Where we were: BNYS History
In 1989, the formation of the Bloomington Normal Youth Symphony was made possible by the desire, knowledge, and skill of Dr. Howard H. Rye, as well as a considerable donation from the Amateur Musical Club, which phased out of existence at that time. The Amateur Musical Club had an impressive 100-year history of procuring world-class musicians to perform in Bloomington-Normal solo recitals and with the Bloomington Normal Symphony. The legacy of community enhancement through musical performance continues on today in the spirit and mission of the Bloomington Normal Youth Symphony.
The first youth symphony grew out of many ensembles that Dr. Rye coached in his home, beginning with string groups and gradually adding wind players. The need for a full orchestra became evident and BNYS was formed, performing its first concert in November of 1989. Sponsored solely by the Amateur Musical Club, the first five BNYS concerts were organized by Dr. Rye, with input from several key members of that club. He served as the conductor until 1994 when Deanne Bryant was approached and asked to take on the role. Mrs. Bryant accepted and continued to develop the youth symphony, adding a Board of Directors that same year.
After serving the youth orchestra and continuing its standard of excellence for two decades, Deanne Bryant entrusted the next chapter of BNYS’ life to Logan Campbell, the new Director of Large Instrumental Ensembles at Illinois Wesleyan University. He began at IWU in January of 2023 and assumed the position of Music Director with BNYS in the 2023-2024 season.
Where we are: BNYS Today
The Bloomington Normal Youth Symphony continues to thrive through musical exploration, community engagement, and fostering a passion for orchestral music in young people. Here is our mission statement:
Mission Statement:
The mission of the Bloomington Normal Youth Symphony is to enhance our members’ musical education, cultivate a love for music, and encourage them to achieve artistic excellence that will foster lifelong relationships with music. Further, it is our goal to inspire and shape future leaders on and off stage through collaboration, discipline, cultural appreciation, and compassion for others. We offer practice and performance of orchestral compositions by traditional and diverse composers, community outreach, collaboration with professional and collegiate musicians, scholarship opportunities, and an annual concerto competition to empower each musician on their musical journey.
Fast Facts:
The group rehearses on Monday evenings from 7:00-9:00 pm at Illinois Wesleyan University in their School of Music (Presser Hall).
Membership is contingent on an audition at either the beginning of ending of a season. Audition information may be found on our Auditions tab. Once admitted, there is a membership fee of $200 per student. We do offer a multi-student discount for families with multiple musicians. Scholarships are also available. Information on all things membership may be explored on our Membership tab.
We have roughly 60 student participants each season, but are always eager to welcome new musicians!
The season runs from late August through early May with a break from mid-December until February.
There are two masterwork concerts; Fall and Spring. We also join the Illinois Symphony Orchestra for a holiday pops concert in December. All concerts and projects can be found under our Events tab.
Part of the BNYS mission is to provide “opportunities for students to study, learn, and perform music of important classical composers.” All concerts contain works from the great masters of orchestral music, along with modern composers, composers of color, and composers of various gender expressions. It is a priority to provide a well-rounded performance experience for our students and our community.
Who we are: BNYS Staff, Interns, and Board of Directors
Music Director & Conductor
Logan Campbell
Logan Campbell enjoys a robust career as a conductor, equally passionate with repertoire for Orchestra, Wind Band, Pops, Opera, and Musical Theatre. Logan is the Director of Large Instrumental Ensembles at Illinois Wesleyan University and also teaches courses in conducting and double reeds as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music. As of August 2023, Campbell also assumed the position of Music Director of the Bloomington Normal Youth Symphony.
Logan is the Founder and Artistic Director of Appalachia: A Southeastern Wind Symphony, now in its 6th season. Aiming to offer networking opportunities for collegiate students and recent alumni from Southeastern universities, Appalachia has grown tremendously well and now has over 15 universities represented every concert cycle. Campbell has worked as a guest conductor, rehearsal conductor, and cover conductor with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Scruffy City Orchestra, Morristown Community Orchestra, and Brevard Philharmonic. As a student at UT, he worked with the UT Symphony Orchestra, UT Opera Orchestra, UT Chamber Orchestra, VolOpera, and UT Opera Theatre.
