Program Information
Auditions
Participation in MYSO is selective and based on the successful completion of a placement audition. Auditions are held prior to the start of every season.
Registration and audition requirements for the 2023 - 2024 MYSO season will be posted the first week in April 2023. Please continue to check the Audition and Audition Materials page for more information.
Rehearsals
MYSO Philharmonia and Symphony orchestras rehearse on Sundays from 3:00 PM - 5:30 PM
MYSO Sinfonietta String orchestra rehearses from 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM.
MYSO Atlanta is excited to announce our move to Drew Charter School! We will be rehearsing there for the 2023-2024 season, and we will be collaborating with the musicians and faculty at the school.
300 Eva Davis Way SE
Atlanta, GA 30317
Tuition
Tuition for participation in MYSO is $665. This fee covers all orchestra and sectional coaching, music, soloist performances, and the opportunity to participate in MYSO's annual concerto and scholarship award competitions. Tuition for the Chamber Ensemble Program is $150.
Financial aid in the form of full or partial tuition scholarships are available and based on student financial need as well as the instrumentation needs of the orchestras. To apply, go to the Member page and click on the appropriate application form.
Meet MYSO's Artistic Leadership
Dr. Cathie Hudnall, Ph.D.
Artistic Director, Symphony Orchestra Conductor
Dr. Catherine Hudnall received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of music, her Master’s degree from Georgia State University, and her Doctoral degree from Mercer University. Currently she is the Orchestra Director at Norcross High School and is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra. She was the teacher of the year at Norcross High School and received the American String Teachers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dr. Hudnall is a regular conductor and clinician for honor ensembles throughout the state, was the conductor of the SC All-State Orchestra in 2002, the Mississippi All-State Orchestra in 2005, and has been invited to conduct the California All-State Orchestra in 2021. She served as an adjudicator for the National ASTA Orchestra Festival in 2019. Her students have been invited to perform for the Georgia State Music Educators conference in 1995, 2006, and 2009. She was a guest conductor of the Gwinnett Philharmonic Orchestra in 2004, 2006, and 2007, and she co-directed the Gwinnett County Youth Symphony for six years. In 2006, the Norcross High School Philharmonic Orchestra won the National Championship High School String Orchestra Award at the American String Teachers Association conference in Kansas City. Three of her ensembles have been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall. Dr. Hudnall is a member of the National Music Educators Association, the Conductors Guild, the Performing Arts Medical Association, and the American String Teachers Association. She served as state president of the Georgia ASTA chapter.
Dr. Hudnall studied cello with Hans Schmettau and Martha Gerschefski. As a professional cellist, she has performed with the Gwinnett Philharmonic Orchestra, the Georgia Women’s Symphony, the 1st International Cello Congress Choir, the Maui Symphony, the Florence Symphony, the Columbia Philharmonic Orchestra, the Charleston Symphony, the Augusta Symphony, the Spartanburg Symphony, the Gainesville Symphony, and the Brevard Music Center Festival Orchestra. She is a member of the Candler String Quartet, is an active consultant and teacher of Healthy Musicianship, and teaches private cello lessons in her home.
Carl Rieke
Philharmonia Conductor
From 1999 until 2006, Mr. Rieke was Director of Orchestras at Shiloh High School in Gwinnett County. While teaching in Gwinnett, he was a co-conductor of the Gwinnett County Youth Symphony. Under Mr. Rieke’s direction, the Shiloh High School Chamber Orchestra, Gwinnett County Youth Symphony, Metropolitan Youth Symphony Strings, and the Southern Crescent Symphony were featured at the Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) state conference. From 2006-2009, Mr. Rieke taught at Ola Middle School (OMS) in Henry County where he was named Teacher of the Year for the 2011-2012 school year. That same year, his program at OMS received the GMEA Exemplary Program Award. In 2013, Mr. Rieke was named a “Class Act” teacher by Atlanta’s WXIA-TV—11 Alive News. He is in his second year at Frank N. Osborne Middle School in Gwinnett County where he has over three hundred students in his program.
Mr. Rieke has had the privilege to conduct many orchestra camps and clinics around the metro area and State, including the Encore music camp in Atlanta (of which he is now a co-owner), the University of Georgia Music Camp and fall festival, the Atlanta Suzuki Summer Institute, the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) summer camp, the Gwinnett Tapestry Festival, the Clayton County Honor Clinic, the New Ulm Minnesota Suzuki pops camp, and one of the 2009 Alabama All-State Orchestras.
Mr. Rieke has been an All-State Orchestra organizing chair for seven years and served as the GMEA Orchestra division chair (2007-2009). He was the GMEA Vice-President of performance evaluations from 2013-2015. Mr. Rieke has also served as Secretary for the Georgia Chapter of ASTA and was named the Georgia ASTA “Orchestra Director of the Year” in 2010. He was recently elected treasure for the Georgia ASTA for the next two years. Mr. Rieke has presented sessions at the GMEA in-service Conference and the ASTA National Conference. He also serves as an adjudicator at orchestra evaluations around the State of Georgia.
Mr. Rieke resides in Tucker, Georgia, with his wife Stacy and twelve-year-old son, David.
Jeffrey Rowser
Philharmonia Winds Conductor
MYSO Winds & Brass Coordinator
Jeffrey Rowser, is a 2022 Inductee into the National High School Band Directors Hall of Fame and a 42-year veteran teacher with many distinctions: the 2022 GMEA “Distinguished Service Award”, the 2018 Auburn University “Outstanding Alumni Educator” Award recipient, 2017 “STAR TEACHER”, 2014-15 Morgan County Schools “Teacher of the Year”, 2013-14 “Georgia Music Educator of the Year”. He is a native of Attalla, Alabama and is a 1976 graduate of Etowah High School, where he lettered 3 years in band, basketball and track. Mr. Rowser later graduated from Auburn University (AU) with his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Music Education. He was a saxophone major, studying with Lawrence Morgan. He has also studied music arranging with the famed composers, Dr. Johnnie Vinson and Bob Richardson. He performed his student teaching duties with the legendary Tommy Goff at Auburn High School in 1980. While at Auburn, he was drum major of the Auburn University Marching Band for three years. His appointment by Dr. Bill Walls made Jeffrey the first African American Drum Major at Auburn University and Southeastern Conference.
