Pacific Symphony Youth Ensemble Kicks Off 2013-2014 Season This Weekend

On display this month is the impressive talent of some of Southern California's most gifted young musicians, as two of Pacific Symphony's three Youth Ensembles' (PSYE) 2013-14 seasons begin with concerts in Irvine. Led by Music Director Joshua Roach, Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble (PSYWE) enraptures listeners with a decadent American soundscape that combines present and past favorites, while Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings (PSSS) performs a robust program of music written by Russian composers. The Youth Wind Ensemble's concert takes place Sunday, Nov. 24, at 3 p.m., at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. Tickets are $12 general admission and may also be purchased at the door. The Santiago Strings perform today, Nov. 23, at 3 p.m., at Concordia University. Admission to this concert is free, no ticket required. For more information about either concert or to purchase tickets for PSYWE, call the Symphony's box office at (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.

PSYWE's season is set to begin with a roar, as it performs a program of American-inspired music, led by Music Director Joshua Roach, including the expressive sounds of Vincent Persichetti's "Divertimento for Band," the gripping originality of Ryan George's "Redwood," the gracefully feminine tunes of John Philip Sousa's "Daughters of Texas," as well as the pentatonic scales found in Donald Grantham's "Southern Harmony."

The Wind Ensemble's concert opens with two newer pieces, followed by Sousa's riveting "Daughters of Texas." Roach, who worked with Music Director Carl St.Clair to develop this season's repertoire, says: "This season we have Persichetti's 'Divertimento,' which wonderfully balances the choirs in the ensemble (woodwind, brass and percussion), while offering individuals a chance to shine with solo moments." He adds that "George's 'Redwood' is a very different type of work than Persichetti's. The writing is elegant and the orchestration colorful in a wonderful, almost Ravelian way."

The concert concludes with Grantham's "Southern Harmony," an innovative interpretation of American folk-based music of which Roach says: "Grantham's setting and compositional exploration of these hymns is wonderful, and the ensemble, as I predicted, has been challenged and inspired by the depth and demands of this work."