completed audition application to education@themosy.org.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available for students who would like to participate in the Conservatory but need financial assistance. They typically only cover partial tuition. New this year: Students will be required to apply for a scholarship at the beginning of each semester, even if they already received a scholarship the prior semester. Scholarship applications are available below and are due on September 20, 2020.

Rehearsals

Because of Covid-19, we are still working to secure a rehearsal space for the semester. We hope to continue our original plan of using the Sinquefield Music Center at Mizzou, and we will let you know if and when things change.

Due to Covid-19 policies, parents will not be allowed at rehearsals.

Contact Dr. Ashley Pribyl by emailing education@themosy.org or calling 573.875.0600.