Joshua Gersen Conducts His Final Concert with NYYS

Conductor Joshua Gersen will lead the New York Youth Symphony (NYYS) orchestra for the last time as Music Director for its 54th season finale on Sunday, May 28th at Carnegie Hall.

Mr. Gersen will step down after five seasons with NYYS where he has won praise for his innovative thematic programming that seamlessly blends standard classical repertoire with new works. Acclaimed cellist Brook Speltz will join Mr. Gersen and the orchestra for Shostakovich's expressive and breathtaking Cello Concerto No. 1. The program will also include Prokofiev's bright and energetic Symphony No. 5 as well as the world premiere of holy roman emperor composed by First Music competition winner Daniel Silliman. Rapidly gaining recognition as one of the most promising and exciting young American conductors,

Joshua Gersen began his tenure as Music Director of the NYYS in the 2012/2013 season. Mr. Gersen is also the New York Philharmonic Assistant Conductor to Alan Gilbert. He was previously the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Conducting Fellow for the New World Symphony, where he served as the assistant conductor to the symphony's Artistic Director, Michael Tilson Thomas. Mr. Gersen's awards include Georg Solti Foundation Career Assistance awards in 2015 and 2016.

Praised for his "fluid virtuosity" and "soulful melodies," Los Angeles native Brook Speltz is a cellist for the internationally renowned Escher String Quartet and an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Mr. Speltz has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist throughout the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. First Prize winner of the prestigious Ima Hogg Competition, he has performed as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Musicians from Marlboro, and is a regular performer at England's IMS Prussia Cove. Mr. Speltz studied at Curtis Institute of Music with Peter Wiley and the Juilliard School with Joel Krosnick, after his formative years of study with Eleanor Schoenfeld in Los Angeles.

Daniel Silliman is an American composer whose works has been recognized with various awards and honors, including the 2015 William Schuman Prize from the BMI Foundation, an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, (winner 2015, finalist 2012) with additional support from Copland House, the American Festival for the Arts, and Access Contemporary Music Chicago. In summer 2014 he served as a composer-in-residence for the inaugural season of Sunset ChamberFest, and was also a featured composer in the Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music at Bowdoin. Born in upstate New York, Mr. Silliman grew up near Houston and is a graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music, and recently joined the Department of Music at Princeton University to begin work on his PhD.

The New York Youth Symphony, now in its 54th season, is a leader in music education, performance, and commissioning in the metropolitan area. It is nationally recognized for innovative programs in orchestral training, conducting, chamber music, jazz, and composition, all of which are tuition-free made possible by over $1 million dollars in scholarships. More than 240 musicians between the ages of 12 to 22 participate annually in its high-impact programs. The New York Youth Symphony is proud to provide teen- and college-age musicians invaluable opportunities to train for professional careers and prepare for life while making pivotal decisions about their future.