Intermezzo String Orchestra

Fall music links are now available! Instructions on how to access and print your music was sent out via the weekly newsletter on Thursday, September 18 at 4:00 pm. Check your spam/junk folder if you don’t see it. If you still don’t see it, email admin@byso.org for instructions.
Click here for Conductor’s Messages

Rehearsals will be held on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 – 7:00 pm. Musicians are expected to arrive and be prepared to rehearse 15 minutes prior to start time.

FALL QUARTER 2025 DETAILS

Rehearsals	Fall Quarter Dates
Tuesdays from 5:30 – 7:00 pm	9/23, 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, 11/18
	There is no rehearsal on 11/11 (Veteran’s Day).

Rehearsal Location	Drop Off/ Pick Up
Overlake Christian Church	Plan on prompt drop off and pick up to
9900 Willows Rd NE	avoid congestion.
Redmond, WA 98052

Retreat Location	Time & Date
Odle Middle School	Saturday, October 11
502 143rd Ave NE	9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Bellevue, WA 98007

Concert	Time & Date
Bastyr University Chapel	Saturday, November 22 @ 7:00 pm
14500 Juanita Dr NE	Call times and more will be posted
Kenmore, WA 98028	below in October.

Student Checklist

Bring a music stand
Bring a pencil
Print your sheet music prior to first rehearsal (using link at top of this page) and bring with you to rehearsal
Arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of rehearsal to ensure you are in your chair and ready to play at the start of rehearsal
Have fun!

ATTENDANCE POLICY FOR LAST REHEARSAL BEFORE THE CONCERT

Students who miss the final Tuesday night rehearsal before a concert (regardless of the first or second absence) may be required to submit a video recording of the seating audition excerpts (posted on the Intermezzo page of the BYSO website) in order to be deemed eligible to participate in the concert. If a test is required, the student must submit it no later than 11:59 PM Thursday evening. Mrs. Hellekson will review the submissions Friday morning and notify the student and parents of the results. Failure to submit a video may result in the student being disqualified from playing in the concert.

For more details about the absence policy, please see the BYSO Student Handbook.

About

Intermezzo String Orchestra is an intermediate entry-level ensemble for strings. This ensemble is designed for progressing students who have 2-3 years of experience on their instrument and some prior orchestra experience.

Conductor: Stephanie Hellekson

Stephanie Hellekson holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Puget Sound. She has taught in Tacoma Public Schools, Bethel School District, Peninsula Youth Symphony, private violin in the Seattle area and is currently the orchestra director at TOPS K-8 in the Seattle Public Schools, where she has taught and grown the program over the last 10 years. Learn more.

Contact Stephanie Hellekson at intermezzo@byso.org

Messages from the Conductor

Congratulations and welcome to Intermezzo 2025-2026!

Dear Musicians,

I am thrilled to welcome you all to BYSO’s Intermezzo Ensemble. My hope this season is that the students grow as musicians, deepen their love for rehearsing and performing, and gain a new community of string friends. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at intermezzo@byso.org. I look forward to seeing all the students and and making music together on September 23th!

I can’t wait to meet parents and guardians tomorrow on September 15th at our BYSO parent meeting night, we will all meet together as a big group with all BYSO staff and musician parents and then we will break into just our orchestra.

Please plan to bring a pencil and your music in a folder or binder to the first rehearsal and label everything! * a note on binders – please do not have music put into protection sheets if it is in a binder. They will not be able to easily mark their music, just hole punched and popped in the binder is great!

Don’t worry, we’re a big group, so I’ll have seats assigned to help you find your spot.

My dog is a 80 pound goldendoodle named Finchley, after a street I lived near in London, England. He loves to swim and fetch! You might want to remember his name or something about him for the first rehearsal! 🙂

Things you can do to feel more confident at our first rehearsal:

Print out your music when it’s becomes available
Look over the music and practice it before coming to rehearsal
Mental Practice/Preparation: Listen to recordings of the music on youtube to hear what the pieces sound like…even better if you can follow along with the music. You are NOT expected to know your music perfectly the first night!
Find out what key each piece is in and try to play a scale in that key.
Look for anything you don’t recognize or might have a question about and ask about them in rehearsal or with your private teacher.

Songs for Fall 2025:

Sleepers Wake
Allemande
Dance of the Tumblers
Fantasia on an Original Theme (all violas play the “solo” part at the beginning

Please make sure to check the violin seating assignments when printing out music for violin I or violin II

Next up:

September 23 – First Rehearsal!
October 11 – Fall Retreat (9am-noon)
October 14 – Seating Auditions at our Tuesday Rehearsal

A quick word on seating auditions:

I would like all students to audition regardless of if they are wanting to be considered for principal seating, this helps them continue to develop audition skills and gives us a snapshot in time of their playing and how to progress and tailor rehearsals for them. There will be no make up of seating auditions if a student is absent on the date of seating auditions. If they happen to be gone, they can always audition for seating in the next quarter.

Some helpful tools: