Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute Presents 2023 Showcase Performance

Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute (PYOMI) presents several program divisions of their nationally respected music organization at the 2023 Showcase. The emcee is WRTI 90.1 Radio Host Kevin Gordon. The event will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2023 at 3 p.m. in Verizon Hall of the Kimmel Center. With individual performances by Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO), Young Musicians Debut Orchestra (YMDO), Prysm Strings, and Bravo Brass, the performance will include hundreds of young musicians. Tickets are $20-$30 and can be purchased at www.kimmelculturalcampus.org/.

New this year is the first Tune Up Philly Musical Scavenger Hunt, featuring an instrument petting zoo, a photo booth, and our Orchestra Access Pass -- a fun and engaging way for younger audiences (ages 7-12) to follow along with the concert, get to know the PYO Music Institute, and explore the orchestra instruments up close! Participants may turn in their completed Orchestra Access Pass at the end of the concert for a prize! Activities begin in The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts lobby from 1:45pm to 2:45pm.

PYO President and Music Director Louis Scaglione looks forward to this year's Showcase. He said, "I am continually impressed with the dedication our musicians have for classical music and seeing each of our ensembles perform brings great pride to our directors, who work tirelessly with them through the year, the parents and families and the students themselves. With one of America's finest classical musical hosts, Kevin Gordon, as the emcee, we are proud to present them in this most distinguished music hall."

The showcase program is listed below:

Legacy Rising Ehren Valmé (PYOMI Alumnus)

Bravo Brass

Ehren Valmé • Conductor

Sonata in C Minor, Pathetique, Op. 13 Ludwig van Beethoven

Bravo Brass Arranged by Patrick Hoffman

Paul Bryan • Conductor

Susato Suite Tylman Susato

Bravo Brass Arranged by John Iveson

Paul Bryan • Conductor

Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 Ludwig van Beethoven

Young Musicians Debut Orchestra

Kenneth Bean • Conductor

Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra

Rosalind Erwin • Conductor

Ukrainian Folk Songs Traditional

Prysm Prep, Prysm Strings Young Artists, Prysm Strings

Gloria dePasquale • Conductor

Serenade in E Major, Op. 22 Antonín Dvořák

Prysm Strings

Gloria dePasquale • Conductor

Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber Paul Hindemith

Philadelphia Youth Orchestra

Louis Scaglione • Conductor

About Kevin Gordon:

Kevin Gordon is a classical music host on WRTI 90.1 in Philadelphia. He can be heard on the radio every weekday from 2 to 6 PM, and as host of live, in-studio broadcasts from the WRTI Performance Studio. A veteran broadcaster, Kevin garnered a wealth of experience in radio before taking the weekday classical host position at WRTI. He served as host on the classical music station WQXR in NYC for 15 years, on Classical South Florida WKCP in Miami, and on WINS, NBC News, and the RKO Radio Network, all in New York.

When he's not on the air, Kevin enjoys a prominent career as a fine artist and portrait painter with works on display at numerous universities - including Columbia, Dartmouth, and the University of Michigan - and at hospitals and private collections throughout the country. His illustrations appear in books of all types, including his own best-selling, The Good Cigar.

WRTI 90.1 is a member-supported classical and jazz public radio station in Philadelphia with 14 frequencies serving listeners in PA, NJ, and DE, online at WRTI.org, and on the WRTI mobile app.

The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute is the tri-state region's premier youth orchestra organization for gifted, young, classical musicians, and one of the oldest and most highly regarded youth orchestra organizations in the United States. For 83 years, the PYO Music Institute has been providing professional-caliber musical experiences to young instrumentalists, while thrilling audiences in the Greater Philadelphia region and across the globe.

The organization has nine program divisions: Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO), Young Musicians Debut Orchestra (YMDO), Bravo Brass, Prysm Strings, Pizzicato Players, Philadelphia Youth Jazz Orchestra (PYJO), Philadelphia Youth Symphonic Band (PYSB), and Tune Up Philly - Orchestral Pathways Program. Ranging in age from 5 to 21 years, the musicians of the PYO Music Institute come from a 70-mile radius of Philadelphia encompassing nearly 20 counties within Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Through advanced orchestra repertoire, students are challenged to perform at the highest levels, to strive for advanced musicianship, and to achieve superior technical, musical, and personal application. Former PYOMI musicians currently hold chairs in most of the top 20 professional orchestras in the United States, with 12 PYOMI alumni currently serving in The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Extraordinary artistic leadership is a hallmark of the PYO Music Institute. Adolph Sorian (1940-1941), J.W.F. Leman (1941-1952), William R. Smith (1952-1954), and Joseph Primavera (1954-2005) served as Music Directors, with Maestro Primavera having had the extraordinary distinction of being the longest-serving active conductor of any orchestra in the world. Louis Scaglione, appointed in 1997 by Maestro Primavera and the PYOMI Board of Trustees, continues the legacy of leadership, currently serving as the PYO Music Institute's President, CEO and Music Director.

For more information, please visit https://pyomusic.org/.

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