Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute Brings Together Brightest Young Musicians this July

This July, Carnegie Hall brings together close to 200 of the best teen musicians from across the country for a month of exceptional music making as part of two exciting ensembles. The critically-acclaimed National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), now entering its fifth year, is comprised of 116 musicians, ages 16-19. NYO2, a New Group launched in summer 2016 for younger players, ages 14-17, was created with a particular focus of attracting talented students from communities traditionally underserved or underrepresented in the classical music field. In total, the musicians of NYO-USA and NYO2 come from 40 US states, plus Puerto Rico. Both programs are free, ensuring that all promising young players can have the opportunity to take part in this unique community of musicians-learning from a world-class faculty, playing alongside talented peers, and performing with leading artists on the stages of some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world, including Carnegie Hall.

The 2017 editions of NYO-USA and NYO2 both begin on July 1 with an intensive three-week training residency on the campus of Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY), leading up to a performance there on July 19 before moving on to concerts in Philadelphia, New York, and abroad. The residency period will offer many opportunities for side-by-side rehearsals, mentorship, and other exchange activities with young musicians. Principal players from some of the country's finest professional orchestras will oversee rehearsals and also lead master classes, private lessons, chamber music readings, and other seminars on essential music skills. NYO2 musicians will also have the opportunity to work closely with select members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Carnegie Hall's partner in the NYO2 program. Residency workshops will explore the intersection of artistry and community, giving the young musicians the opportunity to meet professional artists who are imagining new ways of creating and contributing to the world around them.

Among the performance opportunities that follow their training residencies, NYO2 and NYO-USA take the Carnegie Hall stage on two consecutive nights, led by conductors Giancarlo Guerrero (July 20) and Marin Alsop (July 21), respectively. Capping a trio of performances showcasing the finest teen players from around the world, the new National Youth Orchestra of China, an independent ensemble inspired by NYO-USA, makes its international debut at Carnegie Hall in a concert conducted by Ludovic Morlot and featuring pianist Yuja Wang (July 22). On July 24, NYO-USA departs for its first-ever tour to Latin America, with performances led by Ms. Alsop in Guadalajara, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Bogotá, Colombia.

"We are very excited to bring the musicians of NYO-USA and NYO2 together again for another extraordinary summer of music-making," said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall's Executive and Artistic Director. "We formed these two ensembles to shine a spotlight on the great depth of musical talent found across the United States, providing a unique opportunity for the finest young players to train and perform at the highest level, while also serving as cultural ambassadors for their country overseas and making meaningful connections with people around the world. We invite everyone to be inspired by these musicians' exceptional playing, their spirit of learning and discovery, and their commitment to making a difference through music, no matter where they may go."

More details of NYO-USA and NYO2's summer activities follow:

A Special Invitation: July 15 Side-by-Side Event Welcoming New York-Area Music Students
Offering a celebratory opportunity for New York-area youth orchestra musicians to take part in the NYO experience, NYO-USA and NYO2 are inviting young orchestral players to join them in a massive side-by-side rehearsal and performance on Saturday, July 15 at 583 Park Avenue, a landmark building on New York City's Upper East Side. Players at both an intermediate and advanced level are invited to play alongside the NYO musicians in two separate sessions that Saturday. Repertoire will include selections from the Saint-Saëns "Organ" Symphony featuring Raymond Nagem, Associate Organist at New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, among other works. NYO-USA Orchestra Director James Ross and NYO2 Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero will lead The Combined forces in a rehearsal before each "mega-orchestra" of 200-300 musicians gives a performance. (Participation is free, although registration is required.)

NYO2-Summer 2017 Details
The members of NYO2's class of 2017-ages 14-17, coming from 24 US states as well as Puerto Rico-have been recognized as exceptionally talented musicians who would benefit from focused training and participation in an inspiring community of their peers in order to take their playing to the next level. Twenty-five musicians will be returning to NYO2 from last summer's inaugural season and 10 members of NYO2 2016 will be taking part in NYO-USA this summer. Click here for the full list of NYO2 musicians, including hometowns.

