New York Youth Symphony Announces 58th Season, Featuring Guest Lectures by Alex Lacamoire, Austin Scott & More

 

The New York Youth Symphony is continuing its mission of educating and inspiring young musicians through its Orchestra, Jazz, Chamber Music, Composition, Musical Theater Songwriting, Conducting, and First Music commissioning programs. This season includes the NYYS Orchestra's first recorded album featuring works by Valerie Coleman, Jessie Montgomery, and Florence Price, with pianist Michelle Cann performing Price's Piano Concerto in One Movement. The Coleman and Montgomery pieces will also be performed live by the NYYS Orchestra in their March and May concerts at Carnegie Hall. This season also includes 4 world premieres of new works commissioned through the First Music program, composed for the Orchestra, Jazz, and Chamber Music ensembles. Soloists joining the NYYS in concert this season include baritone Paulo Szot, and violinist Grace Park performing with NYYS Orchestra on Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, and trombone virtuoso Wycliffe Gordon, performing with NYYS Jazz at The Times Center. The complete NYYS 2020-2021 concert calendar follows at the end of this press release.

Founded in 1963, the NYYS is internationally recognized for its award-winning and innovative educational programs for talented young musicians. As the premier independent music education organization for ensemble training in the New York metropolitan area, the NYYS has provided over 7,000 music students unparalleled opportunities to perform at world-class venues including Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Joe's Pub, and The Times Center, and to study with world-renowned artists. Beyond the instruction from accomplished musicians, students gain valuable life skills - commitment, discipline, focus, collaboration - and friendships that last a lifetime.

The NYYS is committed to making its educational offerings accessible to a wider and more diverse community. Through partnerships with organizations including the Harmony Program, Youth Orchestra of St. Luke's Harlem School of the Arts, New York Film Academy, SongSpace, Maestra, and Orpheus, the NYYS is creating pathways for young people from all backgrounds to find their way to music. These community partnerships include peer-to-peer instruction, financial support, mentorships with professional artists, free community concerts, and more.

Executive Director Shauna Quill noted, "The New York Youth Symphony is proud of its 58-year history of providing outstanding music education to students through its six outstanding programs. COVID-19 will not slow us down! Through a combination of smaller ensemble rehearsals, and online seminars and instruction, we are committed to providing outstanding education to all of our students this season. We are broadening access to the arts through our partnerships across the city as well as through fellowships which support students as they navigate the pathway towards college and beyond. We are grateful to all of our supporters as we navigate this pandemic together, including the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and more, and look forward to returning to stages around the city as soon as we are able."

NYYS Orchestra

Under the baton of Music Director Michael Repper, the NYYS Orchestra kicks off its 58th season with its first recorded album featuring the works of contemporary composers Valerie Coleman and Jessie Montgomery, and two works by recently rediscovered composer Florence Price. Pianist Michelle Cann will be featured on Price's Piano Concerto in One Movement. Both Coleman's and Montgomery's pieces will be performed live at Carnegie Hall later in the season. The album is slated for release in 2021.

On Sunday, March 7, 2021 at 2 pm, The McCrindle Concert in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage features violinist Grace Park performing Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto. The performance also includes Gershwin's An American in Paris, Valerie Coleman's Umoja, and the world premiere of First Music commission Ruach (and Other Delights) by Jonathan Cziner.

The 2020/2021 NYYS Orchestra season concludes at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 2 pm, with The Spring Concert, featuring baritone Paulo Szot performing Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer, and Rogers and Hammerstein's Some Enchanted Evening. The program also includes the Carnegie Hall premiere of Jessie Montgomery's Soul Force, and Mahler's Symphony No. 1, "Titan."

NYYS Jazz

The 2020/2021 NYYS Jazz season opens this fall with an online course, Big Band Jazz Performance Practices with Andy Clausen. NYYS Jazz Director Andy Clausen and a host of world-renowned guest artists will lead this highly interactive eight-week online seminar exploring the performance practices, history, and evolution of Big Band Jazz from the 1920s through the present day. Providing specific practice materials tailored to each student, play-along recordings, musical scores, and expert masterclasses, the course will offer students first-hand playing experience, and critical understanding of the evolving stylistic intricacies and historical significance of the genre. The course will focus on four major periods of Big Band Jazz evolution, highlighting the artistic contributions of key figures of the day.

Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center presents the first live NYYS Jazz concert of the season on Monday, March 8, 2021, with sets at 7:30 and 9:30 pm. This concert includes the world premiere of a First Music commission by Drew Zaremba.

The NYYS Jazz season will conclude on Monday May 10, 2021 at 7:00 PM with Dreams of New Orleans, featuring trombonist Wycliffe Gordon at The Times Center. This final concert of the jazz season pays homage to the music of New Orleans and includes the world premiere of a First Music commission by Benjamin Morris.

