Submitted by Tacoma Symphony Orchestra
More than 40 high school musicians from Tacoma Youth Symphony Association (TYSA) will perform side-by-side with the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra during a concert presented jointly by the two organizations this spring. The concert, held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 10 in the Pantages Theater, will be offered free or “pay as you can” for the community in recognition of its support for the performing arts in Tacoma. Proceeds will be designated toward the Tacoma Symphony and TYSA’s youth education programs and scholarship funds.
Tacoma Symphony Music Director Sarah Ioannides and Tacoma Youth Symphony Association Music Director Dr. Paul-Elliott Cobbs collaborated in planning the project as part of a goal to deepen the connection between the student and adult musicians. Mentorship by professionals, both conductors agree, has a tremendous impact on young players.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to present this concert to the community in collaboration with the excellent Tacoma Youth Symphony,” said Sarah Ioannides. “Many of the Tacoma Symphony musicians are alumni of TYSA, and all of them benefited from programs like TYSA in their own communities of origin. These students are the future of orchestral music, and we want to do everything we can to support and nurture their artistic development.”
Dr. Paul-Elliott Cobbs stated: “This is an exciting opportunity for our orchestras to join forces! There is no generation gap where symphonic music is concerned, but only the joy of music making and sharing that joy with our Tacoma community.”
The program will open with Dr. Cobbs conducting the Tacoma Youth Symphony in Tchaikovsky’s Suite from Romeo & Juliet. This will be followed by Brazilian composer Ney Gabriel Rosauro’s Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra, featuring TYSA student Kellen Fenton as soloist. Rosauro’s work is the most popular percussion concerto of all time, performed more than 1200 times by professional orchestras worldwide. A senior at Curtis High School and principal percussionist of the Youth Symphony, Fenton is a winner of TYSA’s annual concerto competition, involving many of the finest young musicians in the state. After intermission, the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra and Tacoma Youth Symphony will combine to present Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, conducted by Sarah Ioannides. The concert is underwritten by a gift from Dr. Hsushi Yeh. The News Tribune is the media sponsor.
The date and methodology for reserving free tickets to this event will be announced in the near future.