Throughout their SUNY Purchase residency, NYO2 musicians will work with musicians from throughout the country, including select members of The Philadelphia Orchestra-an organization with its own deep commitment to education and artist training-thanks to a partnership between Carnegie Hall and the orchestra. Click here for a full list of NYO2 faculty from The Philadelphia Orchestra and other ensembles.

Following their training residency, the members of NYO2 will head to Philadelphia, led for the second straight season by conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, to perform a free side-by-side concert with members of The Philadelphia Orchestra at Verizon Hall on Tuesday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m. The program will include Copland's Billy the Kid Suite, Stravinsky's Firebird Suite (1919 version), Falla's "The Three-Cornered Hat" Suite No. 2, and selections with special guest vocalist and bassist Esperanza Spalding from her Chamber Music Society and Emily's D+Evolution albums. Over the course of three days in Philadelphia (July 17-19), the NYO2 members will also mentor younger students from the Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth (PMAY) and attend The Philadelphia Orchestra's concert at the Mann Center on Wednesday, July 19 at 8:00 p.m.

For the grand finale of NYO2's 2017 season, the ensemble will make its Carnegie Hall debut on Thursday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m., collaborating with Mr. Guerrero, Ms. Spalding and members of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Their performance will be the first of three concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage over three consecutive nights to feature the finest teen talents from across the United States and abroad.

National Youth Orchestra of the USA-Summer 2017 Details
The members of the 2017 NYO-USA-ages 16-19-hailing from 33 US states-have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as being among the finest players in the country, following a comprehensive national audition process. This summer's roster will feature 28 returning musicians from previous seasons as well as 10 musicians who participated last summer in NYO2. Click here for a full list of musicians, including hometowns.

As its summer training residency winds to a close and NYO2 travels to Philadelphia, the National Youth Orchestra of the USA will embark on an exciting week of collaborations and performances. On Sunday, July 16, they welcome the members of the National Youth Orchestra of China to SUNY Purchase for an evening side-by-side rehearsal and fun social activities. On Wednesday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m., the orchestra takes part in a public recording of the popular public radio show NPR's From the Top with Host Christopher O'Riley at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, SUNY. Acclaimed conductor Marin Alsop takes the NYO-USA podium for the first time for a program to include a preview of Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra, a new Carnegie Hall-commissioned work by Gabriela Lena Frank that will make its world premiere a few days later at Carnegie Hall, as well as selections by Mahler and John Adams, performed by the full orchestra. The event will also feature an entertaining mix of interviews, personal stories, and chamber music, including Shostakovich's Piano Quintet and Feld's Sonata for Flute and Piano, showcasing the members of NYO-USA.

Marin Alsop and NYO-USA then take center stage at Carnegie Hall for the orchestra's annual concert in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Friday, July 21 at 8:00 p.m. The program will include the world premiere of Frank's Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra, a new work influenced by Peruvian folkloric music and themes, 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 will join music teachers from around the country for a pop-up concert in New York City's Times Square on Saturday, July 22 at 1:00 p.m. led by Marin Alsop as part of Carnegie Hall's Summer Music Educator's Workshop, a program that gives school and community music teachers from across the country the opportunity to reenergize their teaching practice, learn from leaders in the field, and exchange best practices with peers during four days of professional development in the Hall's Resnick Education Wing.

Following their New York appearances, Ms. Alsop and the orchestra depart for NYO-USA's inaugural Latin American tour, flying first to Guadalajara, Mexico for a residency and performance at the Auditorio Telmex (July 26), followed by an open-air concert with the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Guadalajara at the Plaza de las Americas the next day (July 27). The tour continues with a concert at the Teatro Nacional Sucre in Quito, Ecuador (July 30), and concludes with a multi-day residency in Bogotá, Colombia, including a concert at the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo (August 3) and a joint performance with students from Batuta, the country's main El Sistema program, and the Bogotá Youth Philharmonic (August 4).

