For young students of music, there is nothing that compares to learning from — and playing with — the pros. If there is a better educational experience out there for these future artists, then the National Symphony Orchestra would probably like to know about it. Thursday evening, symphony members, along with the high school musicians they have mentored, will perform side by side on the Concert Hall stage at the Kennedy Center in what marks the culmination of the 2010-2011 NSO Youth Orchestra Day.
The majority of these students have been nominated by their youth orchestra conductors gleaned from nine area affiliates such as the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras, the DC Youth Orchestra and the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra. Some of the students are members of the National Symphony Youth Fellowship Program.
Audiences attending this free concert will see a far bigger orchestra than normal, given the fact that 57 students perform side by side with the majority, not all, of NSO musicians, who participate on a rotation basis. In the cello section, for example, there will be 16 players, where normally there would be only 12 professionals. This year’s performance varies a bit from past performances, however.
| The National Symphony Orchestra |
| » What: Youth Orchestra Day, James Ross, conductor |
| » Where: Concert Hall, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW |
| » When: : Thursday, 6 p.m. |
| » Info: Free, No tickets required 800-444-1324 or 202-467-4600, dcyop.org |
“In the past, the kids really just met with us one time for one rehearsal and then we would play a concert,” said cellist, David Hardy, principal, the Hans Kindler chair. “But … last year, we came up with the idea that it would be helpful for these students to meet in December with the principals in each section so that they could have a private lesson on the repertoire for this concert.”
Having spent time with the individual principals of their chosen instrument, the students had one final rehearsal with the entire symphony before tonight’s concert. The pieces chosen for the program are those that might be encountered out in the real world’s auditioning process, such as Glinka’s “Overture to Russian and Ludmilla” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio espangnol, Op. 34.”
Kristina Winiarski is a high school junior and cello player who will be performing beside Hardy.
“It’s a bit scary, but we had two rehearsals prior to meeting up [with the NSO],” she said. “It was great … I practiced, we rehearsed and I feel very confident.”