NYYS Chamber Music

The NYYS Chamber Music program, led by director Dr. Lisa Tipton, offers young musicians an opportunity to explore the often-complex dialogue between instruments as a metaphor for learning skills that emphasize open communication, harmony, and compromise. The program provides coaching sessions and master classes with members of the Shanghai Quartet, The Juilliard Quartet, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Imani Winds, and more to over 80 students in 22 ensembles each season. The students will perform three showcases in the spring, hosted this year at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 7:30 PM, and at Scandinavia House on Monday, May 17 and Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at 7:30 PM. First Music commission tikka by Nina Shekhar will receive its world premiere at Weill Recital Hall.

NYYS Composition

The NYYS Composition program, led by Dr. Kyle Blaha and in partnership with BMI and ASCAP, has broken new ground in its acclaimed sessions for younger composers to examine orchestration styles, techniques, and skills. The program offers student composers the opportunity to explore the world of composition and orchestration through seminars, individual tutorials and workshops. This year's guests composers and performers include Molly Joyce, Mari Kimura, Chen Yi, Reena Esmail, John Corigliano, David Ludwig, Andrea DelGuidice, Bridget Kibbey, David Fulmer, the Aizuri Quartet, and more. The annual Composition Date 2021 performance will be held on Thursday, May 13, 2021 at 7:30 PM in Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space and will include original student compositions performed by members of the Orchestra, Chamber Music, Jazz, and Robert L. Poster Apprentice Conducting programs.

NYYS Musical Theater Songwriting

Led by director Anna K. Jacobs, the NYYS Musical Theater Songwriting Program continues into its third season, in partnership with the Harlem School of the Arts, New York Film Academy, Songspace, and Maestra. The program is specially designed to lead students through a range of musical theater songwriting processes. This season will feature guest lecturers including Tony and Grammy Award-winning music director and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen), producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper (Be More Chill, Broadway Bounty Hunter, Love In Hate Nation), composer Mike Pettry (The Light Princess, The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes, Vampirina), costume designer Amy Clark (A Night with Janice Joplin, Chaplin) and guest performers Britney Coleman (Tootsie, Sunset Boulevard), Austin Scott (Hamilton, Girl From The North Country), and Kirsten Childs (The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, Bella: An American Tall Tale).

The students' original works will be showcased at a final concert at Joe's Pub on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 7:00 pm performed by the students themselves, plus students from the Harlem School of the Arts and the New York Film Academy.

Tickets & Information: www.nyys.org/events

NEW YORK YOUTH SYMPHONY 2020-2021 PERFORMANCE CALENDAR:

ORCHESTRA

Michael Repper, Music Director
Recorded Album
Valerie Coleman: Umoja
Jessie Montgomery: Soul Force
Florence Price: Ethiopia's Shadow in America
Florence Price: Piano Concerto in One Movement, featuring Michelle Cann, piano

The McCrindle Concert
Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
Sunday, March 7, 2021 at 2:00 PM
Valerie Coleman: Umoja
Barber: Violin Concerto, op. 14, featuring Grace Park, violin
Jonathan Cziner: Ruach (and Other Delights) (First Music commission and World Premiere)
Gershwin: An American in Paris

The Spring Concert
Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 2:00 PM
Jessie Montgomery: Soul Force
Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer, featuring Paulo Szot, baritone
Rogers/Hammerstein: Some Enchanted Evening, featuring Paulo Szot, baritone
Mahler: Symphony No. 1, "Titan"

NYYS JAZZ

Andy Clausen, Director
October 11 - December 6, 2020: Big Band Jazz Performance Practices with Andy Clausen (Online)

Dizzy's Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center
Monday, March 8, 2021, at 7:30 & 9:30 PM
Drew Zaremba: First Music commission and World Premiere

Dreams of New Orleans
The Times Center
Monday, May 10, 2021 at 7:00 PM
Benjamin Morris: First Music commission and World Premiere
Soloist: Wycliffe Gordon, trombone, trumpet, vocals

CHAMBER MUSIC

Dr. Lisa Tipton, Director
An Evening Among Friends
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 7:30 PM
Nina Shekhar: tikka (First Music commission and World Premiere)

An Evening of Chamber Music
Scandinavia House
Monday, May 17, 2021 at 7:30 PM
Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at 7:30 PM

COMPOSITION

Dr. Kyle Blaha, Director
Composition Date 2021
Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space
Thursday May 13, 2021, at 7:30 PM
Featuring original student compositions performed by members of the NYYS Orchestra, Jazz, and Chamber Music programs

MUSICAL THEATER SONGWRITING

Anna Jacobs, Director
Musical Theater Songwriting Showcase 2021
Joe's Pub at The Public Theater
Wednesday, May 26, 2021, at 7:00 PM
Featuring original works, performed by NYYS students, and students from the Harlem School of the Arts and the New York Film Academy