Vivace Youth Orchestra presents a Messiah Sing-In December 22, 5pm @ Liahona Preparatory Academy. Bring your own Messiah vocal score or download the Messiah score in PDF format. Limited seating, reserve FREE tickets today!

Exciting things are happening this year with the Vivace Orchestras and we do not want you to miss out. JOIN US! Sign up today. If you have played previously in Vivace Orchestras (or the Vivace Summer Camp A or B orchestras, maybe even C), Utah Valley Symphony, any of the top Lyceum Orchestra/Symphony groups no audition is required, all you need to do is register and pay the $25 registration fee to reserve your spot.

If you have not previously played in one of the listed groups, just create an audition video and send us the link when you register: there’s a spot on the registration form to put the link to your video. If you would rather audition in person, send an email to vivaceorchestras@gmail.com to request an audition time, or come join us for a rehearsal to see what it’s like.

REHEARSALS

Rehearsals will be held on Wednesdays in American Fork at the TAF Arts Center (53 W. Main) beginning August 28, 2024:

• Symphony 3:15-5:30
• Chamber 4:30-5:30

Timpanogos Arts Foundation and Vivace Youth Orchestras hosted 2022’s

Youth Symphony Festival of Utah

View the Festival Program here

ABOUT US

We know a thing or two about nurturing young artists. Vivace Orchestra is led by award winning Artistic Director Denise Willey. Mrs. Willey was the founder of the Lyceum Orchestra Program in 1987, and the Lyceum Music Festival Youth in 2014. Under her direction, the LMFY received Best In State recognition in 2018.

Mrs. Willey has directed thousands of young musicians from across the country at the Lyceum Music Festival-Youth and Mountains & Strings camps, the Intermountain Suzuki String Institute, and in school and after-school orchestra programs. She is known for transforming groups of musicians into stunning orchestral performers. One of her great passions in life is  symphonic and chamber orchestra music, and sharing and fostering that love with the students she teaches.

OUR DIRECTORS

Denise Willey, founder and artistic director of VIVACE Youth Orchestra Program and founder of Vivace Orchestra Camp, was named Utah Music Teacher of the Year by the American String Teachers Association and was awarded Best of State (Children’s Orchestra and Camp) in 2018. An enthusiast of teaching Suzuki students to read music, she authored the I LOVE to Read Music! literacy program and Easy Steps to Music Reading. A collection of her arrangement of hymns and primary songs for young string players is being published by Christmas. She has a Bachelor of Music from the University of Utah and has directed hundreds of young musicians from across the country at the Vivace Orchestra Program, Mountains & Strings camps, the Intermountain Suzuki String Institute, and in school and after-school orchestra programs. She maintains a thriving private studio, is an SAA Registered Suzuki Teacher Trainer, and has served on the Suzuki Association of Utah board of directors for over thirty years. Mrs. Willey is the mother of six grown children, all of whom have received national recognition for their music; among them is the Professor of Viola and Theory at BYU-Idaho, the first place winner of the American Strings Teacher Association National Solo Competition, the director of the Vivace Family Music Camp, the principal cellists for fourteen years of the Orchestra at Temple Square (in which all six have performed) and the record holder for the most students solos with the Utah Symphony (five times). Four others have also soloed with the Utah Symphony, a total of eleven times. All six have played in principal chairs at All-State Orchestra and at National High School Honors Orchestra. Nearly two dozen of her students and former students have soloed with the Utah Symphony, and over three dozen with the Utah Valley Symphony. Her students have been scholarship winners across the nation. She is also the happy grandmother of eighteen, most of whom play a stringed instrument and piano, at least those who can walk and hold a bow. She teaches the orchestras at Willow Creek Middle School in Lehi.

Elizabeth W. Marsh began her musical studies at the age of two. She studied with Richard Aaron and Amir Eldan while pursuing her master’s degree from the University of Michigan. She also studied with Eleonore Schoenfeld and Peter Stumpf at the University of Southern California, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Violoncello Performance. She has studied conducting with Kenneth Kiesler, Sharon Lavery, and Rotem Weinberg, and has conducted for youth orchestras throughout Utah, including Northern Utah Youth Ensembles, Vivace Orchestras, and American Heritage Lyceum programs. Mrs. Marsh has enjoyed a fulfilling career as a cellist, concertizing with professional and volunteer orchestras, and as a soloist, chamber and freelance musician. She has won concerto competitions on the national level and soloed with symphonies locally and throughout the United States. Elizabeth has taught hundreds of cellists of all ages over the past two decades, many of whom have attended music schools on scholarship and won jobs in professional orchestras. She also authored and published “Scale Trail Challenge” and “Up to the Bridge” for young cellists. Each summer, she directs the Vivace Family Music Camp, for orchestral and choral musicians of all ages, which has proved to be a take-off point for those who attend. Dr. Ryan Murphy is the principal guest conductor of choirs and orchestras. One of Elizabeth’s favorite musical experiences is performing in the Orchestra at Temple Square. She has played principal cello for a number of years, and is grateful for this special opportunity to combine her spiritual conviction with her love of music. Elizabeth and her husband, Gregory, love teaching music to their nine young children, five of whom play in the Vivace Chamber Orchestra.