This summer, the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), featuring 114 outstanding young musicians from across the country, will come together for a third annual year of extraordinary music-making. The 2015 players begin with a two-week intensive training residency on the campus of Purchase College, State University of New York, fromJune 27 to July 9, followed by nine concerts in the US and abroad from July 10-26, at The Performing Arts Center in Purchase, NY (Friday, July 10 at 8:00 p.m.), at Carnegie Hall in New York City (Saturday, July 11 at 8:00 p.m.), and in seven Chinese cities as part of the orchestra's first historic tour to Asia.
The members of the 2015 orchestra-all ages 16-19, hailing from 37 US states-have been recognized by
Carnegie Hall as being among the finest players in the country, following a comprehensive audition process. This summer's NYO-USA will feature 40 returning musicians from the 2013 and 2014 orchestras, as well as 25 musicians with Chinese ancestry, some of whom will be performing for extended family in China for the first time. The NYO-USA program is free for all participants. Click here for a full list of musicians.
Celebrated conductor Charles Dutoit, Conductor Laureate of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Artistic Director of London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, leads NYO-USA this year, joined by internationally-renowned pianist YUNDI as guest soloist. The concert program to be performed at all tour venues will include the premiere of Passacaglia: The Secret of Wind and Birds by groundbreaking Chinese composer
Tan Dun, commissioned by
Carnegie Hall especially for NYO-USA, as well as Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 ("Emperor") and Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique.
"The National Youth Orchestra of the USA challenges its players not only to perform musically at the highest level, but also to serve as great musical ambassadors for their country," said
Clive Gillinson,
Carnegie Hall's Executive and Artistic Director. "The orchestra's first tour to China will undoubtedly be an amazing opportunity for musical and cultural discovery. I am confident that NYO-USA's concerts will inspire audiences wherever we go as our players form many new friendships along the way, making true connections with people through music."
Following its two-week training residency on the campus of Purchase College, State University of New York, the National Youth Orchestra of the USA's 2015 tour will kick off at The Performing Arts Center in Purchase, NY (July 10), followed by
Carnegie Hall in New York City (July 11). The
Carnegie Hall performance will be heard by music lovers around the globe via the
Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series, created in partnership with WQXR and distributed live nationally by WFMT Radio Network. The
Carnegie Hall concert will also be streamed live online for free by medici.tv, continuing a partnership to make live video webcasts of
Carnegie Hall presentations available to audiences worldwide.
Following NYO-USA's New York concerts, the 2015 tour will then move to China with appearances at many of the country's greatest concert halls in several different regions of the country, including: the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing (July 15); Shanghai Oriental Art Center (July 17);Suzhou Culture and Arts Centre (July 19); Xi'an Concert Hall (July 21); Shenzhen Concert Hall (July 23); Xinghai Concert Hall in Guangzhou (July 24); and culminating at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre (July 26).
The orchestra's 2015 tour includes stops in China that have now become mainstays for international ensembles as well as some that host American orchestras less frequently. Reflecting a building boom of architecturally-innovative performing arts centers in China, six of the seven venues in which NYO-USA will perform were built within the past two decades.
Acknowledging the power that music and the arts have to bring people together, NYO-USA's tour has been designated as one of only four Cultural Pillars of the Consultation on People to People Exchange (CPE) between the USA and China; the Cultural Pillars receive this designation to enhance and strengthen ties between citizens of the US and the People's Republic of China through culture. The tour's kick-off in July will be celebrated with special events for the teen musicians, hosted by the Chinese Consul General in New York City and by the U.S. Ambassador to China in Beijing.
As part of their travel schedule, the NYO-USA players will have the chance to experience China's cultural riches, touring the cities in which they perform. They will also have opportunities to interact with local young musicians and to participate in other informal community performances along the way. On social media, Chinese language speakers will be invited to follow the orchestra's journey on its recently-launched Weibo page:
weibo.com/nyousa.
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