Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Sets 76th Annual Festival Concert

After a truly inspiring year of music education and performance, the curtain will soon rise on the final concert of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra's 2015-16 season, marking the organization's 76th Anniversary. The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra 76th Annual Festival Concert will feature performances by PYO's students, ages 14-21, and special guest performances by Philadelphia's foremost organist Peter Richard Conte and Bravo Brass Alum and Euphonium soloist Joel Collier. The concert will take place on Sunday, June 5, at 4:00 p.m., in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

Prior to the concert, there will be a presentation of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra's 3rd 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 of music experts will be recognized at the concert, and the grand prize winner will be announced by WRTI's Jack Moore. The Ovation Award is presented and endowed by H.E.L.P. Foundation and sponsored by Jacobs Music Company, J.W. Pepper, and WRTI-FM.

Maestro Louis Scaglione has programmed a concert of works that premiered in Philadelphia. The performance opens with Samuel Barber's Toccata Festiva, featuring guest soloist Peter Richard Conte, Grand Court Organist of the Wanamaker Organ. This work was premiered by The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1960. Next on the program, PYO welcomes Joel Collier, Bravo Brass alumnus, to present the U.S. premiere of Symphony Concertante by Roland Szentpali. This work uniquely features the Euphonium as the solo instrument. After intermission, the orchestra and Maestro Scaglione perform Blue Cathedral by Pulitzer Prize winner and Philadelphia-based composer Jennifer Higdon. This work was premiered by The Curtis Institute of Music's orchestra in 2000. This performance concludes with Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, a work premiered by The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1941.

Maestro Scaglione looks forward to this milestone event with great pride and anticipation. "This performance and the presentation of the Ovation Award will mark the culmination of a very special 76th Anniversary for the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra," Scaglione explains. "We are so pleased to welcome our friends, outstanding organist Peter Richard Conte and Bravo Brass alumnus Joel Collier, to take part in this special event."

Tickets for this event, priced at $15-$25, may be purchased online. For more information, call 215.893.1999.