Participating Youth Orchestras
Metropolitan Youth Symphony (MYS)
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Founded in 1974 with a foundational commitment to access, the Metropolitan Youth Symphony (MYS) educates, develops and promotes over 500 young musicians of all ages and levels of experience in one of the nation’s largest youth orchestra programs.
MYS Music Director Raúl Gómez leads a team of 13 professional conductors, operating fifteen ensembles at beginning to advanced levels including orchestra, strings, band, percussion, and jazz. MYS develops the whole musician through excellent instruction and diverse programing, providing theory classes, instrumental coaching with Oregon Symphony musicians, chamber music, and opportunities to collaborate with performers across artistic disciplines.
In a commitment to music beyond the classical cannon, MYS launched The Authentic Voice commissioning program in 2018 in partnership with Fear No Music’s Young Composers Project. Student composers write for and have their music performed by a full symphony orchestra, while MYS musicians are given a chance to play never performed music by their peers. “It is rare to see student musicians perform the fully orchestrated works of student composers over an entire season. This is a fantastic opportunity to inspire audiences with the tremendous power of the creative process.” (Raúl Gómez, Music Director)
Additional collaborators include violinist and MacArthur Fellow Regina Carter, Oregon Symphony Maestro Carlos Kalmar and members of the Oregon Symphony, composer Gabriela Lena Frank, the Grammy-nominated chamber ensemble A Far Cry, Oregon International Ballet Academy, International Youth Silent Film Festival, Pacific Youth Choir, Brooklyn-based PROJECT Trio, and Orchestra of the Americas.
Metropolitan Youth Symphony provides tuition-free beginning strings classes, as well as tuition assistance, loaner instruments, small group coaching, and in-school concerts in low-income neighborhoods to reach over 5,000 students each year. MYS ensembles reflect a broad diversity of backgrounds and life experiences while fostering a tight-knit community through music, collaboration, peer support and self-expression. In response to rapid growth in the metropolitan area, MYS has established a satellite string program in Hillsboro, Oregon.
New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS)
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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 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 42nd 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 featured 20th century African-American and women composers such as Duke Ellington, George Walker, Yvonne Desportes, Emma Lou Diemer, Julia Perry, and Florence Price this past season.
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.
Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP)
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Founded in 1924, by visionary violin teacher Mary V. Dodge, Portland Youth Philharmonic provides young musicians in Portland, Oregon, with a challenging opportunity to explore their creativity while receiving the highest quality music education. The nation’s first youth orchestra, PYP has produced consistently inspiring performances and upheld a tradition of excellence since its first public concert in February 1925.
Today, the organization comprises four large and two smaller ensembles, open by audition to young players, ages 9-23. Ensembles include: Portland Youth Philharmonic conducted by Musical Director David Hattner; Portland Youth Conservatory Orchestra led by Lawrence Johnson; Portland Youth Wind Ensemble directed by Giancarlo Castro D’Addona; PYP Young String Ensemble conducted by Inés Voglar Belgique; Camerata PYP chamber orchestra conducted by David Hattner; and PYP Percussion Ensemble coached by Gordon Rencher. All PYP musicians receive regular coaching from Oregon Symphony musicians and weekly music theory lessons led by local composer, violist, and PYP alumnus Kenji Bunch. Need-based tuition assistance is available to every musician who passes an audition.
PYP has astonished the world, touring domestically and internationally from the 1970s-1990s. Most recently in 2014, PYP performed at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago and received high praise in the Chicago Tribune, “brilliant in all departments.” In 1984, the orchestra performed alongside the New York Philharmonic under its conductor Leonard Bernstein. Three times, under three different conductors, over three decades, PYP received the award for "Adventuresome Programming of Contemporary Music" from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
In addition to its ensemble programs accepting about 275 young musicians by audition, PYP also provides music education to youth throughout the community through children’s concerts, classes, workshops, coaching, and conductor visits available at no cost and without auditions to schools and individuals, serving 13,000 children annually.
Hear the orchestra for yourself at any time on PYP’s popular YouTube channel or learn more by visiting the organization’s website.
