Come hear Central New York’s most talented young musicians take on Brahms
The Syracuse Youth Orchestras’ fall concert, Sunday, November 22 at 3, at East Syracuse Minoa High School.
Seventy-some young musicians walk on stage. Some of them are in seventh grade.
Then they play a Brahms symphony. It’s the same one professional orchestras play, all 40 minutes of it, and somewhere in the middle, you forget how old they are.
Every one of them auditioned to be here. They audition again every year. They rehearse every Sunday, and musicians from The Syracuse Orchestra coach them all season. This afternoon, you get to hear what all that adds up to.
The afternoon opens with the youth string orchestra, with players as young as fifth grade. Watch them, and you’re watching the full orchestra a few years from now.
Bring the grandparents. Bring flowers for your player. And bring the kid in your life who just started violin. Let them see how far it can go.
GOOD TO KNOW
Who’s it for? Families, friends, teachers, and anyone who wants to hear what young musicians can do.
Who’s playing? Two orchestras. The Syracuse Orchestra Youth String Orchestra has 40 to 50 string players in grades 5 through 12. The Syracuse Orchestra Youth Orchestra is a full orchestra of 70 to 80 players, from grade 7 through college age.
How much are tickets? $24; kids are free
What should I wear? Your Sunday best is a nice way to show your player you came for them.
When should I get there? Doors open at 2:30. Music starts at 3:00.
Where is it? East Syracuse Minoa High School, 6400 Fremont Road, East Syracuse.
When do I clap? At the end of each piece. The Brahms symphony comes in four parts, so save your applause for the very end, when the conductor turns around.
How does my kid join? Students audition each June. Learn more about the Syracuse Youth Orchestras.
PROGRAM
Syracuse Orchestra Youth Orchestra:
Alchemy (Gala Flagello): Gala Flagello is a 32-year-old American composer whose music is being played this season by the Houston Symphony, at the Cabrillo Festival, and right here by the Syracuse Youth Orchestra. Her music is known for big, singing melodies and rhythmic energy. Listen for the moments where one turns into the other.
Symphony No. 2 (Brahms): Brahms wrote it over a summer by a lake in Austria. He joked to his publisher that it was so sad the score should be printed with a black border. It’s one of his sunniest pieces. Listen for the finale, when the brass break loose and the whole orchestra races to a blazing finish.
Syracuse Orchestra Youth String Orchestra:
Palladio (Karl Jenkins): Named after an Italian architect from the 1500s, with a driving string rhythm you may know from a 1990s diamond commercial. Listen for the pulse that never lets up.
The Flow of the Tide (Nishimura): Yukiko Nishimura writes music for student string orchestras around the world, and this one is a seascape. The melody rolls in and out like the tide, while the harmonies underneath paint the spray and the changing colors of the water. Listen for the swell.
The Odyssey (Newbold): Korean-American composer Soon Hee Newbold turned Odysseus’s long voyage home from the Trojan War into music. It’s dramatic, with soaring melodies and a rhythm that keeps pushing the ship forward. She loved the story so much that she later wrote a prequel, The Iliad. Listen for the solos, when single players step out from their sections.
Prelude and Rondeau (Corelli and Mouret): The Rondeau is the trumpet-bright tune you might know as the theme from PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre, here played by strings.