NYO-USA's 2017 touring activities have been designed to allow America's finest young musicians to share their artistry with international audiences while also experiencing the richness of Latin American culture and music. As part of their travel schedule, NYO-USA players will have the opportunity to tour cities and interact with local musicians.

In preparation for its array of performance activities in the New York area and abroad, NYO-USA will once again work with an impressive list of principal players from many of the orchestra's finest orchestras during its training residency. James Ross-most recently, director of orchestral activities at the University of Maryland and conducting faculty member at The Juilliard School-returns to lead the NYO-USA faculty for a fifth consecutive year. Click here for a complete list of NYO-USA faculty.

NYO-USA will continue its tradition of exploring new music, including works written by NYO-USA members. In addition to the playing members of the orchestra, two young musicians have been selected as apprentice composers for NYO-USA in 2017. During the Purchase residency, they will have the opportunity to have their music workshopped with musicians from the orchestra, creating opportunities for dialogue between instrumentalists and composers who are peers, and observe rehearsals for Gabriela Lena Frank's work as it is rehearsed and performed for the first time. The apprentice composers' music will be performed in concerts during the tour, paired by music written by local teen composers from Latin America. Distinguished composer Sean Shepherd (whose work Magiya was commissioned by Carnegie Hall for the inaugural NYO-USA in 2013) will serve as mentor and teacher for the composers during their Purchase residency. The apprentice composers join an apprentice orchestra manager, apprentice librarian, and two apprentice conductors as members of the 2017 NYO-USA.

CONCERT PROGRAM INFORMATION: NYO2 IN PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK CITY

Tuesday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Philadelphia, PA

NYO2 AND MEMBERS OF THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA
Giancarlo Guerrero, Conductor
with Special Guest
Esperanza Spalding, Vocals and Double Bass

Aaron Copland Billy the Kid Suite
Esperanza Spalding Selections from Chamber Music Society and Emily's D+Evolution
Manuel De Falla "The Three-Cornered Hat" Suite No. 2
Igor Stravinsky Firebird Suite (1919 version)

Tickets: Free

Thursday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall
New York, NY

NYO2 AND MEMBERS OF THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA
Giancarlo Guerrero, Conductor
with Special Guest
Esperanza Spalding, Vocals and Double Bass

Aaron Copland Billy the Kid Suite
Esperanza Spalding Selections from Chamber Music Society and Emily's D+Evolution
Igor Stravinsky Firebird Suite (1919 version)

Tickets: $20-$50

CONCERT PROGRAM INFORMATION: NYO-USA IN NEW YORK

Wednesday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, SUNY
Purchase, NY

FROM THE TOP WITH HOST CHRISTOPHER O'RILEY: NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Marin Alsop, Conductor

For this public taping of NPR's popular program, "From the Top," the full orchestra will perform an excerpt from Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra, a new Carnegie Hall-commissioned work by Gabriela Lena Frank, along with selections by Mahler and John Adams, and an entertaining mix of interviews, personal stories, and chamber music performances showcasing the inspiring members of the 2017 orchestra.

Tickets: $30-$50

Friday, July 21 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall
New York, NY

NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Marin Alsop, Conductor

John Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra (world premiere; commissioned by Carnegie Hall)
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D Major

Tickets: $26-$65

CONCERT PROGRAM INFORMATION: NYO-USA 2017 LATIN AMERICAN TOUR

Wednesday, July 26 at 8:30 p.m.
Auditorio Telmex
Guadalajara, Mexico

NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Marin Alsop, Conductor

John Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra (commissioned by Carnegie Hall)
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D Major

Sunday, July 30 at 6:00 p.m.
Teatro Nacional Sucre
Quito, Ecuador

NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Marin Alsop, Conductor

John Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra (commissioned by Carnegie Hall)
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D Major

Thursday, August 3 at 8:00 p.m.
Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo
Bogotá, Colombia

NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Marin Alsop, Conductor

John Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra (commissioned by Carnegie Hall)
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D Major

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About the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America
Each summer, Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute brings together the finest young musicians from across the country (ages 16-19) to form the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). Following a comprehensive audition process and a three-week training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York, with faculty made up of principal players from top professional orchestras, these remarkable teenagers embark on a tour to some of the great music capitals of the world, serving as America's dynamic music ambassadors.