Logan has performed internationally, mostly in Germany. Selected as an ambassador for the State Department funded program, The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals, he lived in Leipzig, Germany for a year and studied German language, politics, and music. He worked as a conducting assistant at Oper Leipzig and with the Gewandhaus Orchester. Outside of conducting, he performed as an oboist with STÜBA, the Youth Wind Symphony of Saxony, and the Leipzig Wind Ensemble.
Campbell holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Furman University and a double Masters of Music degree in Voice Performance and Orchestral Conducting from the University of Tennessee.
Program Manager
Laura Dolan
Laura Dolan is the Fine Arts Admissions Coordinator at Illinois Wesleyan University.
After graduation from Illinois Wesleyan, she taught piano in the IWU Piano Prep Department and at the Morton Academy of Music in Morton, IL. As her four children entered grade school, she moved away from the after-school hours of teaching to get her own kids to their music lessons (clarinet, horn, euphonium and voice).
She is a founding member of the Pratt Music Foundation and served on the Board of Share the Music.
Laura has held the role of manager of the Bloomington Normal Youth Symphony since 2013 and is excited each year to see the new talent roll in!
Wind Intern
Emma Edwards
Emma Edwards is a senior Music Business student at Illinois State University, who plays oboe and studies under Dr. Jillian Kouzel. Emma grew up in Wheaton, Illinois, where she had an internship at Wheaton College working for the Artist Series Program before starting her college education. At Illinois State, she has been a member of the Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, and the Big Red Marching Machine. Emma is a recipient of the School of Music scholarship, and a two time recipient of the Bedford Quintet scholarship. Outside of her education, Emma has been a member of several quintets for Music Factory (World premiers of pieces composed by the composition major students at Illinois State), works as the Concert Coordinator/Scheduler for the Illinois State musical recitals and concerts, and works for the Illinois Symphony Orchestra concerts.
Emma has taught lessons in the past, working with children to build their confidence and experience within music, and without! She has 5 younger siblings, which enlightened a passion for working among children involved in music and exploring their musical abilities.
Emma joins us in the 2024-2025 season as our Wind Intern, working closely with our woodwind, brass, and percussion musicians. Through her extensive experience in arts administration and education, we are thrilled to have her join our team!
String Intern
Daniel Boy
Daniel Boy is a Junior at Illinois Wesleyan University and enjoys studying there as a music education major and jazz studies minor. Boy is a double-bass and electric bass player and is entering his third year at Illinois Wesleyan. Boy also holds many different positions in the school of music. He is a student conductor and the president of Illinois Wesleyan's Titan Band, he is also Stage Crew manager for Westbrook Auditorium. Boy has also been the Principal Bassist for Illinois Wesleyan's Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Titan Band and String Chamber Group. Outside of larger ensembles within the school of music, Boy is also the Principal Bassist for a jazz trio group, along with pianist, Jackson Baker, and drummer, Lucas Barger, and an off-campus jazz group, the Powers Quintet. Beyond performance, Boy is very passionate about teaching and has had the pleasure to teach at Dwight High School with their summer band program.
Daniel joins us int he 2024-2025 season as our String Intern, working closely with our string musicians. His familiarity with ensemble management, music education, and IWU make him a strong addition to our staff!
Marketing Intern
Lydia Cermak
Lydia Cermak is a senior at Illinois State University double majoring in music business and horn performance. She is a student of Rachel Hockenberry. At ISU, she has performed in the Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Winds, and as a member of the Bedford Wind Quintet. Outside of ISU, she has performed with Bradley University’s Symphony Orchestra and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in Illinois. Along with playing horn, she is an active piano accompanist within ISU’s School of Music and works at ISU’s Center for the Performing Arts Box Office. When she's not involved in music, Lydia enjoys weightlifting, playing sudoku, and spending time with her dog, Dani.
Lydia joins us in the 2024-2025 season as our Marketing Intern, working on updating the BNYS brand through photography/videography, social media design, website updates, and more. We are so excited to see what she creates!
Board of Trustees
These individuals meet monthly and work diligently to ensure the smooth running of the BNYS during the orchestra season. If you are an individual who has a passion for music, education, and building our community, please be in touch about joining our Board of Trustees.
President: Kim Woodman
Secretary: Kristy Sheridan
Treasurer: Jennifer Harris
Historian and Grant-writing: Lisa Rattan
Social and Fundraising: Melissa Miles
Ex officio Members: Logan Campbell (Music Director), Laura Dolan (Manager)