Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Perform in 8th Annual Festival Concert

The talented young musicians of the Tune Up Philly (TUP), The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO)'s community engagement program ensemble, will be performing in its 8th Annual Festival Concert. This event is free and will be held on Saturday, May 26, 2018 at 1 p.m. at Temple Performing Arts Center (TPAC), located at 1837 North Broad Street, Philadelphia.

The TUP concert will be conducted by Director/Arranger, Paul Smith. The concert presents music that ranges from the orchestra canon, traditional melodies, popular themes and features works by Dave Brubreck, Astor Piazzolla, Elgar, Verdi, and more. TUP focuses on creating and inspiring true community by providing 1st to 8th grade students in under-resourced communities with invaluable opportunities to learn and perform a differentiated orchestral music curriculum.

The Festival Concert is created to highlight TUP's many components, allowing every student to shine. Smith reflects on the importance of TUP, and said, "This is an especially important concert for PYO as many of our students are performing music for the very first time. They are a wonderful example how music changes live as the students are dedicated and determined to do the very best job they can. We have watched them grow all year and the Festival Concert is a chance for them all to shine."

With the Temple Performing Arts Center (TPAC) as a community partner, TUP can help expand the vision of the students as they see their potential in this college setting.

For more information, please visit www.pyos.org or call 215.545.0502.

About the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra:

Now in its 78th year of training tomorrow's leaders, the renowned Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization is one of the nation's oldest and most respected community music education and youth orchestra performance programs, providing talented young musicians from across the tri-state area with exceptional musical training. Students go on to excel in many diverse fields, and it is with pride that Philadelphia Youth Orchestra notes that many members of the prestigious Philadelphia Orchestra are alumni. For more information, please visit www.pyos.org.

The anchor group is the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), conducted by President and Music Director Louis Scaglione, featuring 120 gifted instrumentalists who range in age from 14-21. Young musicians 12-18 years old are featured in PYO's companion ensemble, the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra, which is led by Director and Conductor Maestra Rosalind Erwin, who is Music Director and Conductor of Drexel University Orchestra. Philadelphia Young Musicians Orchestra (PYMO), directed by Maestro Kenneth Bean, is a beginning to intermediate-level full symphonic orchestra that provides most students with their first introduction to large orchestral playing featuring students age 10-17 years old. Bravo Brass, directed by Curtis Institute Dean of Faculty and Students, Paul Bryan, is an all brass ensemble for promising middle and high-school instrumentalists. PRYSM (Philadelphia Region Youth String Music) and PRYSM Young Artists ensembles provide string large ensemble and sectional master class instruction for beginning and intermediate musicians ages 6-14. The director and conductor of PRYSM is Gloria DePasquale, cellist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and conductor of PRYSM Young Artists is Andrea Weber. Tune Up Philly (TUP) is PYO's engagement program, directed by Paul Smith, that focuses on creating and inspiring true community by providing children in under-resourced communities with invaluable opportunities to learn and perform a differentiated orchestral music curriculum.