Launched in summer 2013 to great acclaim, the first-ever National Youth Orchestra of the USA presented concerts with conductor Valery Gergiev and violinist Joshua Bell to enthusiastic audiences at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC; St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia; and at the BBC Proms in London. The 2014 orchestra, led by American conductor David Robertson with violinist Gil Shaham as soloist, made its debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City, followed by a coast-to-coast US tour to Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts; Boone, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Sonoma County, California; and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California. In 2015, NYOUSA, with conductor Charles Dutoit and pianist YUNDI, made its debut in China, performing at some of the country's greatest concert halls in many regions of the country, including concerts in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Xi'an, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. Last season, the orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall with conductor Christoph Eschenbach and pianist Emanuel Ax before embarking on a European tour that took them to Amsterdam, Montpellier, Copenhagen, and Prague, led by conductor Valery Gergiev and with pianist Denis Matsuev.

In 2018, NYO-USA will return to Asia for a tour with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and pianist JeanYves Thibaudet.

About NYO2
Created by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute in summer 2016, NYO2 brings together outstanding young American instrumentalists ages 14-17 for a summer orchestral training program with a particular focus on attracting talented students from groups underserved by and underrepresented in the classical orchestral field. Running in conjunction with NYO-USA's annual summer residency at Purchase College, SUNY, NYO2 offers an opportunity for participants to play alongside exceptionally talented peers and learn from a world-class faculty. The program aims to expand the pool of young musicians across the country equipped with the tools to succeed at the highest level, particularly those who will bring greater diversity to classical orchestral music and/or those who have not had access to highly selective training opportunities through major youth orchestra programs, summer festivals and camps, or similar experiences?outside of their local community.

The inaugural 2016 season of NYO2 culminated in a free side-by-side concert with The Philadelphia Orchestra at Verizon Hall led by conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, as well as a performance at the 23rd Street Armory that featured NYO2, NYO-USA, members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as local instrumentalists from Philadelphia-area youth orchestras, for a total of nearly 350 musicians.

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The NYO-USA and NYO-China performances at Carnegie Hall are proudly supported by ICBC U.S. Region.

NYO-USA Supporting Sponsor: PepsiCo Foundation

Additional funding has been provided by The Jack Benny Family Foundation; JMCMRJ Sorrell Foundation and Jolyon Stern and Nelle Nugent.

Founder Patrons: Blavatnik Family Foundation; Nicola and Beatrice Bulgari; The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; Marina Kellen French and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation; The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation; Ronald O. Perelman; Robertson Foundation; Beatrice Santo Domingo; Robert F. Smith; Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon; and Joan and Sanford I. Weill and the Weill Family Foundation.

Lead support for the 125 Commissions Project is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Public support for the 125 Commissions Project is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Additional funding is provided by members of Carnegie Hall's Composer Club.

Leadership support for NYO2 is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Founder Patron: Beatrice Santo Domingo.

With additional funding provided by: Ernst & Young LLP

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

NYO2's concert at Verizon Hall in Philadelphia is free and open to the public, with reservations available starting on Wednesday, July 12 at philorch.org, by phone at 215-893-1999, and at the Kimmel Center Box Office. Seating is general admission and first come, first served.

Tickets for NYO-USA's "From The Top" taping at Purchase College in Purchase, New York are available by calling 914-251-6200 or visiting The Performing Arts Center's website at artscenter.org.

Tickets for NYO-USA and NYO2's concerts in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org.