The acclaimed American Youth Symphony (AYS), one of the nation's leading professional training orchestras for musicians ages 15 to 27, launches its 49th season with a free concert featuring the highly anticipated West Coast premiere of Timothy Andres' humorous Bathtub Shrine, Tchaikovsky's elegant Variations on a Rococo Theme, showcasing rising star Allan Steele, AYS's Principal Cello, and Berlioz' epic Symphony fantastique on Sunday, October 6, 2013, 7 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall. Music Director Alexander Treger, currently in his 16th season leading AYS, conducts the 106-member orchestra, noted for its innovative programming and inspiring performances.
Also featured is a free pre-concert screening at 5:30 pm of the film Keeping Score: Symphony fantastique, part of the San Francisco Symphony's critically applauded Keeping Score film series, which, narrated by Michael Tilson Thomas, tells the story of Berlioz' purportedly opium-fueled obsession with Irish actress
Harriet Smithson for whom his love, passion and jealousy drove the groundbreaking symphony's creation. Berlioz' work was debuted at the Paris Conservatoire in 1830, quickly becoming an audience and orchestra favorite.
"The program is designed to highlight the exceptional talents of the orchestra as well as to provide our musicians with critical training in some of the major orchestral repertoire and contemporary works," says Treger, who during the 2013-14 season leads a total of five free concerts as well AYS's annual gala concert.
Andres - hailed by the Los Angeles Times for music that demonstrates "a strong sense of building on classical music tradition, while also moving that tradition into a new and hip place" - composed Bathtub Shrine on a commission by the Yale Symphony Orchestra as a playful response to the widly reverberating acoustics of Yales' Woosley Hall, which Andre's describes as having "a staggering 13-second reverberation...the effect of a giant bathroom." He also wrote the eight-minute piece in homage to the orchestra's "fierce music-making" and warm "camaraderie".
AYS has trained more than 2,300 musicians since it was founded, and many of its alumni hold principal positions with the world's top orchestras, the
Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic,
New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony, among them. Additionally, AYS's free concert series, which has drawn more than a quarter of a million people to the Royce Hall since its inception, provides vital music outreach to the community.
This season AYS also appears on the "Sundays Live at LACMA" concert series on October 20, 2013; presents "The Elfman
Project II," the continuation of a three-year exploration of the composer's brilliant music, on November 24, 2013; showcases the irrepressible music of composer Jefferson Friedman onFebruary 9, 2014; hosts the "Springtime in Paris" gala on March 9, 2013; and wraps the season with "The Alumni Project," where fellows will share a stand with celebrated alumni in Strauss' An Alpine Symphony. This season finale concert will also feature gifted young violinist Nigel Armstrong, a finalist in the 2011 Tchaikovsky International Competition and former AYS Concertmaster.
Reservations are recommended but not required for the American Youth Symphony's free concert at Royce Hall. Royce Hall is located on the campus of UCLA at 10745 Dickson Plaza in Westwood, Calif. For more information, call (310) 470-2332 or log on to
www.AYSymphony.org.
Cellist ALLAN STEELE, appointed AYS Principal Cello in 2012, is a fourth-year Bachelor of Music student at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, where he studies with Ronald Leonard. Born in Chicago, Steele began playing the cello at age four. He studied at the Music Institute of
Chicago for four years and was a long-time member of the
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, soloing with both the Concert Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra at a young age. He has studied with such eminent pedagogues such as Tanya Carey, Hans Jensen and Susan Moses and has premiered several works in chamber or orchestral settings, including pieces by Mark Antony Turnage and Stephen Cohn. Steele placed first in such competitions as the Society of American Musicians, Midwest Young Artists, St. Paul String Quartet Competition and Fischoff Competition, and placed third in the Stulberg Competition. Steele maintains an active solo career and has appeared with the
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, Colburn Conservatory Orchestra, the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, and the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he has participated in Indiana University's prestigious Summer String Academy program, the Meadowmount School of Music and the Montreal International String Quartet Academy. A founding member of the classical music group "MC2," Steele regularly performs in the
Chicago and Los Angeles areas.
Noted violinist, accomplished conductor, and gifted educator, ALEXANDER TREGER is beginning his 16th season as Music Director of AYS. He retired from his role as Concertmaster of the
Los Angeles Philharmonic in September 2010 after performing with the orchestra for 36 years. He earned critical acclaim for solo appearances in concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Bartok, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev under the direction of Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, Vladimir Ashkenazi, Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Recognized for his inspiring work with young musicians, Treger also serves as Music Director/Conductor of the Crossroads School Chamber Orchestra and recently joined the Pepperdine University's Fine Arts Division faculty as an Artist in Residence.
AMERICAN YOUTH SYMPHONY, hailed for its "polish and depth" (Los Angeles Times) and performances that are "nothing short of exhilarating" (Beverly Hills Outlook), is dedicated to the artistic development of a new generation of musicians. The orchestra serves top players who seek to widen their horizons in a professional environment. Led by Alexander Treger-recently retired Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic-and with the support of world-class guest artists, AYS offers an immersion program of weekend rehearsals and performances at Royce Hall and around the city. Activities are designed to help musicians become professionals of the highest caliber, innovative thinkers and articulate communicators, engaged in the community. The program is tuition-free, and participation is based solely on merit. The orchestra is comprised of 106 students and graduates from 28 high schools and universities in Southern California.
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