List of youth orchestras in the United States

Last updated

This is a list of youth orchestras in the United States.

Contents

Youth orchestras are performing groups for student musicians. The age range of participants varies; they may include musicians up to grade 12 or they may include older university and conservatory students. [1] In the United States, youth orchestras are operated primarily for music education. Some are associated with professional symphony orchestras. [2] Professional symphony orchestras have multiple motivations for sponsoring youth orchestras, including training of young musicians and building future audiences by engaging children with classical music. [1] A 2006–7 survey of youth orchestras by the League of American Orchestras found that 75% of the participating orchestral groups were independent, about 19% were affiliated with adult orchestras, and about 3% were associated with educational institutions. [3]

The first and oldest U.S. youth orchestra is the Portland Youth Philharmonic, founded in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony Association. Russian émigré Jacques Gershkovitch was the Portland group's first conductor. [4] It was followed in 1935 by the Young People's Symphony Orchestra in Berkeley, California, which describes itself as the second oldest independent youth symphony in the country. [5] By 1963, Life magazine counted about 15,000 youth orchestras in the country and noted that they were producing music of a caliber that could appeal to adult audiences. [6]

The USA was slow to create a national youth orchestra. One existed, from 1940 to 1942, established and led by Leopold Stokowski and consisting of instrumental musicians between the ages of 18 and 25. Stokowski personally auditioned many of the 15,000 young musicians who applied to become members of the All-American Youth Orchestra. The orchestra he assembled consisted of about 100 musicians, one-fifth of whom were women. A small number of professional musicians from the Philadelphia Orchestra played with the younger musicians. The All-American Youth Orchestra made several recordings and toured in Latin America as well as the United States during its two years of existence before being disbanded due to the exigencies imposed by U.S. involvement in World War II. [7]

In 2012 the Weill Music Institute of Carnegie Hall launched the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). By March 2013, the names of the 120 musicians chosen by were announced and the orchestra toured Washington, Moscow, St Petersburg and London in July 2013. [8] The National Youth Orchestra continues to operate as of 2022. [9]

Adult symphony orchestras in the United States are in a separate list of symphony orchestras in the United States.

National

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Kentucky

Maryland

Massachusetts

Minnesota

Missouri

Nevada

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Texas

Utah

Virginia

Washington

Wisconsin

Washington, D.C.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leopold Stokowski</span> British conductor and orchestra director (1882–1977)

Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appearance in the Disney film Fantasia with that orchestra. He was especially noted for his free-hand conducting style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from the orchestras he directed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan May</span> Musical artist

Jonathan May was an American cellist and conductor. He resided in the Orlando, Florida area and was noted for founding and directing numerous youth orchestras and music programs throughout the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Damrosch</span> German-American conductor and composer (1862–1950)

Walter Johannes Damrosch was a German-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Aaron Copland's Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F and An American in Paris, and Jean Sibelius' Tapiola. Damrosch was also instrumental in the founding of Carnegie Hall. He also conducted the first performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the composer himself as soloist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siow Lee Chin</span> Singaporean violinist (born 1966)

Siow Lee Chin is a Singaporean violinist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Youth Philharmonic</span> Youth orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States, established in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony (PJS). Now based in Portland, Oregon, the orchestra's origin dates back to 1910, when music teacher Mary V. Dodge began playing music for local children in Burns, Oregon. Dodge purchased instruments for the children and organized the orchestra, which would become known as the Sagebrush Symphony Orchestra. After touring the state, including a performance at the Oregon State Fair in Salem, the orchestra disbanded in 1918 when Dodge moved to Portland. There, Dodge opened a violin school and became music director of the Irvington School Orchestra.

Vakhtang Jordania was a Georgian conductor.

Chien-Kwan Lin is a classical saxophonist and teacher.

The New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), founded in 1963, is a tuition-free music organization for the youth in New York City, widely reputed to be one of the best of its kind in the nation and world. Its programs include its flagship Orchestra, Chamber Music, Jazz, Apprentice Conducting, Composition, and Musical Theater Songwriting Programs. Its members range from 12 to 22 years of age. NYYS members are said to include the most talented young musicians in the New York metropolitan area. In 2023, the New York Youth Symphony won the Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Sistema</span>

El Sistema is a publicly financed, voluntary sector, music-education program, founded in Venezuela in 1975 by Venezuelan educator, musician, and activist José Antonio Abreu. It later adopted the motto "Music for Social Change." El Sistema-inspired programs provide what the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies describes as "free classical music education that promotes human opportunity and development for impoverished children." By 2015, according to official figures, El Sistema included more than 400 music centers and 700,000 young musicians. The original program in Venezuela involves four after-school hours of musical training and rehearsal each week, plus additional work on the weekends. Most El Sistema-inspired programs in the United States provide seven or more hours of instruction per week, as well as free use of an instrument.

