Carnegie Hall

As NYO2 traveled to Philadelphia, NYO-USA kicked off an exciting week of collaborations and performances, welcoming the members of the inaugural National Youth Orchestra of China and guest conductor Ludovic Morlot to Purchase for a barbeque and high-energy side-by-side rehearsal. A few days later, the orchestra took part in a public recording of NPR’s From the Top with host Christopher O’Riley, presenting the world premiere of Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra—a new Carnegie Hall–commissioned work by Gabriela Lena Frank influenced by Peruvian folkloric music and themes—as well as selections by Mahler and John Adams. An entertaining mix of interviews, personal stories, and chamber music rounded out the experience.

Marin Alsop and NYO-USA then took center stage at Carnegie Hall for the orchestra’s annual concert in Stern Auditorium/ Perelman Stage. The program included Ms. Frank’s new work alongside John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. The day after their Carnegie Hall performance, select members of NYO-USA joined music teachers from around the country for a pop-up concert in New York City’s Times Square led by Ms. Alsop as part of Carnegie Hall’s Summer Music Educators Workshop.

Following its New York appearances, the orchestra departed for NYO-USA’s inaugural Latin American tour, flying first to Guadalajara, Mexico, for a performance at the Auditorio Telmex, followed by a side-by-side concert with the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Guadalajara the next day. The combined orchestras performed works by Gershwin, Ginastera, Bizet, Bernstein, Márquez, and Ms. Frank, as well as Silhouette, a new work by J. P. Redmond, one of NYO-USA’s apprentice composers. During their time in Mexico, a group of NYOUSA musicians also visited the University of Guadalajara’s ACCESS program, an English-language initiative supported by the US Consulate in Guadalajara.

The tour continued with a sold-out concert at the Teatro Nacional Sucre in Quito, Ecuador. At the invitation of the Ecuadorean Consulate in New York City, a few NYO-USA musicians flew to Guayaquil for a reading with the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de la Prefectura del Guayas at the headquarters for the Ecuadorian Solidarity Foundation. Several small ensembles also performed at Iglesia La Floresta, a church in Quito, as part of weekendlong festivities celebrating the 100th anniversary of the local neighborhood.

The tour concluded with a multi-day residency in Bogotá, Colombia, including a concert at the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo and a joint performance with students from Batuta—the country’s main El Sistema program—and the Bogotá Youth Philharmonic. The program included Dancing Music for an Artist’s Mind by Camilo Gonzalez-Sol, NYO-USA’s second apprentice composer. Throughout their time in Bogotá, NYO-USA musicians participated in multiple sightseeing excursions around the city coordinated by the Colombian Cultural Ministry and Batuta. Exchange activities at each of the tour locations allowed the young musicians to meet and play side-by-side with other young artists in the host countries and learn about the local cultures.

ADAMS Short Ride in a Fast Machine
FRANK Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
ARTEAGA Tres impresiones orquestales
BERNSTEIN Somewhere, from West Side Story
BIZET Suite No. 1, from Carmen
FRANK Three Latin American Dances
GERSHWIN Cuban Overture
GERSHWIN Porgy & Bess: A Symphonic Picture (after Gershwin)
GINASTERA Four Dances, from Estancia
GONZALEZ-SOL* Dancing Music for an Artist’s Mind
MÁRQUEZ Conga del Fuego Nuevo
J. P. REDMOND* Silhouette

*2017 NYO-USA Apprentice Composer

Marin Alsop, Conductor

James Ross, Orchestra Director
Andrew Crust, Assistant Conductor
Lina Gonzalez-Granados, Assistant Conductor

Madeline Adkins, Concertmaster, Utah Symphony
Ying Fu, Associate Concertmaster, The Philadelphia Orchestra
Kelly-Hall Tompkins, Concert Violinist
Matt Albert, Principal Second Violin, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra
Alison Harney, Principal Second Violin, St. Louis Symphony
CarlaMaria Rodrigues, Principal Viola, San Francisco Opera Orchestra
Jonathan Vinocour, Principal Viola, San Francisco Symphony
Joseph Johnson, Principal Cello, Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Wei Yu, Principal Cello, Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Hanna, Principal Bass, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Robin Kesselman, Principal Bass, Houston Symphony

David Buck, Principal Flute, Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Jennifer M. Gunn, Flute and Piccolo, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Joseph Peters, Principal Oboe, Minnesota Orchestra
Kathryn Greenbank, Principal Oboe, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Benjamin Lulich, Principal Clarinet, Seattle Symphony
Stephen Williamson, Principal Clarinet, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Brady, Principal Bassoon, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
John Clouser, Principal Bassoon, The Cleveland Orchestra

Roger Kaza, Principal Horn, St. Louis Symphony
William VerMuelen, Principal Horn, Houston Symphony
Billy Hunter, Principal Trumpet, The MET Orchestra
Stuart Stephenson, Principal Trumpet, Atlanta Symphony
Weston Sprott, Acting Principal Trombone, The MET Orchestra
Peter Sullivan, Principal Trombone, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Carol Jantsch, Principal Tuba, The Philadelphia Orchestra
Seth Horner, Acting Principal Tuba, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Marc Damoulakis, Principal Percussion, The Cleveland Orchestra
Christopher Deviney, Principal Percussion, The Philadelphia Orchestra
Jacob Nissly, Principal Percussion, San Francisco Symphony
Jason Haaheim, Principal Timpani, The MET Orchestra
Don Liuzzi, Principal Timpani, The Philadelphia Orchestra
Nancy Allen, Principal Harp, New York Philharmonic
Jessica Zhou, Principal Harp, Boston Symphony Orchestra
Brett Rowe, Collaborative/Orchestral Pianist

July 19: The Performing Arts Center Purchase College, SUNY (Purchase, New York)
July 21: Carnegie Hall, (New York, New York)
July 26: Auditorio Telmex (Guadalajara, Mexico)
July 27: Auditorio Telmex (Guadalajara, Mexico)
Side-by-Side Concert: NYO-USA and the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Guadalajara
July 26: Teatro Sucre (Quito, Ecuador)
August 3: Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo (Bogotá, Colombia)
August 4: Teatro Mayor (Bogotá, Colombia)
Side-by-Side Concert: NYO-USA, Orquestas Filarmónicas Prejuvenil e Juvenil de Bogotá, and Orquesta Batuta Bogotá