In November 2008, New York Youth Symphony Music Director Ryan McAdams opened his second season with the world premiere of Ryan Gallagher’s Strife and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, both featuring soloist Haochen Zhang. The following spring Zhang took one of two first prizes in the Cliburn International Piano Competition.
Steve J. Sherman
File This!
“ We liked The Lost Elephant so much that we brought Dan back six months later to do The Haunted Orchestra. Both shows were delightful, and we continue to hear praise from teachers, musicians, staff and parents. Dan’s innovative productions captivate children in a meaningful and imaginative manner. The music is brought to life and everyone has a great time. It is a pleasure to work with such a devoted and talented professional.”
— Annapolis Symphony Check out the file on Dan at
www.dankamin.com
Dan Kamin
Comecdeyrtos Con (412)563-0468 dan@dankamin.com
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and an experience that proved essential to spectively—and the Philadelphia Youth Orsecuring a music directorship at the Eugene chestra, where Joseph Primavera completed (Ore.) Symphony Orchestra immediately a record 51-year tenure in 2004. The PYO following his four-year NYYS tenure. “A is now directed by its erstwhile assistant connice thing about working with the youth orductor, Louis Scaglione, who at Primavera’s chestra,” he remembers, “was that the hierarbehest took over as both music director and chy of music director to musicians executive director of the previously exists even though everybody is at “I was in my volunteer-run organization. an early stage of their musical life. Melody Welsh-Buchholz, exmid-twenties, Musically speaking, we were ready ecutive director of the Louisville to play anything. But the format looking to Youth Orchestra and current was completely different than at build my chair of the League of American professional orchestras, where we Orchestras’ Youth Orchestra Dicareer, and have to produce so many perforvision, says that when she began mances per week or weekend. youth orches- managing the LYO 25 years ago, With the youth orchestra we’d tras were one career youth-orchestra conduchave eight or more rehearsals for tors like Sokol and Avshalomov of the areas each concert, plus sectionals— were “the unusual animals in the where there whatever was needed.” bunch.” Conductors with dedicatAdding greatly to the experi- seemed to ed careers leading youth orchestras ence was the NYYS’s First Music include the PYO’s Scaglione, who be natural commissioning program, which conducts both its senior ensemmeant participating in the com- possibilities ble and the Philadelphia Young poser-selection process and learn- for me,” says Artists Orchestra, one of PYO’s ing three brand-new scores each feeder groups; Aviva Segall, now Troy Peters. season. “That appeals to a musicompleting her eleventh season as cal mind in a very different way music director of the Omaha Area than a previously existing work would,” says Youth Orchestras; Michael Neumann, who Harth-Bedoya, “and you get to interact with was named conductor of the Sacramento living composers. There’s no better training Youth Symphony in 1979 when it was an in music.” arm of the now-defunct Sacramento Symphony, and who has significantly expanded the program in the nineteen years since it The Long Haul went independent; and Troy Peters, who Aside from the Seattle Youth Symphony came to the Youth Orchestras of San AntoOrchestras, where Vilem Sokol reigned for nio as music director last fall after fourteen nearly three decades, youth-orchestra proyears leading the Vermont Youth Orchestra grams that became known for career music Association. directorships include the Portland (Ore.) In high school Peters had played in the Youth Philharmonic—its first two conTacoma Youth Symphony, and he traces ductors, Jacques Gershkovitch and Jacob his early interest in conducting to the influAvshalomov, served for 30 and 40 years, resymphony
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