Programs Announced For 2018–19 Young People's Concerts And Very Young People's Concerts

The New York Philharmonic announces details for the 96th season of Young People's Concerts (YPCs) and the 14th season of Very Young People's Concerts (VYPCs).

Young People's Concerts (Ages 6-12)
This season's series of Young People's Concerts (YPCs), Music Across Borders, will explore how music transports listeners through time and space and across the borders of fantasy and reality, and how it can express the experience of crossing into new lands. Attendees are invited to arrive early to take part in YPC Overtures, at which children meet Philharmonic musicians and try out orchestral instruments on the Grand Promenade and upper tiers of David Geffen Hall, starting at 12:45 p.m. Pre-concert activities also include the VYC Showcase, live performances by ensembles of Philharmonic musicians of works by students in the Philharmonic's Very Young Composers program, inspired by the YPC's thematic content.

Gemma New will make her New York Philharmonic debut conducting the first YPC of the 2018-19 season, November 17, 2018,"Dancing Across the Universe - The Waltz." Hosted by Fred Child (Philharmonic debut) with a script by Kirya Traber (Philharmonic debut), the program will feature waltzes and other dances by Rodgers, Mozart, J. Strauss II, Khachaturian, Rosas, Tailleferre, and Tchaikovsky.

Jakub Hr?ša will conduct the January 12, 2019, YPC, "Animals into Song - The Cunning Little Vixen." Hosted by New York Philharmonic Teaching Artist Justin Jay Hines, the program will feature a suite of music from Janá?ek's The Cunning Little Vixen.

Edwin Outwater will conduct the March 2, 2019, YPC, "Level Up - Beethoven, Andrew Norman, and Video Games," featuring The Marie-Josée Kravis Creative Partner Nadia Sirota as host / curator. The program will explore how writing a symphony is like playing a video game, and will feature the premiere of a work by Kyler Simon, a student in the Very Young Composers program.

Thomas Wilkins will conduct the May 11, 2019, YPC, "Coming to New York - Immigrant Voices." Co-hosted by Thomas Wilkins and Philharmonic Teaching Artist Jihea Hong-Park (Philharmonic debut), the program (which echoes the Philharmonic's New York Stories: Threads of Our City) will feature music by composers reflecting on the immigrant experience, including Bartók, Huang Ruo, Kareem Roustom, and Roberto Sierra, as well as works by students in the Very Young Composers program.

Very Young People's Concerts (Ages 3-6)
This season's series of Very Young People's Concerts (VYPCs), Philharmonic Playground, will begin February 24-25, 2019, with "Allegro and Adagio," which will explore tempo through selections from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, arranged for string quartet and harp. The second program, March 31-April 1, 2019, "Forte and Piano," will explore dynamics. The final program of the season, June 2-3, 2019, "Treble and Bass," will explore the high and low ranges through selections from J.S. Bach's Keyboard Concerto in N*E*R*D major.

Hosted by Philharmonic Associate Principal Viola Rebecca Young since its inception, the series features performances by Musicians from the New York Philharmonic and takes place at Kaufman Music Center's Merkin Concert Hall. Doug Fitch - with whom the Philharmonic has collaborated on several acclaimed staged productions - has designed and directed the VYPCs since January 2017.

VYPCs are designed by Philharmonic musicians working with faculty from Teachers College of Columbia University to introduce young children to classical music through games, active listening, and hands-on music-making. Before each concert, musicians are stationed throughout Merkin Concert Hall to greet families and lead musical activities on the day's theme. After each performance, children have an opportunity to try orchestral instruments themselves.

Biographies
Young People's Concerts: Gemma New, Jakub Hr?ša, Edwin Outwater, Thomas Wilkins, Fred Child, Justin Jay Hines, Nadia Sirota, Jihae Hong-Park
Very Young People's Concerts: Rebecca Young, Doug Fitch

Tickets
Single tickets to Young People's Concerts start at $15; all tickets include admission to YPC Overtures. Single tickets to Very Young People's Concerts start at $26. (Ticket prices subject to change.)

Tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the David Geffen Hall Box Office.