83rd Annual Festival Concert by the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Set For June

The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), the flagship ensemble of the PYO Music Institute, will present their 83rd Annual Festival Concert on Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 3 p.m. The young musicians will take the stage for an exciting final performance of the season at the prestigious Verizon Hall of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, located at 300 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA. The concert will be conducted by President and Music Director of PYOMI, Maestro Louis Scaglione, and will feature two new works composed by PYO alumni, including Grammy Award Winner, Double Bassist Ranaan Meyer’s (of Cherry Hill, NJ) Concerto for My Family and the world premiere of Philadelphia native Sheridan Seyfried’s Flourishes and Dreams. The performance will conclude with a fan favorite—Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Tickets range from $20-30 and are available at www.pyomusic.org.

Ten music educators across the Delaware Valley Region have been selected as finalists for the 10th Annual PYOMI Ovation Award. During the concert, the finalists will be acknowledged alongside the announcement of this year’s Ovation Award recipient. All 10 individuals were nominated by current and former students who wrote essays on “How My Music Teacher Changed My Life.” Partnering with PYOMI are WRTI 90.1, J.W. Pepper, and Jacobs Music Company.

The highlight of the evening is the return of PYO alumnus, double bass player, Ranaan Meyer, who was thrilled to win a 2023 Grammy award with the group he co-founded, Time for Three, in the category of Best Classical Instrumental Solo for the album Letters for the Future. He won the award along with bandmates Nick Kendall and Charles Yang.

Maestro Louis Scaglione is thrilled to welcome back Ranaan Meyer as a guest soloist at the concert, a former student he remembers well. “We have all been very proud to watch Ranaan grow over the years. He was an outstanding musician in PYO but the heights he has taken in his career are remarkable. He is truly an inspiration.”

Meyer is delighted to return to PYO. He said, “My time with PYO was very influential in my life.  I played in my senior year of high school and toured with them to Europe and Petra, Jordan. I grew as an individual just as much as a musician and I have the fondest memories of this experience.”

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