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San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra

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Interior of Davies Symphony Hall, home to the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra

The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO) is the youth orchestra of the San Francisco Symphony and a key element of the symphony's community outreach and education program. First organized in 1981, the SFSYO performs an annual concert series, tours internationally, and has made several recordings.[1] The orchestra is based in Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall.

History

The SFSYO was first organized in 1981 by Edo de Waart, then music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and Jahja Ling, who became the SFSYO's first music director. Pianist and arts patron Agnes Albert (1908–2002) was also instrumental in its founding. The Agnes Albert Youth Music Education Fund continues to support the orchestra's activities, as does the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation.[2][3] The orchestra's inaugural concert came on January 17, 1982 with a performance of works by Brahms, Dvořák and Haydn, conducted by Ling. In 1986, the SFSYO went on the first of their ten European tours to date and won the "Vienna Cup" at the Youth and Music Festival and competition in Vienna.[4] Throughout its history, the SFSYO has performed and recorded in some of the world's principal concert halls including the Royal Concertgebouw, Wiener Musikverein, Berliner Philharmonie, Mariinsky Theatre, Smetana Hall, and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

The orchestra celebrated its 25th anniversary in May 2007 with a performance in Davies Symphony Hall of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and soloists from San Francisco Opera.[1] Other notable concerts over the years include their 1996 simultaneous performance of John Cage's Renga and Apartment House 1776 with four surviving members of The Grateful Dead joining the orchestra; their 2005 performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 (conductor Edwin Outwater's farewell concert as the orchestra's 5th Music Director); and their 2008 performance of Dvořák's New World Symphony in memory of the SFSYO's benefactor Agnes Albert.[5][6][7]

In September 2009, Donato Cabrera was named the 7th Music Director of the SFSYO and has continued the orchestra's concert tradition of combining music by contemporary composers with that of the standard classical repertoire. During his tenure, the orchestra has performed contemporary works by Christopher Rouse (Infernal Machine), John Adams (The Chairman Dances), and Gabriela Lena Frank (Latin American Dances for Orchestra).[8] In 2012, the SFSYO won a 2011-12 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming of American Music on foreign tours.[citation needed] Later that year the orchestra released a recording of their performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 live at the Berliner Philharmonie. In 2015, the SFSYO was awarded the Best Orchestral Performance Award in the Bay Area for the 2014/2015 season by the San Francisco Classical Voice for their performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 5.[citation needed] In addition to its performance at Davies Symphony Hall, the SFSYO also performed Mahler's Symphony No. 5 at the Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine, Berliner Philharmonie, Royal Concertgebouw, and Smetana Hall during their 2014/2015 season.

Members

The SFSYO consists of approximately 100 musicians under the age of 22 from the San Francisco Bay Area. They are chosen by audition and must be under the age of 20 by the time of their first rehearsal. Over the years, many of the orchestra's 1000 alumni have gone on to careers as professional musicians, including composer and pianist Anthony Cheung, winner of the First Prize at the 6th International Henri Dutilleux Competition and the Charles Ives Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters;[9] violinist Juliana Athayde, Concertmaster of the Rochester Philharmonic; Philip Munds, Principal French Horn of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Christina Smith, Principal Flute for the Atlanta Symphony; Noah Bendix-Balgley, Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic; and Timothy Genis, Principal Timpanist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.[10]

Activities

The 2014-2015 SFSYO season featured three concerts in November, March, and May, as well as the annual holiday performances of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. The 2014-15 season also included a Bon Voyage concert in June in advance of the SFSYO’s tenth international tour which took the orchestra to performances in Milan, Udine, Ingolstadt, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Prague.

The SFSYO rehearses in Davies Symphony Hall, the home of the San Francisco Symphony, whose members provide tuition-free instrumental coaching. Although the orchestra has its own music director, guest conductors such as Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Herbert Blomstedt and the SFS's Music Director, Michael Tilson Thomas, also work with the young players on occasion. The orchestra performs an annual concert series in Davies Symphony Hall and each year gives Christmas performances of Peter and the Wolf with guest narrators who have included Linda Ronstadt, Leonard Nimoy, Florence Henderson, Robin Williams, Rita Moreno, Sharon Stone, and Danny Glover.[11][12]

File:Parkave23.jpg
Tobias Picker whose orchestral work And Suddenly It's Evening was given its world premiere by the SFSYO in 1995

Commissions and premieres

The orchestra has a tradition of commissioning and premiering new works.[12] Works commissioned by the SFSYO have included:

Other works which have been premiered by the orchestra include:

Music Directors

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Kosman, Joshua (15 May 2007). "Youth Orchestra to cap 25 years with big blast from Beethoven". San Francisco Chronicle
  2. ^ Kosman, Joshua (20 June 2002). "Agnes Albert – pianist, S.F. Symphony supporter". San Francisco Chronicle
  3. ^ Campbell, Philip (1 March 2012). "Hearty homecoming". Bay Area Reporter, Vol. 42, No. 9
  4. ^ Associated Press (21 July 1986). Orchestra Wins Cup". Los Angeles Times
  5. ^ Ross, Alex (19 June 1996). "A Parade of the Maverick Modernists, Joined by the Dead". New York Times
  6. ^ Kosman, Joshua (17 May 2005). "Youth orchestra does departing director proud". San Francisco Chronicle
  7. ^ Kosman, Joshua (20 May 2008). "Youth Orchestra flies high". San Francisco Chronicle
  8. ^ Kosman, Joshua (23 March 2010). "Music review: S.F. Symphony Youth Orchestra". San Francisco Chronicle
  9. ^ Harvard University Department of Music. (2003). "Cheung '04 Wins Award", Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer, 2003. See also WQXR-FM, Anthony Cheung.
  10. ^ San Francisco Symphony. Youth Orchestra Profiles
  11. ^ Martinfield, Seán (29 November 2009). "Peter, the Wolf, the Ax, a 5th and Holiday Pipes". The San Francisco Sentinel
  12. ^ a b San Francisco Symphony. Youth Orchestra: Past Concerts 1982-2010
  13. ^ Kosman, Joshua (6 March 2009). "Preben Antonsen, 17, to show orchestral piece". San Fancisco Chronicle.
  14. ^ Section sourced from San Francisco Symphony. Timeline of Youth Orchestra Landmarks
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