For amateur athletes throughout the world, the ultimate goal and
crowning achievement is to win a Gold Medal at the Olympics. For youth
orchestras, however, the most challenging playing field is on stage –
at New York City’s legendary Carnegie Hall, performing before a panel
of expert judges.
On June 30, the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra (PYSO) joined three
other West Coast youth orchestras at Carnegie Hall’s 2005 New York
Orchestra Festival in Isaac Stern Auditorium. By evening’s end,
despite being the youngest musicians participating in the event – PYSO
is an orchestra of middle-school aged musicians – PYSO took center
stage, earning a coveted Gold rating for its musical prowess from the
festival’s panel of judges.
“It was stunning,” remembers Orchestra Manager Jean
Severson. “It was like watching a Movie-of-the-Week about The Little
Orchestra That Could.”
Actually, even before it finished performing, PYSO had proven that it
could hold its own that evening.
“One of the works PYSO performed was Inchon, by R.W.
Smith,” says Severson. “After we finished, there was dead silence for
10 to 12 seconds. Then the audience erupted with a standing ovation,
and we still had one more piece to perform. The kids’ faces looked
like it was Christmas; they were overwhelmed to receive such a warm
reception.”
Adds Music Director and conductor Jack Taylor, “I
could not have been more proud of this group of musicians. Our kids
acted and played like pros throughout the entire tour.”
Taylor is alluding to the fact that PYSO’s Carnegie
Hall week long tour included a stop in Boston for some sightseeing,
master classes and a performance at the city’s Fanueil Hall.
The tour to the East Coast was made possible, thanks
to the generosity of the United Charity Foundation, a philanthropic
organization that joined The Pasadena Symphony in sponsoring a
fundraising dinner and auction entitled “On the Road Again” last
April. The event raised nearly $50,000 for the tour and The Pasadena
Symphony’s TEMPO! program for 1st and 2nd grade children in the
Pasadena Unified School District.
Also providing invaluable support were Old Town
Music, which donated a violin for a fundraising raffle undertaken by
the orchestra earlier this season, and Encore Tours for providing a
trip to London for another fundraising raffle.
Families with musicians in grades six through nine
who are interested in learning more about PYSO can contact Jean
Severson at 626.793.7172, ext. 23 or by email at jseverson@pasadenasymphony.org.
Auditions for the 2005-2006 Season will take place on September 10 and
11, 2005. Students who audition must be involved in their school music
programs and studying with private teachers.
Based upon auditions, musicians will then be placed in either PYSO or
the all-string ensemble Prelude Strings. Both PYSO and Prelude Strings
rehearse weekly, on Tuesday evenings. The Pasadena Youth Symphony
Orchestra is one of many education programs sponsored by The Pasadena
Symphony Established in 1928, The Pasadena Symphony is committed to
providing orchestral performances of the highest quality and to
benefiting the community through its music, education and outreach
programs. Information about the orchestra’s upcoming Season of Music
To “Stir Your Senses” and the wide variety of educational programs it
sponsors – from the Musical Circus for the youngest music lovers to
the Insights pre-concert lecture series for adults – is listed on the
orchestra’s website,
www.pasadenasymphony.org .
