Prysm Strings & Prysm Strings Young Artists Perform At Haverford School

The string ensembles of PYO Music Institute (PYOMI) - Prysm Strings and Prysm Strings Young Artists -- will perform on Saturday, May 14th at 3 p.m. in Centennial Hall of the Haverford School at 750 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA.

Under the direction of Philadelphia Orchestra Cellist and Prysm Strings Director/Conductor, Gloria dePasquale, Prysm Strings will perform Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings and the second movement Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. Prysm Strings Young Artists, under the direction of Andrea Weber, will perform Granata's Minor Altercations, Han's Ahrirang, and Thomas's Appalachian Festival. Both groups will take the stage together for a "side-by-side" performance of Shelia Sandys-Wunsch's arrangements of Linstead Market and La Russe.

Gloria dePasquale is delighted to present the afternoon's program, and said, "I am always proud of our string instrument students who have such a passion for the music. The students, who range in age 6 to 14, demonstrate the various levels of talent, and their path to developing as young musicians is very rewarding to observe."

General admission tickets are $15, free for children under age 18. For information, call (215) 545-0502.

Prysm Strings offers a music education program created in 2007 to offer a unique introduction and preparation for string students to acquire and build skills. Both divisions of Prysm Strings provides string ensemble and sectional master class instruction for intermediate and beginning students in and around the Main Line with rehearsals hosted at Settlement Music School's Wynnefield Branch. Graduates of Prysm Strings have matriculated successfully into other PYOMI ensembles. It was co-founded by Gloria dePasquale and the late William dePasquale, Co-Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra.

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.