Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Announces 78th Annual Festival Concert With Presentation Of Ovation Award

The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra's 2017-18 season has brought an exhilarating year of music education and performances to over 120 talented musicians, ages 14 to 21, marking the organization's 78th Anniversary. The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra 78th Annual Festival Concert will feature the World Premiere of Manhattan Nights by Kevin Day, who is the Second Annual Young Composers Competition Winner, A Salute to Leonard Bernstein with Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40. The concert will take place on Sunday, June 10, at 3 p.m., in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $20-$30, may be purchased online at wwww.pyos.org or by calling 215.893.1999.

For the fifth year, there will be a presentation of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra's 5th Annual Ovation Award for Inspiration and Outstanding Leadership in Music Education. The award was created to honor the outstanding music teachers in the Delaware Valley who not only impart musical knowledge but help shape the lives of their students beyond the studio and stage. Ten finalists chosen by a blue-ribbon panel will be announced and presented with an award tribute, cash prize, and other recognition from our sponsors. The Ovation Award is in partnership with WRTI-90.1 and sponsored by Jacobs Music Company and J.W. Pepper.

There are many opportunities for engagement with PYO through various recognition programs like the Young Composers Competition and the Ovation Award. There were over 50 entries for the Composers Competition, demonstrating great interest in the art of composition-writing for symphony orchestra. Louis Scaglione, President and Music Director of the PYO organization, said, "We are very excited about presenting this dynamic work by Kevin Day, this year's Composers Competition Grand Prize Winner. This nationwide competition demonstrates the interest in writing original and creative compositions, and PYO is very proud to provide a platform that encourages new musical compositions."

Scaglione continued, "In addition, we recognize that it's the music teachers who make such a marked difference in the lives of young people as they begin and then continue their journeys through music education and, possibly, careers in music. It is our honor to recognize many distinguished educators with the Ovation Award and to announce the selected grand prize winner each year."

Tickets for this event, priced at $20-$30, may be purchased online. For more information, call 215.893.1999.

About Kevin Day

Kevin Day is an American composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist from Arlington, Texas. He is a senior at Texas Christian University working on finishing his Bachelor of Music Performance degree, while also studying composition. Kevin has composed over 100 works for solos, concert band, orchestra, chamber, and choral groups. His works have been premiered and heard across the United States and receives commissions and premieres in his emerging compositional career. As a musician, Kevin is actively involved as a low brass player, jazz pianist, and in music production. Kevin is an alumnus of the 2016 Disneyland All-American College Band on tuba. His music has been featured at clinics across the U.S. such as the Western International Band Clinic, the National Association for Music Educators All-Northwest Conference, the Midwest Clinic, and the American Bandmasters Association Conference. A multi-award-winning composer, he has composed music for three short films -- A Partial Heart (2015), The Broken Man (2017), and Hello Henry (2018) that have gone on to film contests and festivals. An active conductor, he is currently is the principal conductor of the Next Gen Chamber Players.

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.