Empire State Youth Orchestra
| Empire State Youth Orchestras | |
|---|---|
| Orchestra | |
| Short name | ESYO |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Location | Capital District, New York, United States |
| Principal conductor | Helen Cha-Pyo |
| Website | www |
Empire State Youth Orchestras (ESYO) is an ensemble of classical music performing groups aimed at providing talented young musicians with an opportunity to participate in group ensembles with other similar musicians. Based in the Capital Region of upstate New York, ESYO ensembles are composed of a total of approximately 300 talented and musically advanced high- and middle-school students from New York and western New England. The most advanced group, the Youth Orchestra, is considered one of the premier youth orchestras in the United States, and regularly performs concerts at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Ozawa Hall at the Tanglewood Music Center, and Carnegie Hall and in New York City.
In 1979, Barry Richman founded ESYO, consisting of a single orchestra, known as the "Youth Orchestra." Along with two colleagues, Lois Lyman and Eleanor Barnes, Richman brought together a group of parents and music educators. Together they organized an orchestra for some of the talented young musicians throughout the Capital Region. The Empire State Junior Orchestra was added in 1981 for middle-school aged students, and over time, additional ensembles were added to allow even more young people to participate. Today's ESYO consists of nine performing ensembles including over 300 musicians: two full orchestras, a wind orchestra, a string ensemble, two jazz ensembles, and three percussion ensembles.
ESYO is composed of nine ensembles:
The Youth Orchestra is well known for its 30+ year participation in CBS 6’s Melodies of Christmas (benefit concerts for the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at the Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center). ESYO’s ensembles also give approximately 30 public performances a year. ESYO reaches out to the community with an annual free concert for senior citizens, concerts for young people, recitals in nursing homes, and performances at public events. In addition, the ensembles perform an annual "Playathon" fundraiser at Crossgates Mall in which they play for the entire day.
In May 2010, the Youth Orchestra performed for the first time at EMPAC at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the grand finale concert of the Albany Symphony Orchestra's American Music Festival. Other ESYO ensembles routinely perform at the Massry Center for the Arts, The College of Saint Rose, as well as at area high schools. The Repertory Orchestra routinely performs with Albany Pro Musica at its annual High School Choral Festival.
...
Wikipedia