Students Perform With Mentors Of The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

This morning, students of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra (CYSO) got a real treat today as they joined their adult mentors of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) on stage.

The Side-by-Side concert is appropriately named because each student is coupled with a fellow professional musician of the CSO as their stand partner. They learn, prepare and rehearse together to build a performance of the highest caliber. Today's concert was an exciting compilation of pieces by renowned French composers Claude Debussy, Hector Berlioz, and Georges Bizet which the students performed brilliantly.

As part of a community outreach initiative, the CSO formed this program in 1978 to invite high school age students from across the Tristate who had a passion for music and a commitment to the highest caliber of musical performance and collaboration. Part of the program includes this incredible opportunity for students to sharpen their performance skills as they observe the techniques of the professionals whom they aspire to be when they grow up.

Associate Conductor, Gene Chang gave an overview of each piece to be performed before the concert for audience members. For example, the performance opened with movements from Debussy's La Mer which channels the feeling daybreak on the ocean and the ebb and flow of the water. With beautiful violin crescendos and a massive orchestra, this piece enveloped the audience in sound and mood.

A beautiful flute concerto, based on themes of Carmen, was performed by flute soloist, Lindsey Wong, from Sycamore High School. Her technical skills and overall passion for performing impressed the audience and veteran musicians alike.

Rounding out the morning concert were selections by composer Hector Berlioz -Symphonie Fantastique, led by Cincinnati Pops Conductor, John Morris Russell. The massive orchestra paired with the large, exciting motions of the piece was the perfect ending to a lively morning of music making.