SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE
Sun, Oct 6, 2013
ROYCE HALL
5:30 PM SCREENING
FILM Keeping Score : Symphonie fantastique
Michael Tilson Thomas guides us with the San Francisco Symphony through Paris in the 1800s, and the story of Berlioz’s groundbreaking symphony. Love, passion, jealousy, despair. In this dreamlike work, we witness Berlioz’s purportedly opium-fueled obsession with the Irish actress, Harriet Smithson. Courtesy of the San Francisco Symphony. For more information about Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and the entire San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score series, please visit http://www.keepingscore.org
7 PM CONCERT
ALEXANDER TREGER, conductor
TIMO ANDRES, composer
ALLAN STEELE, cello
TIMO ANDRES: Bathtub Shrine (2009) (West Coast Premiere)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Variations on a Rococo Theme
BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique
Commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra, Bathtub Shrine showcases fierce music making and camaraderie, in a playful response to the very reverberating acoustics of Yale’s Woolsey Hall.
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SUNDAYS LIVE AT LACMA
Sun, Oct 20, 2013, 6:00 pm
ALEXANDER TREGER, conductor
RADU PAPONIU, assistant conductor
STRAVINSKY Concerto in D
MOZART Symphony No. 40
Join the American Youth Symphony at the Sundays Live, weekly chamber music series at LACMA’s Bing Theater. Doors open at 5:40PM. Seating is open: first come, first serve.
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THE ELFMAN PROJECT II
Sun, Nov 24, 2013
ROYCE HALL
4:30 PM SYMPOSIUM
DAVID NEWMAN, guest conductor
JON BURLINGAME, moderator
RICHARD KRAFT, panelist
JEFF BOND, panelist
DANNY ELFMAN Overeager Overture
Presented in partnership with the Film Music Society
5:30 PM DINNER WITH PANELISTS
Film music fans and artists gather for continued discussions with panelists, and enjoy a bistro style dinner catered by Barbrix Wine Bar. Dinner guests benefit from premium seating. All proceeds support the American Youth Symphony.
7 PM CONCERT
ALEXANDER TREGER, conductor
DAVID NEWMAN, guest conductor
JON BURLINGAME, host
PROKOFIEV Lieutenant Kijé Suite
DANNY ELFMAN Alice in Wonderland, Big Fish, Spiderman, film clips from Milk (Universal Studios Licensing LLC) and more
After the success of the Project’s first year, Danny Elfman’s music returns! This multi-year series presents a rare opportunity to discover the famed composer’s brilliant music in concert. With excerpts performed live to film and premieres of new concert suites, we explore Elfman’s collaborations with Tim Burton and the evolution of an art form since Prokofiev’s 1933 score for the soviet film, Lieutenant Kijé.
Generously curated by alumnus David Newman, the film music projects of the American Youth Symphony celebrate and preserve the finest contributions of film composers to the iconic movies we love.
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SACRED HEART: EXPLOSION
Sun, Feb 9, 2014, 7:00 pm
ROYCE HALL
ALEXANDER TREGER, conductor
JEFFERSON FRIEDMAN, composer
NATALIE HOE, clarinet
JEFFERSON FRIEDMAN: Sacred Heart: Explosion (West Coast Premiere)
WEBER: Clarinet Concerto No. 2, Op. 74
DVORÁK: Symphony No. 8
Jefferson Friedman’s irresistible music was inspired by Sacred Heart: Explosion, a painting by Henry Darger (1892-1973). A visionary artist with no formal training, Darger produced a 15,145 page fantasy novel and hundreds of drawings and paintings, which were all discovered after his death. His work quickly gained pop culture acclaim and is now part of the permanent collections at the American Folk Art Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City, among other institutions.
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SPRINGTIME IN PARIS GALA
Sun, March 9, 2014, 6:00 pm
ROYCE HALL
ALEXANDER TREGER, conductor
VALENTINA LISITSA, piano
ADAM SCHOENBERG: Up!
RACHMANINOFF: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
GERSHWIN: An American in Paris
RAVEL: La Valse
One of the most watched classical musicians in the world, with more than 59 million YouTube views, the sensational Valentina Lisitsa joins the musicians of American Youth Symphony for the Spring fundraising concert and soiree. We walk with Gershwin as he reveals the textures, the atmosphere and even the homesickness he experiences through his symphonic poem, An American in Paris.
8 PM FUNDRAISING SOIREE WITH THE MUSICIANS
Music, magic, and a bistro dinner! A delightful evening to support the program and bring together AYS musicians and music lovers.
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THE ALUMNI PROJECT
Sun, April 13, 2014, 7:00 pm
ROYCE HALL
ALEXANDER TREGER, conductor
NIGEL ARMSTRONG, violin
DEBUSSY: An Afternoon of a Faun
CHAUSSON: Poème, Op. 25
SAINT-SAËNS: Introduction et rondo capriccioso Op. 28
STRAUSS: An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64
Alumni return to join forces and perform one of Strauss’s largest non-operatic works: the score calls for 125 players, and depicts the spectacular climb up an Alpine mountain-top, from twilight to dusk.
Soloist Nigel Armstrong, who trained with the American Youth Symphony from 2008 to 2011 while studying at the Colburn Conservatory, won Fourth Prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011. He continues his ascent to international fame sharing his many talents in tango, bluegrass and classical music performances around the world.
