The Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra (WCYO) will present its first concert of the season on Sunday, November 19, 2023 at 4:00 PM at the auditorium at East Ridge Middle School in Ridgefield, CT. The concert, titled “FANTASY”, will feature performances by the WCYO’s Symphony Orchestra, String Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble.
“This season WCYO ensembles explore one of the most meaningful and universal rituals throughout human history; storytelling” says WCYO Music Director and Symphony Orchestra Conductor Eric Mahl. “The focus of the year will be to experience, through music, how composers have told stories of love, triumph, myth and legend through the ages and how these stories still ring true today.” The artistic leadership of the WCYO ensembles, along with Mahl, includes String Orchestra Conductor Joanna Giordano and Wind Ensemble/Jazz Ensemble Conductor Malin Carta.
Pieces to be performed on the 19th by the Jazz and Wind Ensembles include The Deacon byThad Jones, The Rakes of Mallow by Leroy Anderson, Acrostic Song by David Del Tredici, and Concord by Clare Grundman. The String Orchestra will present Dance of the Tumblers by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Dragon Fire by Susan H. Day, and Boreas (The Cold, North Wind) by Todd Parrish. The concert will conclude with the Symphony Orchestra performing movements from Scènes de Féerie by Jules Massenet and Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg, and the The Golden Spinning Wheel by Antonín Dvořák.
To purchase concert tickets, click HERE. (Music educators – private teachers and school music teachers – attend free of charge!)
Based in Ridgefield, but made up of youth musicians from 26 towns in Connecticut and southwestern New York State, the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra encourages youth musicians to audition for participation in one of the organization’s ensembles. Entry into the ensembles is offered at select times during the school year early in each of the concert cycles, with primary auditions held in early June for the following year. For audition information, click HERE.
The mission of the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra is to educate and inspire young musicians through the study and performance of classical and contemporary musical works, participation in enrichment activities, and engagement with the community. Our program provides an opportunity to develop artistry and technique, as well as a profound understanding and appreciation of instrumental music. Our members are challenged not only to perform at the highest level, but also to build character, creativity and self-esteem, with music as their guide.