Isaiah Allen Jackson is an American conductor who served a seven-year term as conductor of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, of which he has been named Conductor Emeritus. He was the first African-American to be appointed to a music directorship in the Boston area. Dr. Jackson currently teaches at the Berklee College of Music, the Harvard Extension School, and the Longy School of Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ward Stare</span> American conductor (born 1982)

Ward Stare is an American conductor. Stare was the Music Director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 2014 until 2021 and was also the Resident Conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2008 to 2012. Stare is currently active as a guest conductor both domestically within the United States as well as internationally. In addition Stare currently holds a position as a Distinguished Artist at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Gershkovitch</span> Russian conductor and musician

Jacques Gershkovitch (1884–1953) was a Russian conductor and musician who became the first music director of the Portland Junior Symphony, the first youth orchestra in the United States, based in Portland, Oregon. Born to a musical family in Irkutsk, Gershkovitch was sent to Saint Petersburg in his late teens to study at the Imperial Conservatory. In 1913, he graduated with honors in flute and conducting, and was awarded the Schubert Scholarship for a year of study under German conductor Arthur Nikisch in Berlin. Gershkovitch returned to Irkutsk to enlist during World War I, and by 1916 he had become head of the Imperial Russian Army's military symphony orchestra. He held this position through the Russian Revolution and thereafter, as concerts were often presented as benefits for orphans and the Red Cross.

Mei-Ann Chen is a Taiwanese American conductor. She is currently music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta and conductor laureate of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.

David Hattner is an American professional clarinetist and conductor currently serving as music director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. Raised in Toledo, Ohio, Hattner attended the Interlochen Arts Camp and Arts Academy, experiences which inspired him to become a professional musician and conductor. He graduated from the Arts Academy in 1986 and enrolled in Northwestern University where he studied clarinet performance under Robert Marcellus. In 1988 he placed second in the International Clarinet Association's Young Artist Competition and was selected to join the American-Soviet Youth Orchestra. He earned a music degree with honors in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America</span>

The National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) is the national youth orchestra of the United States. Organized by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, it was established in 2012, and its first concert tour took place in the summer of 2013. Each summer, following an application and audition process, about 120 musicians ages 16 to 19 attend a two-week residency at Purchase College, New York, followed by a national or international tour.

The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO) is the youth orchestra of the Boston Philharmonic and is considered the premier youth orchestra in the Boston area. Created in 2012, the tuition-free orchestra consists of musicians between the ages of 12-21. The BPYO performs an annual concert series in Boston as well as international tours and has released two commercial recordings. The founder and current conductor of the orchestra is Benjamin Zander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black conductors</span>

Black conductors are musicians of African, Caribbean, African-American ancestry and other members of the African diaspora who are musical ensemble leaders who direct classical music performances, such as an orchestral or choral concerts, or jazz ensemble big band concerts by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face and head. Conductors of African descent are rare, as the vast majority are male and Caucasian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 2 (Khachaturian)</span>

The Symphony No. 2 in E minor, is one of the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's most well-known pieces of music. Completed in 1943, it was nicknamed The Bell or Symphony with Bells by Georgi Khubov for its bell motif that begins and ends the piece. A typical performance lasts about 50 minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Youth Orchestra of China</span>

The National Youth Orchestra of China is a full symphony youth orchestra composed of approximately 100 Chinese musicians aged 14 to 21 years old. Students from all over China audition to participate in a two-week training residency before performing alongside a renowned soloist and conductor in premier venues throughout the world.

References

  1. 1 2 Colin Lawson (2003). The Cambridge Companion to the Orchestra. Cambridge University Press. pp. 190–191.
  2. Paloma Capanna (May 9, 2012), "CLASSICAL PREVIEW: Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra", City Newspaper, Rochester, New York
  3. Youth Orchestra Profile Summary Data, League of American Orchestras, archived from the original on December 27, 2010, retrieved May 9, 2012
  4. "The History of America's First Established Youth Orchestra". Portland Youth Philharmonic Association. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  5. Young People’s Symphony Orchestra (PDF) (brochure), Berkeley, California: Young People’s Symphony Orchestra, archived from the original (PDF) on June 19, 2012, retrieved May 9, 2012
  6. 1 2 "Life Guide: Young America's music; art shows; Chinatown parades", Life , p. 8, February 1, 1963
  7. Daniel J. Wakin (January 11, 2012), "Carnegie Hall to Establish National Youth Orchestra", New York Times
  8. Announcing the 2013 National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, March 4, 2013, retrieved 28 July 2013
  9. "National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America". CarnegieHall.org. Retrieved 4 Jan 2022.