Mason Orchestral Society

History

The Mason Orchestral Society was organized in 1975 and performed its first concert in June 1976 under the direction of Sandy Gerrish. There were about 16 members in the first orchestra and ages ranged from 7-77. The combined orchestras now have more than 60 members.

The Society is a non-profit organization which brings the enjoyment and teaching of orchestral music to Mason and surrounding communities. We meet weekly throughout the concert season in the Mason Middle School band room, and often hold our concerts in Mason First Church of the Nazarene, South Lansing Christian Church and the Mason High School auditorium.

With the financial support of the community, the Society has been able to,

1. organize two community orchestras involving both student and adult musicians,
2. operate a string lesson program for all ages,
3. accumulate and maintain string instruments for beginning students,
4. provide needed scholarship funds for string lessons, and
5. provide scholarship funds to students enabling them to pursue other musical endeavors such as private lessons or music camp.

The Ingham County News editorial (May 4, 1977) headline "Congratulations" to the Mason Orchestral Society and directing it to "... keep up the good work" explains the Mason Orchestral Society's year of 1977. Members, students, parents, teachers and orchestra director, resident agent, officers and the community are all to be congratulated for the good work done in 1977. Also all are to be congratulated for the direction and projection into the year 1978.

This congratulatory editorial came after the Orchestra's May Day Concert. It read in part "The society performed to a full house at All Saints Lutheran Church. For those who attended, it was a delightful afternoon, a wonderful way to usher in the month of May. It was a pleasure to see young and old work together to produce beautiful music." Sandra Gerrish conducted the concert and the orchestra performed in spite of several unrehearsed events. Two babies arrived early, placing the Society's teacher, Karen O'Brien and violinist Alane Johnson, on the sideline. The night before the concert, Judy Campbell fell and broke her arm as she was leaving the last rehearsal. Bev Dean was called upon to take her place accompanying the orchestra on the piano.

David Schultz, Mason Symphony Conductor

Dr. David Schultz enjoys a diverse career as a conductor, violist, and composer based in Michigan. Equally at home in front of an orchestra of professionals, amateurs, or students, he has been lauded for his inviting demeanor, efficient rehearsals, and dynamic performances. An advocate for contemporary composers, he has conducted several world premieres by composers Marjan Helms, Daniel Tressel, Kevin Wilt, and more. An ardent lover of music genres aside from classical orchestral repertoire, he has collaborated with musicians in manifold styles such as Jazz, Blues, Rock, Hip Hop, Bluegrass, Klezmer, classical Arabic, and African drumming. David values music as a means of human connection and transformation, and is passionate about sharing the experience of making music with both performers and audiences alike.

Dr. Schultz is the music director and conductor of the Dexter Community Orchestra, the Livingston Symphony Orchestra, and the Mason Symphony Orchestra. Previous conducting positions include associate conductor of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, conductor of the Jackson Youth Symphony Orchestra, and conductor of the contemporary-music ensemble Musique 21 at Michigan State University. As a guest conductor he has worked with high school orchestra programs in Chelsea, Dexter, Jackson, and Okemos. In 2019 he was awarded Honorable Mention for the Respighi Prize in Conducting.

As a violist, David performs with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra among other orchestras in mid-Michigan. He also performs with the Chelsea Chamber Players, and is a violist and co-founder of the Lansing-based contemporary-music ensemble ConTempus Initiative.

As a composer, his original works and arrangements have been performed by the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, Jackson Youth Symphony Orchestra, Livingston Symphony Orchestra, and Northwest Repertory Singers in Tacoma, WA. He has also scored films for Sisbro Studios’s “Riddle Solvers” series, and has arranged for artists such as Laith Al-Saadi and Stephanie Anne Johnson, both finalists on NBC’s “The Voice.”

David received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Orchestral Conducting from Michigan State University, and holds a Master of Music in Viola Performance from Michigan State University, and a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance from Lawrence University. He has studied music in Vienna, Austria, at the Aspen Music Festival, and has conducted in workshops with the Chamber Orchestra of New York, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, at Bard College, and at the Cabrillo Contemporary Music Festival. His conducting mentors include Leon Gregorian, Raphael Jimenez, and Markand Thakar.

David lives in Dexter, Michigan with his wife Emily and their two children, Elinor and Julian.

Dilek Engin Stolarchuk, Music Director and conductor of the Mason Philharmonic

Dilek Engin Stolarchuk, Doctor of Music Art is currently the string and piano instructor, and marketing assistant, at Franciscan Center and Conservatory in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Dr. Engin has been the conductor of the Mason Philharmonic Orchestra since 2021. Since 2022, she has taught violin, viola, cello, piano, voice and percussion at the Expressions Music Academy. She also teaches at the Axis Music Academy. Dilek organizes and operates DES Studio, a private studio based at the First Christian Church in Lansing, MI and Holy Cross School in Saginaw, MI.

Dr. Engin hails from Istanbul, Turkiye. She earned her B.A. Degree from Istanbul University State Conservatory, and her MM from Marshall University, where she studied with Dr. Elizabeth Reed Smith. In 2006, she won the Bell and Jackson competition at Marshall University. She earned her Doctoral Music of Art Degree from Michigan State University.

Dilek has previously worked as the String Department Chair at the Flint School of Performing Arts in Flint, Michigan, where she also served as a Violin/Viola instructor. Dilek has been a contracted summer semester faculty at the College of Music at Michigan State University since 2015. She has also taught at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and the Huron High School Band and Orchestra Camp.

Currently, Dr. Engin Stolarchuk performs with Midland, Flint, Saginaw Bay, Alma, Rochester, Oakland, Jackson, Adrian, Battle Creek, Lansing, Holland, Southwest Michigan and Macomb Symphonies in Michigan, and the Toledo Symphony in Ohio. Dilek also performs with the Baroque on Beaver Festival, and the Taneycomo Festival orchestras in Missouri as a principal viola and assistant principal viola. Dilek has toured with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan players as violinist and violist since 2018.

Dilek lives in East Lansing, MI and Manitowoc, WI with her lovely husband, bass trombonist Stefan Stolarchuk.

Matthew Dickey, Mason Philharmonic Assistant Conductor

Matthew Dickey earned a Master of Music from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2015 studying with Piotr Milewski. He has performed widely in the Midwest with orchestras such as The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic, The Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the Queen City Opera Company; he was also on the faculty at the Toedtman School of Music and the Northern Kentucky School of Music. Mr. Dickey has also served as Concert Master of the Booth-Tarkington Theater in Indianapolis and as Assistant Concertmaster on tour with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players.