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A new home for the MAYWE Jazz Ensemble

The MAYWE Jazz Ensemble is now the Rialto Youth Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Gordon Vernick.

A LETTER FROM FOUNDER ROBERT J. AMBROSE REGARDING
THE DISCONTINUATION OF THE MAYWE PROGRAM

May 27, 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is with a heavy heart that I write this. After many months of contemplation, I have decided to discontinue the MAYWE program and all of its ensembles. The reasons behind this decision are many, but the primary and most compelling one is my desire to spend more time with my expanding family. Please know that this decision did not come quickly or easily.

The MAYWE organization has celebrated many remarkable highpoints over its eight years including two performances by the Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall and two performances by the Jazz Ensemble at the Atlanta Jazz Festival. I am proud that the MAYWE organization has been able to provide an outstanding musical opportunity for exceptional young musicians in the area. In many ways the organization will end at its peak. This is something for which anyone ever involved in the MAYWE program should be enormously proud.

Musicians from throughout the Atlanta area will still have a plethora of outstanding youth ensembles for which to audition and I strongly encourage anyone who had been interested in auditioning for the MAYWE Wind Ensemble to seek out one of these ensembles. Those who had been interested in MAYWE Jazz should note that Dr. Gordon Vernick will continue to offer a youth jazz ensemble to interested students. This group will have a new name (to be determined) and will be coordinated entirely by Dr. Vernick. Auditions will be held later this summer and rehearsals will begin in August or September. Interested students should contact Dr. Vernick directly at musgjv@langate.gsu.edu.

I want to thank, with the utmost sincerity, all of the current and past MAYWE faculty and staff for their extraordinarily valuable contributions to the MAYWE organization. Without the tireless work and dedication of these individuals, the program would not have existed. An extra special thank you to Colleen McHugh, Diana Marks, Gordon Vernick, Stuart Gerber, Laura Moates Stanley, TC McConnell, and Sarah Kruser Ambrose for their long service to the organization.

To all of the wonderful musicians who have participated in the MAYWE program and your families, a heartfelt thank you. You have enriched the cultural landscape of the city and the musical lives of many. May you continue to excel in your music making and in your lives.

With best wishes,

Robert J. Ambrose, Founder
MAYWE

ABOUT THE MAYWE PROGRAM

The Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Wind Ensemble (MAYWE) was formed in 2003 by Robert Ambrose to provide an outstanding wind band performance opportunity for talented young musicians in the greater Atlanta area. Now in its sixth year, the MAYWE program has expanded to include a Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Gordon Vernick and a Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Stuart Gerber, both Georgia State University faculty. The creation of these ensembles meets a five year goal of MAYWE to offer a diverse and comprehensive program for outstanding young metro Atlanta instrumentalists. As resident ensembles of the Georgia State University School of Music, each group rehearses on Monday evenings in the beautiful Aderhold Learning Center and Rialto Center for the Arts buildings on the Georgia State campus.

MAYWE draws many of the most talented musicians from over fifty schools and a dozen Georgia counties. Each ensemble intends to serve as a supplement to the student's school band program and requires that musicians be members of their own school band if one exists. In 2004, the MAYWE Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at Carnegie Hall. Their May 2005 performance in the famed hall was nearly sold out and received a standing ovation. They performed a second time in May, 2009.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Wind Ensemble