Summerville Orchestra names its first youth philharmonic director, education coordinator

The Summerville Orchestra (S.O.) is thrilled to announce DeAnndra Glenn as the inaugural director and education coordinator for the new Summerville Orchestra Youth Philharmonic (S.O. Youth Philharmonic) and education program.

Glenn brings a wealth of teaching and performing experience to the position. She has taught strings students of all ages in the Charleston area since 2005 and has performed with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the North Charleston POPS! and with Mannheim Steamroller, Michael Bublé and Michael W. Smith among many others.

She was conductor of the Charleston County School District Honors Orchestra from 2005 to 2010, and served for seven years as a strings instructor for both the Charleston County School district summer SMAART (Students Mastering the Academic Arts) program and the West Ashley middle and high schools.

Glenn founded Charleston Violin Studio, and many of her violin and viola students have gained admission to the Charleston County School District School of the Arts, Rollings School of the Arts, the Lowcountry Region and South Carolina All-State Orchestras and the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Glenn’s excitement about her role as director of the S.O. Youth Philharmonic stems from her own experience as a young musician. “When I was a student, each new orchestra I joined was a stepping stone to the next level. At first, I would struggle to keep up. But with practice and determination, my playing advanced. The orchestra pushed me to become a better musician because I had to learn to stay with the group.”

Glenn stepped away from conducting and teaching when her twins – a boy and a girl – were born and is thrilled now to be in a position to reengage. “I love conducting and leading orchestra rehearsals. The Summerville Orchestra Youth Philharmonic will be a wonderful opportunity for students to make new friends while at the same time developing their musicality. Playing in an ensemble teaches students to work as a team and also helps them form other life skills. Plus, involvement in extracurriculars also looks impressive on a college application.”

Along with performing as violinist with the North Charleston POPS! (since 2014) and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Glenn has played with Charleston Stage and the Long Bay Symphony Orchestra (serving the Grand Strand). She holds a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from the University of Montana and a South Carolina teaching certification in instrumental music. She received her training in the Suzuki method and “Every Child Can!” from East Carolina University. She studied locally under the College of Charleston’s Lee-Chin Siow.

In her free time, Glenn loves gardening and traveling with her husband and children.

Glenn and S.O. staff will work with area school music instructors to identify and audition students for participation. Auditions will be held on Monday, Sept. 19, 6-7 p.m., at Alston Middle School, 500 Bryan St., Summerville. Additional information is available at www.summervilleorchestra.org/youth.

The S.O. Youth Philharmonic is being made possible through a generous grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission. The mission of the Youth Philharmonic program is to provide an affordable youth orchestra experience to public, private and charter school students as well as home-schooled students in the tri-county. The Youth Philharmonic is scheduled to perform three concerts this year.

The S.O. Youth Philharmonic and Education Program includes involvement with Dorchester School Districts 2 and 4 and Berkeley County schools, promoting music to elementary school students through interactive lessons in their music classes.

The program will create partnerships with the Summerville Orchestra as well as mentoring opportunities for high school students interested in expanding their musical knowledge and abilities outside of K-12 education. In November, the Youth Philharmonic will perform in a side-by-side piece with the full Summerville Orchestra as part of the S.O.’s subscription series concerts, under the guest baton of composer Chris Pilsner. The Youth Philharmonic will also conduct workshops and summer programs that engage students throughout the year.

The Summerville Orchestra seeks to share its love of music by engaging and enriching the community through the orchestral art form. The 75-member orchestra performs an annual subscription series of five concerts at the Summers Corner Performing Arts Center, along with many free concerts and events during the year including an Encore Series of four chamber music concerts (held at Coastal Coffee Roasters), nine Music Chats with Wojciech (held at the Dorchester County Library), and other free concerts and events throughout the greater Summerville area.

For more information about the S.O. or the S.O. Youth Philharmonic and Education Program, contact [email protected] or call (843) 873-5339.