Rehearsals will be held on Monday evenings from 6:15 pm – 8:45 pm. Musicians are expected to arrive and be prepared to rehearse 15 minutes prior to start time.
WINTER QUARTER 2026 DETAILS
Rehearsals
Winter Quarter Dates
Mondays from 6:15 – 8:45 pm
1/5, 1/12, 1/26, 2/2, 2/9, 2/23, 3/2, 3/9
There is no rehearsal on 1/19 for MLK Day
or on 2/16 for Presidents’ Day.
Rehearsal Location
Drop Off/ Pick Up
Odle Middle School
Plan on prompt drop off and pick up to avoid
502 143rd Ave NE
congestion.
Bellevue, WA 98007
Retreat Location
Time & Date
Odle Middle School
Saturday, January 10
502 143rd Ave NE
12:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Bellevue, WA 98007
Concert
Time & Date
Meydenbauer Center Theatre
Sunday, March 15 @ 7:00 pm
11100 NE 6th St
Call time 5:45 PM. Scroll down
Bellevue, WA 98004
for more information.
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 Monday 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 Youth page of the BYSO website) in order to be deemed eligible to participate in the concert.
Mr. Salvaggio will communicate whether a video recording is required or not to the student on Tuesday. If a test is required, the student must submit it no later than 11:59 PM Thursday evening. Mr. Salvaggio 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.
Videos may be sent to Mr. Salvaggio by uploading to Youtube, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Please make sure you have adjusted the sharing settings appropriately, so the video is accessible.
CALL TIME | 5:45 pm All musicians should arrive promptly 5:45 pm.
DROP OFF Musicians can be dropped off via the parking garage or lobby at Meydenbauer. There is no parking garage fee for the first 30 minutes.
PARKING Parking is available in the garage beneath Meydenbauer. Please see their website for rates.
CONCERT ATTIRE Be sure to check your ensemble’s concert attire requirements.Students must arrive wearing their concert clothing. They will not have a place to change later.
VOLUNTEERS – WE NEED YOU! Volunteers will be a vital part of a successful day at Meydenbauer for all of our students. We need volunteers to help the check in process and supporting ensembles during their dress rehearsals. Volunteers have early access to reserve their seats in the hall. Click here to sign up!
CONCERT TICKETS Families of enrolled BYSO students get priority access to concert tickets at Meydenbauer and can purchase tickets via the link sent in the weekly newsletter, starting Thursday, February 12 at 4:00 pm. On February 26, any remaining tickets will be open to the general public.
STAY THE WHOLE CONCERT Performing students are expected to stay from their call time to the end of the concert. Listening to other musicians perform is an important part of each student’s music education, and it’s also important to support fellow BYSO musicians in this way. Students who must leave early due to unavoidable schedule conflicts must get permission from their conductor and the BYSO office prior to the concert.
About
Youth Symphony is the most advanced ensemble in the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra organization. The typical student in Youth Symphony has had significant private instruction as well as school and extra-curricular ensemble experience. Youth Symphony members must have a high degree of technical proficiency and must enjoy challenge.
Youth Symphony provides a chance for advanced students to tackle the works of the great masters as well as new music composed especially for them. Past works performed include Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.
Recent Performance of Youth Symphony
Conductor: Matthew Salvaggio
Conductor Matthew Salvaggio is a dynamic artist dedicated to exploring and promoting new music, reimagining diverse orchestral performance experiences, and creating equitable access to music education.
He founded Cleveland Repertory Orchestra in 2021 to explore thebreadth of the orchestral repertoire, with an emphasis on new music and music by historically excluded voices. Additionally, the 2023/24 season marks his first season as Music Director and Conductor of the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra, where he conducts the top-tier Youth Orchestra and manages a team of eight conductors responsible for leading the other BYSO ensembles.
Committed to increasing access to music education, in 2022 Matt announced an initiative to expand the Erie Junior Philharmonic’s Prelude program for beginning students to include opportunities for beginning woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. In 2019, he established the Tom Baker Young Artists Competition with the Euclid Symphony Orchestra. The annual competition, which has attracted students from throughout the Midwest, awards the winner a concerto performance opportunity with the ESO and a cash prize.
An advocate for new music, Matt has commissioned works for band and orchestra with his ensembles, and his artistic collaborations include members of the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Erie Philharmonic, and more.
Upon the conclusion of the 2022/23 season, Matt completed several successful Music Directorships, including six seasons with the Euclid Symphony Orchestra, six seasons with the University Heights Symphonic Band, and two seasons with the Erie Junior Philharmonic. He has previously served on the faculty at Mercyhurst University, Hiram College, and Lakeland Community College. Learn more.
