Staff
Christopher Ramaekers, Music Director — director@hpys.org
2010-2011 is Chris Ramaekers’ third season as Music Director with the HPYS. This fall, as he embarks on this beginning, he also takes a position as conductor of the Ravenswood Community Orchestra. He is currently in his third season as conductor of the Orchestra of St. Vincent’s in Chicago and is Music Director at the Community Christian Church in Lincolnshire, IL. Chris is also in his fifth season as Music Director of the New Music Project, a new music ensemble in Kalamazoo dedicated to the performance of works written by emerging composers. Chris holds a Masters Degree in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University, where he studied with Victor Yampolsky.
Dan McDonald, Intermediate Orchestra/String Coach
Mr. McDonald coaches the string sections of the Senior Orchestra and directs the Intermediate Orchestra. In his twelfth year on our staff, he teaches violin and viola in Hyde Park as well as chemistry at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. He is a founding member of the University Trio and is principal violist of the DuPage Symphony.
John Tredon, Junior Strings
John Tredon is in his fourth season as director of the Junior Strings. He is a professional violinist with over 30 years teaching and performing experience. John has played with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, Tucson Symphony, Northwest Indiana Orchestra and the Illinois Philharmonic. A member of Music Teachers of Hyde Park since its inception, Mr. Tredon has been an active private teacher in the neighborhood since 1985.
Elizabeth Diaz, Wind Coach
Elizabeth Diaz is a graduate of Loyola University, Chicago and has participated in various festivals including the Barcelona Festival of Song, Spain and the Festival Internacional De Inverno De Domingo Martins, Brazil. This is her second season with HPYS.
Contact Information
Chris Ramaekers, Music Director - 248.935.6694 or director@hpys.org
Joyce Norman, General Manager - 773.562.2369 or gm@hpys.org
Anne Brody, co-President Board of Directors - 312.636-3760 or annewbrody@gmail.com
Susan Burns, co-President Board of Directors - 773-752-3706 or slburns@uchicago.edu
History
The Hyde Park Youth Symphony has its antecedents in the 1950s when the living room of Claire Depres Oppenheim (pictured here) became too small to contain the chamber ensemble of her string students. Claire, a Hyde Park resident for most of her life, began teaching string and piano lessons in the neighborhood during the 1940s. In October of 1955, Claire and a group of interested Hyde Park parents started the Children's Symphony Orchestra of Chicago, directed by Charles R. Buckley.
Always eager to give her students the best possible ensemble experiences, Claire Oppenheim founded two additional groups. First, the Hyde Park Youth Chamber Orchestra (founded in 1971) was formally incorporated in 1978. She launched a third group, the Youth String Sinfonia, in 1982. These two groups merged in 1984 to form the Hyde Park Youth Sinfonia. ‘Sinfonia’ was changed to ‘Symphony’ in 1995, a year after Claire’s death at the age of 84.