About the NBSYO
The New Bedford Symphony Youth Orchestra program was established in 2008 under the auspices of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra.
Mission:
- To provide orchestral training and performance opportunities for young musicians;
- To create an educational environment in which students learn from professional musicians and one another;
- To instill a greater appreciation for classical music in the students and in their audience
In order to achieve this mission the NBSYO will:
- Bring together talented young musicians from across the region in order to rehearse and perform together under inspiring leadership;
- Introduce students to orchestral masterworks, both traditional and contemporary;
- Encourage a sense of personal responsibility and self-discipline in each student;
- Develop performers and audiences for the future;
- Enrich and foster school music programs;
- Reach audiences for whom performances of classical music are rare;
- Provide these opportunities without regard to race, cultural background, gender or creed.
Meet the NBSYO Staff
Tobias Monte, Symphony Orchestra Conductor
Mr. Monte maintains an active career as a performer, conductor and educator. As a performer, he holds positions in the trumpet sections of the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra and the Simon Sinfonietta. He has also performed with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Rhode Island Civic Chorale Orchestra, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, the Woods Hole Cantata Consort, and the American Band of Providence, RI. He is the founder of the Concordia Brass Quintet and a member of the Sonare Chamber Ensemble.
As a conductor, Mr. Monte has been the director of the Marion Concert Band (Marion, MA) since 1985. He was the musical director for New Bedford Festival Theatre from 1996 to 2003, overseeing the music for 15 NBFT productions. He co-directed the Acushnet Classic Ensemble from 1993 to 1997 and has been the choir director at St. John of God Church in Somerset, MA since 1977. Mr. Monte directed the 2008 Southeastern Massachusetts School Bandmasters Association (SEMSBA) Festival Senior High School Orchestra and the 1993 Rhode Island Junior High School All-State Band.
In January of 2000, Mr. Monte joined the music department faculty at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where he currently directs the Wind Ensemble and teaches courses in conducting, brass methods and applied trumpet. Since 2005, he has been the musical director for the UMass Dartmouth Theatre Company.
Merrillan Melberg, Debut Orchestra & Poco Strings Conductor, NBSYO Coordinator
Ms. Melberg began studying the violin at age 6. Although, her family moved around many times, she spent her teen and college years in Dallas, Texas, where her family still lives. She was a member of the New Conservatory of Dallas, a string orchestra in Northeast Texas. Ms. Melberg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Violin Performance from Pensacola Christian College. While at PCC she began studying the viola and performing in a string quartet at the school. In 2002, she traveled with the quartet to the Czech Republic where they participated at the Ameropa Music Festival. Upon graduation, Ms. Melberg returned to Dallas were she coached for the Cross Timbers Youth Orchestra, started a strings program at Buckingham North Christian School, and was the associate principal violist for the New Life Symphony Orchestra.
In 2007, Ms. Melberg earned a Master of Music in Viola Performance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She currently teaches violin and viola at Tabor Academy located in Marion, Massachusetts, in addition to maintaining an active private studio out of her home.
Keri Benson, String Coach (violin)
Ms. Benson holds a bachelor's degree in music education with a concentration on violin performance from UMass Dartmouth. She was a string specialist in the Fairhaven Public Schools from 2000-2004 and has maintained a private violin studio since then. Ms. Benson conducted the intermediate string ensemble of the Acushnet Classic Ensemble from 1996-2004
Ms. Benson is a member of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra and the Trans Siberian Orchestra. She is a member of the Sonare Chamber Ensemble and has also performed with the New Bedford Choral Society, the Sippican Choral Society and New Bedford Festival Theatre.
Daniela Chirigotis, String Coach (violin)
Ms. Chirigotis, a native of New Bedford, began studying the violin at age 7 in the New Bedford Public Schools. As a high school student she performed with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and with the Ocean State Youth Orchestra. She holds a bachelor's degree in music education.
Ms. Chirigotis directs the string programs in the Fairhaven Public Schools and is enrolled in the master's degree program at Bridgewater State College. Ms. Chirigotis is a member of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, and maintains a private violin studio at a local music shop.
Bonnie Harlow, String Coach (cello)
Ms. Harlow holds a bachelor's degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and is on the adjunct faculty of Bridgewater State College where she teaches cello. Since 1969 she has been a cello and strings teacher in several locales including Plymouth, Kingston, Silver Lake Regional School District, Scituate and Mansfield. In 1989 Ms. Harlow founded the South Shore Regional Youth Orchestra and served as coach and assistant conductor through 1992.
Ms. Harlow holds positions in the cello sections of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra, and performs extensively with the Classique Chamber Music ensemble. She also performs with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, the Woods Hole Cantata Consort, the Pilgrim Festival Chorus, the Mayflower Chorale, the Sippican Chorale, Gloriae Dei Cantores and at the Orpheum Theatre in Foxboro.
Marilyn Melanson, String Coach (violin)
Marilyn Melanson holds a bachelor of music degree (cum laude) from the University of Lowell. Ms. Melanson has taught strings in the Manchester (NH) Public Schools, the Roland Hall St. Mark’s School in Salt Lake City, Utah, the New Bedford Public Schools, and is presently a string teacher in the Fine Arts Department of the Fall River Public Schools.
Ms. Melanson is a member of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with the New Hampshire Repertory Orchestra, the Indian Hill Chamber Orchestra, the Salt Lake City Repertory Orchestra and the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra. Since her early school years to the present, she and her sisters have performed with the Furtado String Quartet.