Fall Quarter (Sunday, November 23, 2025 at Benaroya Hall)
Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Winter Quarter (Sunday, March 15, 2026 at Meydenbauer Center)
Weber: Concertino for Clarinet – Elijah Washington, clarinet
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 8
Spring Quarter (Monday, May 18, 2026 at Bastyr University)
Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet
Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 1
Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2
Update: 2/8 – Schedule for Remainder of Winter Quarter
Monday, February 9 6:15-7:35 Full rehearsal
7:45-8:45 Sectionals
Monday, February 16 No rehearsal (midwinter break)
Monday, March 9 6:15-7:30 Dress rehearsal with ringers
7:30-8:20 Additional Dvorak rehearsal
8:20-8:45 Additional Weber rehearsal (clarinets, trombones, tuba dismissed)
Update: 2/8 – Spring Quarter Music
Spring quarter music has been posted on the music links page since the beginning of the season. At the first spring quarter rehearsal, we will play through both Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet suites in their entirety, and from there we will choose which movements we want to play for the concert. Many of the parts have titles for the movements in Russian. Please label each of the movements with the english titles before the first rehearsal. See below:
Suite #1
1. Folk Dance
2. Scene
3. Madrigal
4. Minuet
5. Masks
6. Romeo and Juliet
7. Death of Tybalt
Suite #2
1. Montagues and Capulets
2. Juliet, the Young Girl
3. Friar Laurence
4. Dance
5. Romeo at Juliet’s Before Parting
6. Dance of the Antilles Girls
7. Romeo at Juliet’s Grave
Spring 2026 Seating Auditions
Seating auditions will take place during rehearsal on Monday, March 30.
Flutes
Flutes
Excerpt 1 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Minuet: Rehearsal 36-37 (quarter = 96)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 2, Juliet the Young Girl: Rehearsal 18-19 (quarter = 124)
Oboes
Oboes
Excerpt 1 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Minuet: Rehearsal 36-37 (quarter = 96)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 2, Romeo at Juliet’s Grave: pickup to 8 after rehearsal 57 – 6 after rehearsal 58 (eighth = 72)
Clarinets
Clarinets
Excerpt 1 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Minuet: Rehearsal 44-45 (quarter = 96)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Masks: 6 before rehearsal 48 – 4 after rehearsal 49 (quarter = 72)
Bassoons
Bassoons
Excerpt 1 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Romeo and Juliet: 5 after rehearsal 54 – 9 after rehearsal 55 (quarter = 84)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Death of Tybalt: 7 after rehearsal 68 – rehearsal 69 (quarter = 160)
Horns
Horns
Excerpt 1 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Romeo and Juliet: 5 before rehearsal 56 – 7 after rehearsal 57 (quarter = 84)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Death of Tybalt: pick up to rehearsal 81 – end (quarter = 48)
Trumpets
Trumpets
Excerpt 1 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Minuet (Cornet 1 part): Rehearsal 42-45 (quarter = 96)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Death of Tybalt (Trumpet 1 part): Rehearsal 81 – end (quarter = 48)
Trombones
Trombones
Excerpt 1 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Death of Tybalt: Rehearsal 66 – 4 after 67 (quarter = 160)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Death of Tybalt: Rehearsal 82-end (quarter = 48)
Tuba
Tuba
Excerpt 1 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Minuet: Rehearsal 36-45 (quarter = 96)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Death of Tybalt: 2 before rehearsal 64-65 (quarter = 160)
Violins
Violins
Excerpt 1 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Death of Tybalt: Rehearsal 70-74 (quarter = 168)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Folk Dance: Rehearsal 1 – 3 before rehearsal 3 (dotted quarter = 120)
Violas
Violas
Excerpt 1 – Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet: Rehearsal E-F (quarter = 144)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Death of Tybalt: Rehearsal 74-78 (quarter = 168)
Cellos
Cellos
Excerpt 1 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Death of Tybalt: Rehearsal 70-74 (quarter = 168)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Romeo and Juliet: 4 after rehearsal 54-57 (quarter = 84)
Basses
Basses
Excerpt 1 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Romeo and Juliet: Rehearsal 59-60 (quarter = 84)
Excerpt 2 – Romeo and Juliet Suite 1, Death of Tybalt: Rehearsal 63-69 (quarter = 160)
Update: 1/11 – Seating Audition Results
Dear BYSO Youth Symphony Students,
Thank you for a great retreat yesterday! Seating audition results and part assignments are below. If your part assignment has changed, please be sure to print your new music before rehearsal tomorrow.
