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Aug. 22, 2005
 Today
the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra and Morningside
College announced the formation of a partnership that
joins the symphony’s Youth Orchestras program
with the college’s Leo Kucinski Academy of Music
and provides for the addition of an early childhood string
program.
The Kucinski Academy, which opened last fall, focuses on private
instruction, monthly workshops, and performance classes for
student musicians from beginner to high school. The symphony’s
three youth orchestras include the Youth Symphony, for the
most advanced musicians, the Philharmonia, for middle school,
high school, and advanced elementary school musicians, and
the Symphonette, for beginning and intermediate violin, viola,
cello, and bass players.
While the symphony will retain ownership of the Youth Orchestras
program, the academy will manage all operational logistics
for the program. Morningside will provide all facilities,
including office space, teaching space, rehearsal space, and
performance space as needed.
 To
facilitate the partnership, the symphony has appointed Jungho
Kim, a conductor, violinist, and teacher from Cincinnati,
Ohio, as director of education. He will also serve as conductor
of the Philharmonia and will be instrumental in establishing
the early childhood string program. Morningside has appointed
Sioux City resident Jill Wilson, voice and piano instructor,
to serve as director of the academy.
The two programs were brought together because they complement
each other and to facilitate the pooling of resources, according
to Doug Gerhart, executive director of the Sioux City
Symphony Orchestra, and Dr. Gerry Bouma, chair and
professor of the music department at Morningside College.
“The Sioux City Symphony is dedicated to excellence
in symphonic performance, music education, and the precious
outlet that youth orchestras provide,” said Gerhart.
“This new partnership with a college that so strongly
supports excellence in music will allow us to provide exciting
opportunities for all of Siouxland’s youth.”
“Student musicians thrive when they are taking lessons
and playing in an ensemble at the same time,” said Bouma.
“It is very exciting to see Morningside College and
the Sioux City Symphony, both with rich histories in the arts,
once again working in partnership for the good of music education
in Siouxland. And, it is just as exciting to see the Youth
Orchestra program, with a fifty-year history, join with the
Leo Kucinski Academy of Music, which, in its first year of
existence, has established itself as committed to excellence
in music education.”
The ties between Morningside College and the Sioux City Symphony
originated in the 1920s, when the late Leo Kucinski, a young
Polish violinist, came to teach at the college. Through the
cooperation of the college, the Sioux City community schools,
and private teachers, he founded the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra.
Kim, who will begin as conductor of the Philharmonia
in September, holds master of music degrees in orchestral
conducting and violin performance from the College Conservatory
of Music (CCM) at the University of Cincinnati. He has studied
violin with Kwangkoon Kim and Anna Vaiman and conducting with
Mark Gibson and Xian Zhang, who will begin as the symphony’s
new music director and conductor in September.
Most recently, Kim has served as guest conductor for the Starling
Chamber Orchestra in Cincinnati and was conducting assistant
for the CCM and director and conductor for the Queen City
Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra in Cincinnati. He was also the
co-founder of the Queen City ensemble.
Gerhart said, “Jungho Kim is a great new addition to
the Kucinski Academy, the Sioux City Symphony, and its youth
orchestras. He serves as a positive example of what this partnership
can achieve through the powerful synergy it creates. We can
all look forward to many more positive results of this partnership
through the days and years ahead.”
Bouma agreed. He said, “The Leo Kucinski Academy of
Music has a superb faculty, covering all areas of music performance
from private instruction to ensemble playing. All faculty
members are committed to helping provide the highest quality
music education possible. We are particularly pleased with
the addition of Jungho Kim and Jill Wilson.”
Wilson, who recently began duties as director of the Kucinski
Academy, holds a master of music education degree from the
University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She has
been a private voice and piano instructor and accompanist
since 1989. Previous positions have included head vocal music
director at Dowling High School in West Des Moines, Iowa,
where she led a vocal program of 240 students in five curricular
and three extra-curricular choirs; vocal music director at
Kuemper High School in Carroll, Iowa; and vocal director/general
music teacher at Waverly-Shell Rock Junior High in Waverly,
Iowa. Currently, she serves as the Children’s Choir
director for Augustana Lutheran Church, leading two ensembles
in weekly choir and handbell rehearsals.
John Daniels, attorney, serves as president of the
Sioux City Symphony Orchestra Board. John Reynders,
president of Morningside College, is a member of the board.
The Kucinski Academy is now taking registrations for fall
classes. For more information on the academy, please call
Wilson at 712-274-5357 or visit its Web site at http://webs.morningside.edu/kucinskiacademy/.
For more information on the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra,
please call 712-277-2111 or visit its Web site at www.siouxcitysymphony.org.
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