PYO Music Institute Presents Young Musicians Debut Orchestra At Temple Performing Arts Center

Taking the stage for their 6th Annual Festival Concert, the Young Musicians Debut Orchestra (YMDO) will perform at The Temple Performing Arts Center, located at 1837 N. Broad Street in Philadelphia, on Saturday May 21, 2022 at 4 p.m.

One of the ensembles of PYO Music Institute, the YMDO concert will feature a variety of classical music selections under their distinguished Director and Conductor, Kenneth Bean, and Rachel Segal, Associate Conductor. Featured compositions will include Verdi's Overture to La Forza del Destino, Coleridge-Taylor's Petite suite de concert and Haydn's Symphony 104 ("London").

YMDO is a beginning to intermediate-level full symphonic orchestra and is often the first full orchestral playing experience for the wind, brass, and percussion students. While some of the players matriculate from other PYOMI ensembles, like Prysm Strings, Tune Up Philly, or other orchestra programs that offer ensemble experience, many of the students are new to PYOMI. Through a repertoire including both arrangements and original masterworks, students are challenged to hone their talents for listening, blending, balancing, and making music within the full orchestral context. Principal players are also encouraged to develop leadership skills, and less-experienced players learn from their peers and PYOMI's acclaimed professional faculty. YMDO prepares its members for participation in Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra - and, eventually, Philadelphia Youth Orchestra.

Bean is eager to assist in fostering the development of these talented young musicians. He said, "It is an honor to play a role in the growth of our students. Their dedication to music helps their personal development as they learn the discipline of practicing and playing with musical peers. I look forward to sharing this concert with those in attendance."

This is a free event; no tickets are required. For more information, please call 215-545-0502.

The renowned PYO Music Institute, now in its 82nd season, is one of the nation's oldest and most respected community music education and youth orchestra performance programs. PYO Music Institute provides talented young musicians from across the tri-state area with exceptional musical training and is committed to supporting tomorrow's leaders. Its students go on to excel in many diverse fields and many become professional orchestral musicians, performing locally and all across the world. Many members of the prestigious Philadelphia Orchestra are proud alumni of PYO Music Institute.

The anchor group is the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), conducted by President and Music Director Louis Scaglione, featuring 125 gifted instrumentalists who range in age from 15-21. Young musicians 13-18 years old are featured in PYO's companion ensemble, the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO), which is led by Director and Conductor Maestra Rosalind Erwin, who also serves as Music Director and Conductor of Drexel University Orchestra. Young Musicians Debut Orchestra (YMDO), directed by Maestro Kenneth Bean, is a beginning- to intermediate-level full symphonic orchestra featuring students aged 11-17 that often provides an introduction to large orchestral playing. Bravo Brass, directed by Curtis Institute of Music Dean, Paul Bryan, is an all-brass ensemble for promising middle and high-school instrumentalists. Prysm Strings and Prysm Strings Young Artists ensembles provide large string ensemble and sectional master class instruction for beginning and intermediate musicians ages 6-14. The director and conductor of Prysm Strings is Gloria dePasquale, cellist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the conductor of Prysm Strings Young Artists is Andrea Weber. Tune Up Philly - Orchestral Pathways Program (TUP) is the PYO Music Institute's after-school music program, directed by Paul Smith. TUP focuses on creating and inspiring true community by providing children in under-resourced communities with opportunities to learn and perform a differentiated orchestral music curriculum. Paul Smith also directs the newest ensemble, Pizzicato Players, for 12 to 21-year-old student musicians. This ensemble was created to provide musical experience pathways in advanced and intermediate settings and to raise the profile for such plucked instruments as the Classical/Acoustic Guitar, Harp and "Folk" Harp, Mandolin, Lute and Theorbo.

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