Our Story
The Bidlacks came to the Lehigh Valley eager for community involvement. Their own history of working with young musicians in private schools and in a summer music school made the creation of a youth orchestra a very natural challenge. They identified the need and made the commitment of energy to meet it and area teachers all urged their qualified students to participate. The confidence and respect Nancy and Jerry had already earned from their musical peers made their efforts at organizing such a project both effective and enduring.
Jerry Bidlack (1931-2016)
Jerry Thomas Bidlack was born in 1931 in Ohio. As a high school student he played organ in his church and also started a band and played for his mother’s friends. She was mortified when he passed the hat after the show.
As a senior in high school, Jerry’s interests were split evenly between music and engineering. However, when he spoke to a representative from Oberlin Conservatory he was convinced to attend and music won out. Much later in his life, Jerry would return to his interest in engineering in the form of a fascination with clock works and clock repair.
He graduated from Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1953, and that summer became the first conductor of the Oberlin Gilbert & Sullivan Players on Cape Cod, which he continued to conduct until 1957. He went on to earn a Masters of Music from Boston University’s School of Fine and Applied Arts.
Jerry had a long and distinguished music teaching career, which began at Buxton School in Williamstown, MA. Jerry was a master of multiple instruments, an inspirational teacher, and well respected by all who knew him. He composed many scores for the school’s drama productions and graduation ceremonies.
Jerry moved to Bethlehem, PA to join the faculty at Lehigh University in 1973 as the conductor of the Women’s Chorus and Lehigh String Orchestra. He served as Director of the Chamber Music and String Orchestra programs, the Director of the Music at Lehigh Concert Series, and as the University Organist. Jerry chaired the Music department from 1980 until 1986 and continued to serve in the department as organist, conductor, and teacher of music theory until his retirement in 1995.
In the summer of 1967, Jerry was a substitute conductor at Kinhaven Music School in Weston, Vermont and returned to conduct, direct, or advise every summer for the rest of his life. It was there that he met an inspiring young cellist, Nancy, whom he married in the summer of 1974.
In 1976, Jerry and Nancy founded the Young People’s Philharmonic, the first symphony orchestra for high school students in the Lehigh Valley, when the need, expertise, and facilities all emerged at the same time. Leadership of many Lehigh departments enthusiastically endorsed the project. From the beginning, Lehigh University provided boundless in-kind support in the form of rehearsal and office space, music stands, heat, chairs, and percussion instruments.
Jerry would conduct young people through this organization and others for the rest of his life. Humor and benevolence were key aspects in his style of teaching and conducting, though he never sacrificed his expectations; quite the opposite. Students were drawn to him because of his authenticity paired with the high expectations he held for them. Jerry’s goal was to inspire joy in his students and a love of the music they were playing.
Nancy Bidlack (1931-2016)
Nancy Bidlack was born in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1947 and proved to be a promising cellist from a young age. In 1969 she completed a Bachelor’s in Music Performance from Manhattan School of Music where she studied with David Wells. Several years later she obtained a Master’s of Music from Temple University where she studied with Orlando Cole.
In the early days of her career, Nancy taught cello at The Putney School in Vermont. She was a gifted performer and chamber musician, a kind teacher, and an excellent chamber music coach. A student, commenting on her style said, “She was an elegant player, and sensitive. There was something very social about the way she talked about music. She put important and deep concepts into plain and down to earth language.” Another student commented, “Nancy had wonderful ways of teaching the most refined techniques for cello. She would find the student’s strong points and build from that. She was very demanding but the student would never feel under pressure, because of the way she presented her ideas.”
In 1970, Nancy took a job at Kinhaven Music School, a summer program in Vermont for high school students. It was there that she met Jerry Bidlack and they married 4 years later. Nancy continued to make Kinhaven an integral part of her professional life. In 1990, after much preparation, she saw the launch of the Kinhaven Junior Session, a two week sleep-away experience for middle school aged students to take lessons, play in orchestra and study chamber music. Nancy became director of both the Junior Session and the full 6-week program in 2004, when Jerry stepped down.
When Nancy moved to the Lehigh Valley she continued to teach and perform. As a performing cellist, she played in the Ralph Van Arnam piano trio, the Northeast Philharmonic, and the Bethlehem Bach Choir Festival Orchestra, for which she was also Personnel Manager. She also served as principal cello in the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra for the entirety of its existence. She served on the faculty of the Music Departments of Moravian College and Lehigh University.
Nancy and her husband, Jerry Bidlack, founded the Young People’s Philharmonic and the Junior String Philharmonic in 1976, touching the lives of hundreds of young musicians in the Lehigh Valley. In addition to her talents as a music teacher and performer, Nancy was a gifted administrator and leader. She had an uncanny memory for names and a mind for problem solving. She served as the General Manager of the organization at the outset and later as the conductor of the Junior String Philharmonic until the spring of 2010.
In 2008, Nancy had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, or ALS. Due to the progression of her symptoms, she lost the ability to play her cello or conduct. However, she did not lose the ability to speak, which is uncommon for ALS, and in 2012 she formed two student string quartets and was able to continue engagement in her musical life through coaching chamber music. She passed a few months later at the age of 65. Though it seems tragically short, she touched a great number of students in her time.
Jerry and Nancy Bidlack moved to the Lehigh Valley in the early 1970s because Jerry had been hired to teach in the music department at Lehigh University, where he founded and conducted the university orchestra. Jerry began receiving calls from the parents of high school instrumental students asking if they could join the Lehigh orchestra, to which he replied, “well, no, it’s for college students. They should join the local youth orchestra.” Well, apparently there wasn’t one….