Meet MYSO's Administrative Staff
Megan Williams
Executive Director
Megan Williams has been an instrumental music educator in metro-Atlanta for the past 15 years. In that time, she has conducted bands for the City Schools of Decatur, Gwinnett County and Greater Atlanta Christian Schools. Ensembles under her direction have performed in the Hollywood Christmas Parade in Hollywood, California, on a 10-day tour in Chiapas, Mexico, and in countless community and GMEA performances. The Decatur High School Marching Band won their first silver division championship in school history under Mrs. Williams direction. Mrs. Williams currently serves as woodwind specialist for The Wesleyan School, clarinet instructor for the Atlanta Music Academy, and has taught nearly 400 music students for the Outschool international online teaching platform. Mrs.Williams has also directed four different chamber ensembles in performances at the Georgia Music Educators Association Convention. Mrs.Williams holds both Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music Education from the University of Georgia where she graduated with honors in 2006, and again with distinction in 2013.
While at the University of Georgia, Mrs. Williams served as Drum Major and Assistant Band Captain for the Redcoat Marching Band. She was an active member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Sigma Alpha Iota, and assisted in creating the Northeast Georgia Marching Exhibition which is still serving marching bands in the northeast Georgia region. Since becoming an instrumental teacher, Mrs. Williams has had students consistently perform with the Georgia All State Bands, District Bands, the Georgia Governor's Honors program, as well as national honor ensembles. Her students have gone on to study music at Indiana University, Berklee College of Music, Northwestern University, and many other established collegiate music programs. As a performer, Mrs. Williams has been among the top woodwind clinicians in metro Atlanta and maintains a full schedule of teaching and traveling to area schools. Her clarinet studio typically has 25 to 30 students who perform at recitals and in area honor ensembles.
Mrs. Williams currently serves as a board member for HEART Music, a non-profit organization serving the public schools of Athens-Clarke County. Mrs. Williams currently resides in Lilburn, Georgia with her husband James, and their two daughters, Isabelle and Eleanor.
Barrie Herman
Operations Manager
Barrie Herman received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Roosevelt University in Chicago and is the Operations Manager for the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra. Mrs. Herman oversees MYSO’s administrative staff and student members, as well as MYSO auditions, recruitment and communications.
After graduating from Roosevelt University, Mrs. Herman worked at the Hard Rock Cafe’s corporate offices as the Memorabilia Acquisitions Manager. Her duties included managing a database of over a million pieces of memorabilia as well as working closely with a variety of members within the music industry. Her favorite part was going to auction houses to identify, research and acquire music memorabilia, Mrs. Herman also developed relationships with musicians and artists to acquire pieces from personal collections.
Prior to becoming MYSO’s Operations Manager, Mrs. Herman served as MYSO’s 30th Anniversary Project Coordinator, where she planned and organized an alumni reception, implemented a student visual art show, as well as wrote, edited and posted student spotlights.
Mrs. Herman worked with Jewish Kids Groups in Atlanta as its Interim Enrollment Director, where she cultivated new leads and built relationships with current and prospective parents.
Mrs. Herman resides in Decatur ,Georgia with her husband Rich.
Brittany Salkill
Website Administrator
Cheyenne Bryant
Development Assistant
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Cheyenne is in her senior year at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University. Her concentration explores the healing capabilities of art-making and art practice by accessing the restorative power of the arts to encourage community empowerment. She loves to teach and aspires to cultivate inclusive art spaces for young children that encourage their sense of self and imagination through active, hands-on learning. Currently, Cheyenne wishes to become a creative arts therapist for kids.
Brittany is a flutist and teacher in the metro-Atlanta area and works as MYSO's Artistic Administrator. She oversees the MYSO music library, website, hiring of coaches, and MYSO's Chamber Music Program, among other responsibilities. In addition to MYSO activities, Brittany serves on the board of the Atlanta Flute Club as their corporate liaison, runs a small private flute studio, and freelances around town. Brittany received her Master Degree in Flute Performance from Middle Tennessee State University where she held two graduate assistantships for the MTSU Woodwind Department and the MTSU Band Department. Prior to her time at MTSU, Brittany Studied Flute Performance at Georgia Southern University where she acted as the orchestra librarian for the GSU Symphony.
Brittany lives in Kennesaw, GA with her husband, Andrew, and their 3 dogs.
Additional Staff:
Shaun Anderson, Drew Charter School Sound & Stage Technician
Steven Anderson, Drew Charter School Coordinator of Fine Arts
Sarah Willis, GSU Assistant
Meet MYSO's Board of Directors
Kim
Johnson
Attorney at Law, Pope McGlamry
Board Chair, Board Member Since 2013
Stephanie
Voss
Voss Violins
Board Member Since 2011
Jason
Lichtstein
Akerman LLC
Board Member Since 2022
Patrick
Kinsella
Onepath
Vice Chair, Board Member Since 2014
Donnell
Francis
Music Educator
Board Member Since 2021
Luis
Falcon
Munich RE Life US
Board Member Since 2016
Jason
Bastow
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
Board Member Since 2015
Michael
Snell
Lead Researcher, Vice President, JPMorgan Chase & Co
Board Member Since 2021