PHILADELPHIA, PA, January 23, 2023 — The Young Musicians Debut Orchestra (YMDO), a program of the PYO Music Institute, opens its 2023 season with a free concert on Saturday, January 28 at 4 p.m. in the Temple Performing Arts Center, located at 1837 N. Broad Street in Philadelphia.
Providing most students with an introductory experience of playing in a large orchestra, YMDO will perform a variety of classical music selections under their distinguished Director and Conductor, Kenneth Bean, and Associate Director, Rachel Segal. The concert will feature Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, Mozart’s Symphony No. 31, and Fauré’s Pavane.
Bean is eager to assist in fostering the development of these talented young musicians. He said, “It is inspiring to watch all the students grow throughout the rehearsal process. It is their intense determination that will serve them well as they progress as musicians. I look forward to sharing this upcoming performance experience with them and the audience.”
YMDO is a beginning to intermediate-level full symphonic orchestra and is often the first full orchestral playing experience for the wind, brass, and percussion students. While some of the players matriculate from other PYO Music Institute ensembles, like PRYSM, Tune Up Philly, or other string orchestra programs that offer ensemble experience, many of the students are new to the PYO Music Institute organization. Through a repertoire including both arrangements and original masterworks, students are challenged to hone their talents for listening, blending, balancing, and making music within the full orchestral context. Principal players are also encouraged to develop leadership skills, and less-experienced players learn from their peers and PYO Music Institute’s acclaimed professional faculty. YMDO prepares its members for participation in Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra and, eventually, Philadelphia Youth Orchestra.
The YMDO concert is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 215-545-0502.
About PYO Music Institute:
The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute is the tri-state region’s premier youth orchestra organization for gifted, young classical musicians and one of the oldest and most highly regarded youth orchestra organizations in the United States. For 83 years, the PYO Music Institute has been providing professional-caliber musical experiences to young instrumentalists. While thrilling audiences in the Greater Philadelphia region and across the globe.
The organization has nine program divisions: Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO), Young Musicians Debut Orchestra (YMDO), Bravo Brass, Prysm Strings, Pizzicato Players, Philadelphia Youth Jazz Orchestra (PYJO), Philadelphia Youth Symphonic Band (PYSB), and Tune Up Philly – Orchestral Pathways Program. Ranging in age from 5 to 21 years, the musicians of the PYO Music Institute come from a 70-mile radius of Philadelphia encompassing nearly 20 counties within Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Through advanced orchestra repertoire, students are challenged to perform at the highest levels, strive for advanced musicianship, and achieve superior technical, musical, and personal application. Former PYOMI musicians currently hold chairs in most of the top 20 professional orchestras in the United States, with 12 PYOMI alumni currently serving in The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Extraordinary artistic leadership is a hallmark of the PYO Music Institute. Adolph Sorian (1940–1941), J.W.F. Leman (1941–1952), William R. Smith (1952–1954), and Joseph Primavera (1954–2005) served as Music Directors, with Maestro Primavera having had the extraordinary distinction of being the longest-serving active conductor of any orchestra in the world. Louis Scaglione, appointed in 1997 by Maestro Primavera and the PYOMI Board of Trustees, continues the legacy of leadership, currently serving as the PYO Music Institute’s President, CEO, and Music Director.
For more information, please visit www.pyomusic.org.
