Young Artists Symphony Orchestra to Open Inaugural Season with Mahler's Symphony No. 2

Young Artists Symphony Orchestra (YASO), Los Angeles's newest orchestra led by Artistic Director Alexander Treger, a noted conductor, music educator and former Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, launches its inaugural season with a free celebratory concert featuring Mahler's seminal Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection," hailed as "one of the musical touchstones of our time" (The New York Times), on Sunday, October 11, 2015, 7 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall, the orchestra's home venue. Featured guest artists include Amanda Achen, soprano, Niké St. Clair, mezzo-soprano, and the Angeles Chorale, under the direction of Artistic Director John Sutton. The recently established pre-professional training orchestra champions, mentors and inspires the next generation of outstanding young musicians for careers in classical music.

"Mahler's Symphony No. 2 is an extraordinary work and a tour de force that will showcase the incredible talents of these exceptional young artists who are on the threshold of professional music careers," says Treger. "I am extremely proud to serve as the Artistic Director of this remarkable new orchestra,"

Treger's conducting has been described as "vivid" (The New York Times), "uplifting" (Musical America) and "expertly finessed" (Examiner).

The orchestra, comprised of dedicated young artists ages 15 to 26 drawn from a variety of schools and conservatories around the Southland, adheres to the high standards and protocols of professional orchestras, providing the orchestra members with the same type of experiences they will encounter as professional artists. YASO members, who receive a generous stipend for their services, are selected through a rigorous audition process. They perform key works that are an essential part of the core orchestral repertoire and are held to extremely high standards since many of the members will be auditioning directly into professional ensembles. During its inaugural 2015-16 season, YASO presents three other free concerts at Royce Hall on Sunday, December 6, 2015, Sunday, February 28, 2016, and Saturday, April 23, 2016, with such featured repertoire as Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, Dvo?ák's Symphony No. 7 in d minor, Lutoslawski's Little Suite, Wagner's Siegfried Idyll , and John Adams' The Chairman Dances.

Admission to the concert is free. Reservations can be made in advance at YASOLA.org or (310) 593-9890. Tickets are also available at the door the night of the concert.

Soprano AMANDA RENÉE ACHEN, a Southern California native, studied at Cal State Fullerton (CSUF), where she graduated with a BM in Vocal Performance in June 2014. In just a few short years, she has performed such opera roles as Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Musetta in La Bohème, and Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana. In addition, while studying at CSUF, she performed the principal role of Deirdre in the world premiere of Richard Pearson Thomas's A Wake or a Wedding? Achen currently lives in Los Angeles and studies with world-renowned mezzo-soprano Claudine Carlson. Among other 2015-16 season highlights, in April 2016 Achen performs as soprano soloist in Carmina Burana with the Angeles Chorale.

The ANGELES CHORALE is a 100-voice, auditioned, professional-level, volunteer choir based in Los Angeles, under the direction of Artistic Director John Sutton. For more than 40 years the chorus has presented inspiring choral performances in the greater Los Angeles area. Its mission is to engage, enrich and inspire audiences and its members by performing great choral music with a passionate commitment to excellence, and to increase access to and appreciation of choral music in greater Los Angeles. Recent Angeles Chorale performance highlights include appearances with Barbra Streisand in her "Back to Brooklyn" concert at the Hollywood Bowl and with Drew Carey and Julie Andrews in Holiday Sing-Along concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The chorale also joined the festival chorus for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's presentation of Mahler's 8th Symphony (the Symphony of a Thousand), conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, at the Shrine Auditorium in 2012. Most recently, the chorale appeared with the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl in the 2014 performance of "An Evening of Chinese Splendor."

Mezzo-soprano NIKÉ ST. CLAIRE was born and raised in Hungary. She holds BM and MM degrees in Choral Conducting, Theory, and Music Education from the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, Hungary, and received a doctorate degree in Choral Conducting at the USC Thornton School of Music. She currently teaches Musicianship classes with the famed Hungarian Kodály methodology at Azusa Pacific University and California Polytechnic University in Pomona, where her duties also include directing the Concert Choir. St. Clair is the director of the Bell and Sanctuary choirs at the La Verne Church of the Brethren. She sings professionally with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which performs regularly in Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. She is also a sought after mezzo-soprano soloist performing the oratorio repertoire in the Los Angeles area and is featured on such movie soundtracks as Avatar; Ice Age 2; the X-Men movies; Battle: Los Angeles; 2012; Wreck-It Ralph; Transformers 4; Godzilla; Heaven is For Real; and Big Hero 6.

ALEXANDER TREGER, noted violinist, accomplished conductor, and gifted educator, has been appointed Artistic Director of the newly-formed Young Artists Symphony Orchestra. Treger previously served as Music Director of the American Youth Symphony for 17 years, as the successor to Mehli Mehta, who founded the orchestra in 1964. He also serves as the Music Director/Conductor of the Crossroads Chamber Orchestra, where he has developed a youth orchestra of the highest caliber for more than 20 years. Treger joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1974 and was appointed Concertmaster in 1985, a position he held for 25 years. During his time with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Treger won high praise for his numerous solo performances with the orchestra at the Music Center and the Hollywood Bowl, which have included concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Bartók, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev, under the direction of Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. A musician of many interests and talents, he continually devotes more of his time to conducting. He guest-conducted the Turku Philharmonic in Finland and stepped in at the last minute to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic, replacing the indisposed Franz Welser-Möst. He has also appeared as guest conductor with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, and the Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra. Treger began his musical training at the age of five in his native Russia, where he studied violin and piano. By the age of thirteen, he had won numerous music competitions in his country, and was later chosen by the renowned violinist David Oistrakh to study at the prestigious Moscow Conservatory. He describes the six years he spent at the Conservatory being mentored by Mr. Oistrakh as "among the most influential on my development as a musician." While a student there, he also took a great interest in conducting. After graduating, Treger became a member of the Moscow Radio Symphony and, subsequently, left Russia to become the Concertmaster/Soloist of the Israel Chamber Orchestra. He has also appeared as soloist with a number of major U.S. orchestras, including the San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, and Houston Symphonies. An avid chamber performer, he has collaborated in concerts with such well-known artists as Radu Lupu, Yefim Bronfman, André Previn, Bernard Greenhouse, and Emanuel Ax. An inspiring teacher who enjoys working with promising young musicians, Treger has given numerous master classes around the world and held the position of Professor of Violin at UCLA for two decades, from 1977 to 1997. In 2013, he was appointed an Artist in Residence at Pepperdine University, and since 2014, Treger has served as a Visiting Artist at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.

The mission of the YOUNG ARTISTS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA is to champion, train, mentor, and inspire the next generation of outstanding young musicians for professional careers in symphony orchestras and ensembles around the world. It provides exceptional musical training to gifted young artists by distinguished conductor and educator Alexander Treger. Drawing on the most rigorous and artistic principles, YASO emulates a professional orchestra in its structure and operation, holding annual auditions and providing a stipend to its members. YASO will present the most compelling musical repertoire in a series of free live concerts for the public at beautiful Royce Hall.

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