After many similar requests from high school students to join the Lehigh orchestra, Nancy and Jerry reached out to local music teachers to get a better sense of the need for a youth orchestra in the area. The enthusiasm was there. Jerry secured space at Lehigh, Nancy reached out to her teaching and performing colleagues to spread the word, and they held auditions.
The turn out was tremendous. Unlike many ensembles that have to start small and grow, there were enough qualified young instrumentalists auditioning to fill not just a full symphony orchestra, but a younger string orchestra to boot! Both groups are still going strong today as the Young People’s Philharmonic and the Junior String Philharmonic.
Fall of 1976 kicked off the first season of the Lehigh Valley’s first youth orchestra. Jerry conducted the symphony orchestra, and Nancy filled the role of General Manager. Initially, the group was known as The Greater Lehigh Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra. After a decade of success, the Bidlacks took steps to incorporate as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and renamed the organization The Young People’s Philharmonic of the Lehigh Valley in 1985. The Board of Directors, administrators and volunteers were, and still are, largely comprised of parents. As they graduate and mature, alumni have been returning to take on these positions as well.
Our Founders
For over 40 years, young musicians have come from all over the Lehigh Valley and Western New Jersey to audition for a seat in the orchestra. From the beginning, the orchestra has been a home to students of advanced instrumental study who want to engage with like minded peers. In a 1980 interview Nancy summed it up, “The kids like the experience of going further with their music.
There are some school districts in the area who have no orchestra in the schools. This gives the more advanced students a chance to play more advanced repertoire.” In the high school group, Jerry made a practice of only programming original symphonic literature as opposed to arrangements, a practice that continues today.
For decades, the orchestras have performed their concerts in college and professional concert halls. Another staple of the program since the early days has been the school tours, where the orchestras spend the day performing assemblies for grades K-12. These concerts are meant to increase awareness and appreciation of classical music throughout the Lehigh Valley. In addition to these regular aspects of the musical program, each year brings unique collaborations and projects.
The YPP Chamber Player program grew out of a small project facilitated by Nancy Bidlack in the fall of 2012. Unable to play the cello or conduct due to the symptoms of ALS, Nancy was still able to coach small chamber groups in her home. When the Chamber Music Society of Bethlehem approached her with an invitation for students to perform on their concert series, Nancy arranged eight YPP and JSP students into two string quartets and coached them for an hour each week.
Sadly, Nancy passed away before the groups performed that year. However, the concerts were a success and student interest in chamber music continued. Chamber music helps young instrumentalists to excel in all their musical activities. In groups of four or five, under the guidance of an experienced coach, students learn to listen and react to each other on a more personal level, thereby cultivating advanced musical skills. Playing chamber music emphasises musicianship and community, two priorities we value.
The 2015-16 season marked the 40th anniversary of the founding of this Lehigh Valley youth orchestra, and we found many fun ways to celebrate that milestone. In December, we organized an alumni reunion, where YPP and JSP alumni were invited to return and read through a few symphonic favorites under Jerry’s baton. It was wonderful to see generations of alumni still so excited about the organization that meant so much to them in their formative years.
It was also during the 2015-16 season that, at the age of 84, Jerry Bidlack decided to step down from the directorship of the Young People’s Philharmonic. His four decades of service, along with the 40th anniversary of the organization, was marked by a celebration for the whole community. Alumna and professional cellist, Susannah Chapman, returned to perform a concerto with the students in the YPP. Jerry continued to be involved with the Young People’s Philharmonic organization as Artistic Advisor until his death in September 2016.
In 2009, Kenneth Bean had joined the organization to work with the wind and brass students in the Young People’s Philharmonic. He then took over the direction of the Junior String Philharmonic in 2010, when Nancy Bidlack had to step down due to complications with her illness. The Philadelphia based trumpeter and conductor first met the Bidlacks in 1998 as a student at Kinhaven Music School in Vermont. Like many students, Kenneth found meaningful mentorship in the Bidlacks. Jerry was inspired by Kenneth’s passion for conducting and as their relationship grew, Jerry gave Kenneth guidance on the podium and offered him as many opportunities as he could.
Jerry expressed a wish for Kenneth to succeed his position with the orchestra and often asked him to substitute when Jerry was unable to conduct. When Jerry decided it was time to step down, he appointed Kenneth to the directorship of the Young People’s Philharmonic.
It was also then in 2015 that we welcomed Domenick Fiore, bassist and Suzuki pedagote, to the position of Junior String Philharmonic conductor. Domenick has been a friend and colleague of the Bidlacks for many years and is a wonderful addition to the Young People’s Philharmonic organization. Domenick has as joyful, lighthearted style that the young students enjoy and which brings about results. He has expressed his delight to be preserving a legacy.
In 2014 Jerry and Kenny began discussing the benefits of creating a large wind ensemble program for middle school age students. Although the Lehigh Valley has a rich Band heritage and many school band programs there has not been a regional youth band in the area for over 20 years.
Dr. Nancy Beitler, who first joined the organization in 2015 as a Chamber Players coach and who has vast experience in music education and youth band leadership, was offered the opportunity to research the feasibility of a youth ensemble for winds, brass, and percussion. She took on the project with great zeal and in 2018 developed and assumed directorship of our newest program, the YPP Wind Symphony. The Wind Symphony offers wind, brass, and percussion players entering the 6th-9th grade an opportunity similar to the JSP that will enrich the Young People’s Philharmonic organization and build on the education these students receive in their school programs.
Although excellence has always been a part of the YPPLV objective, we equally value the pride, joy, and community we build by making music together. Students find friendships that carry on for decades after graduating from the orchestra. Although we are not necessarily in the business of creating career professionals, every year several graduating seniors go on to professional music study. Nearly all remain actively involved in music, be it performance in some respect or simply playing for the love of it.
