New Jersey Youth Symphony Ends Season With Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony

The New Jersey Youth Symphony announced today it will present a concert Exploring Music, Technology and Communication: Together We Celebrate Youth Excellence and Leadership on Saturday, April 30 at 7:00 p.m. at the West Side Presbyterian Church located at 6 South Monroe Street in Ridgewood.

Featuring NJYS 2022 Concerto Competition winner Jordan Guzzi and a new work by Dr. Patricio Molina exploring music, technology, and communication, the thrilling Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3, "Organ" with organist Mark Miller will close out the season for the Garden State's largest youth orchestra program.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at NJYS.org. Watch the free national livestream on WhartonArts.tv.

Under the baton of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Helen H. Cha-Pyo, 2022 Concerto Competition winner Jordan Guzzi, a senior at Ridge High School, will perform Ferdinand David's Trombone Concertino with the NJYS Youth Symphony. A member of NJYS since 2017 and Youth Symphony since 2020, Guzzi has been playing trombone for nine years and has performed with the New Jersey Regional and All-State Bands, Regional and All-State Orchestras, and 2021 All-National Concert Band.

Said Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Helen H. Cha-Pyo, "This concert represents the culture of excellence we strive to nurture as a performing arts community here at NJYS. Despite the enormous obstacles we faced during the pandemic, these young musicians have worked through the challenges and stayed meaningfully engaged with a sense of purpose. I anticipate this concert to be extremely joyful as we celebrate excellence, creativity and leadership of our extraordinary young musicians!"

Dubbed by The New York Times as "a gifted artist" and the New York Concert Review as

"...demonstrating a fluid command of the instrument," Dr. Patricio Molina has gained a reputation as a prominent composer, performer, and educator. New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) is one of many institutions that acknowledges Dr. Molina's artistic accomplishments with their esteemed Award for Excellence. Musical activities include commissions by the New Jersey Youth Symphony in collaboration with Nokia Bell Labs E.A.T. livestreamed and live performances from Opera America, album recordings, lectures, and regular performances at Carnegie Hall. He is committed to serving marginalized communities by commissioning new works from underrepresented composers, performing underrated works, and working toward decolonizing academic research. Dr. Molina is the Conservatory Director at the Newark School of the Arts and President and Co-Founder of Notes for Growth Foundation, a nonprofit that creates access to music education for underprivileged children in Chile, the United States, and Lebanon. He is Music Director at Saint Thomas the Apostle Church in Bloomfield, NJ and an Adjunct Professor at Passaic Community College, where he teaches group piano classes and music appreciation.

Dr. Molina was commissioned by NJYS to write a symphonic piece for the NJYS Music, Technology, and Communication Project, an exploration at the intersection of music and technology. He prompted students to "Dream a New World," allowing them to imagine a new musical experience unbound by normal concert-going conventions. Under the guidance of Artistic Director Cha-Pyo, Dr. Molina, and Danielle McPhatter, a creative technologist in the Cognitive Human Enterprise at Ernst & Young, the project team of seven NJYS students sought to discover new pathways of connection and communication between the orchestra and the audience. This year's project is the continuation of a two-year journey exploring this theme, with a focus on how we can make those new connections feel more bi-directional and like an active conversation. The Music, Technology, and Communication Project team members include Benjamin Chee, clarinet, who is a junior at Ridge High School; Carmen Dai, violin, who is a junior at Newark Academy; Lukas Kebuladze, cello, who is a junior at Franklin High School; Samantha Liu, violin, who is a senior at Ridge High School; Samvit Prem Singhal, pianist in the NJYS Jazz Orchestra, who is a junior at New Providence High School; Ryoma Takenaga, bassist in the NJYS Jazz Orchestra, who is a senior at the Academy for Information Technology; and Samhita Tatavarty, bassoon, who is a senior at Ridge High School. This project is made possible by the generous grant from the League of American Orchestras' Futures Fund.

Said Dr. Molina, "Humanity is at the tipping point of a pandemic that has affected billions of people. The world, and we ourselves, have changed. But what does this mean? It means that now is our chance to dream up something new, to reimagine the way we live and think about ourselves, society, and our planet. This musical composition entitled Dream A New World explores how humanity can use this opportunity to create a better future for all life on Earth."

Recognized for its virtuosic piano passages, brilliant orchestration, and the unexpected sound of a pipe organ, Camille Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony was composed at the artistic peak of his career and the French composer's last attempt at the symphonic form. Since its commission by the London Philharmonic Society in 1886, the masterwork has been one of the most popular symphonies in the repertoire and a landmark in the communication of emotions in their purest form and the notion of spiritual renewal.

Organist Mark Miller has been a Lecturer in Sacred Music at Yale's Institute of Sacred Music and Divinity School since 2006. He is Professor of Church Music, Director of Chapel, and Composer-In-Residence at Drew University and is the Minister of Music of Christ Church (UCC & Am Baptist) in Summit, NJ. Miller's hymns and anthems are sung by communities of faith throughout the world and are published by Choristers Guild, Hal Leonard, Hinshaw, Abingdon Press, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, and many others. His popular compositions for pipe organ are published by GIA and Morningstar and his songbook, "Roll Down Justice! Sacred Songs & Social Justice," was published in 2014 by Choristers Guild. His album, "Imagine the People of God," is available on iTunes. In 2017, Miller was appointed to serve on the Hymnal Revision Committee of the United Methodist Church. He spends a portion of the year traveling the country, often with his band S2C (Subject to Change), leading worship and workshops, preaching, and presenting concerts focused on creating community and advocating for social justice. He has led choirs and performed in Sweden, South Africa, Austria, Russia, and the Baltic states. Miller is a graduate of The Julliard School (M.Mus. in Organ Performance) and Yale University (B.A. Music). He was Assistant Organist and Music Associate at The Riverside Church from 1999-2001 and Director of Contemporary Worship at Marble Collegiate Church from 2002-2007, both in New York City.

The New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS), founded in 1979, is a tiered orchestral program offering ensemble education for students in grades 3-12 across New Jersey. NJYS has grown from one orchestra of 65 students to over 500 students in 15 different orchestras and ensembles, including the internationally recognized NJYS Youth Symphony. NJYS ensembles have performed in venues including the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Carnegie Hall, and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. NJYS has received numerous prestigious awards for its adventurous programming from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and has had six European tours, including participation in the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Festival and Competition (Vienna), winning First Prizes in July 2014 and 2017.

Now in its 43rd season, NJYS continues to achieve musical excellence through intensive instruction and high-level performance. Under the guidance of a talented team of conductors, coaches, and teaching artists, students are immersed in challenging repertoire, learning the art of ensemble playing, and exploring their potential in a supportive and inclusive environment. NJYS remains committed to programming works by diverse composers and regularly features 20th century African American and women composers such as Duke Ellington, George Walker, Yvonne Desportes, Emma Lou Diemer, Julia Perry, and Florence Price.

The New Jersey Youth Symphony is a program of the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts. Wharton is New Jersey's largest non-profit performing arts education organization serving over 1,500 students of all ages and abilities through a range of classes and ensembles. In addition to the New Jersey Youth Symphony, programs include the Paterson Music Project and Performing Arts School.

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