MYSO to Perform at Summa Cum Laude International Youth Festival Tonight

MYSO's flagship orchestra, the Senior Symphony, will perform tonight in the sold-out Gala Winners' Concert, the culminating event of the prestigious Summa Cum Laude International Youth Festival and Competition in Vienna, Austria. The event will be held at the Wien Konzerthaus, home of the Vienna Symphony.

This year's competition included 34 ensembles from 19 countries on all continents, chosen via audition. MYSO was the only American orchestra invited to compete before the internationally renowned jury, which awarded it second place "with outstanding success" in the symphony orchestra category. The Senior Symphony performed under the batons of Margery Deutsch, Music Director, and Shelby Keith Dixon, Associate Conductor.

Parents, friends, and supporters will be at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut Street, on Wednesday evening to celebrate the ensemble's homecoming. The first of the two waves of returning students is scheduled to arrive at MYAC about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, following flights from Vienna and New York and bus from Chicago's O'Hare airport. The 107 touring MYSO musicians---among the most talented musicians in Southeastern Wisconsin---left on July 2 for a major performance and cultural tour. Their first stop was Prague, where they gave a concert at the famed Dvorak Hall in the Rudolfinum, where they received a lengthy standing ovation.

They also performed outdoor concerts in Pöttsching and in the spa town of Bad Tatzmannsdorf after Sunday's SCL competition, which was held in the famed Musikverein in Vienna. The MYSO tour was sponsored by Badger Meter and the Austria-based Med-El.

Now in its 6th year, the SCL Festival is presented under the patronage of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO. Its goal: to create an environment where young musicians from all over the world can interact on an international level and build bridges among themselves.