Nov 28, 2021 3 min read

The South Hills Junior Orchestra will kick off its 39th-anniversary season Jan. 15, with weekly with the resumption of in-person rehearsals to be held at Upper St. Clair High School.

Practices are free and open to amateur musicians of all ages. They will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays in the high school band room.

The orchestra is directed by an all-volunteer music staff led by retired public school teachers Paul Fox and Donna Fox. Made possible in part by the Upper St. Clair School District, professional music educators and community volunteers donating their services and the SHJO Booster Organization, the orchestra is nonprofit and noncompetitive, and supports school string and band programs in Western Pennsylvania.

Since its formation, the orchestra has performed nearly 200 concerts in numerous cities across the United States and Canada, raising more than $33,000 for school district and local charities.

In March 2020, COVID-19 struck and rehearsals of the SHJO at Upper St. Clair High School were suspended out of necessity. During the past 19 months, the directors and members collaborated in the formation of the South Hills Junior Orchestra Online Academy to share a varied library of digital resources for the “self-exploration and mastery of music” via Zoom. They invited instrumentalists to participate in small group rehearsals and special-interest seminars for developing personal leadership, time management, teamwork, conducting, critical listening, composing, music theory, sight-reading, music appreciation, warmups and technical skill development, practice methods, and solo repertoire sharing.

Dedicated musicians from SHJOOLA have been rehearsing a festive program of holiday carols and chamber music for Upper St. Clair senior citizens to be held on Dec. 9 at the McLaughlin Activity Center. Special thanks go to sponsor Lynn Walcoff from Upper St. Clair Township Department of Recreation and Leisure Services, along with the Rev. Justin Schmidt and the elders of the Peace Lutheran Church in Peters Township for hosting SHJO in-person practices.

There are openings in SHJO for all instrumental sections: strings (violin, viola, cello and string bass), woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, alto or tenor saxophone and bassoon), brasses (trumpet, French Horn, trombone and tuba) and percussion.

Newcomers — students in fourth grade and up — are encouraged to try SHJO for a three-week free-trial basis at any time throughout the year. In addition, adults are invited to brush up their skills or learn a new instrument and join the weekly orchestra practices.

SHJO nurtures the players’ own realization of creative self-expression. Rehearsals are stress-free opportunities for musicians to develop their skills, explore orchestral and chamber literature, and collaborate with others in the making of beautiful music.”

For more information, email SHJO managing director Janet Vukotich at mdirector@shjo.org, visit www.shjo.org, call Paul or Donna Fox at 412-854-3459, or send an e-mail inquiry to pfox@shjo.org.