Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra announces auditions for 2019-20 season
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra today announced when auditions will take place for the 2019-20 season. Auditions will be held at Severance Hall during the month of May and June. Middle- and high-school student instrumentalists who study privately and actively participate in their school’s music program are invited to audition. Auditions will be heard for the following instruments: violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, flute, piccolo, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, contrabassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, tuba, percussion, and keyboard. Audition applications must be received by Friday, March 29, 2019. The application fee is $30. Those interested should contact Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra Manager Lauren Generette at 216-231-7352, email [email protected] for information, or download audition materials at clevelandorchestrayouthorchestra.com (click on “Auditions”).
During the 2019-20 season, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra will give three performances at Severance Hall, as well as concerts in the Greater Cleveland community with Music Director Vinay Parameswaran. Mr. Parameswaran is currently serving as assistant conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and is finishing his second season as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. Members of The Cleveland Orchestra serving as coaches to the Youth Orchestra and leading weekly sectional rehearsals include: Peter Otto and Kathleen Collins (violin); Stanley Konopka and Mark Jackobs (viola); Richard Weiss and David Alan Harrell (cello); Mark Atherton (bass); Frank Rosenwein and Jeffrey Rathbun (oboe); Robert Woolfrey (clarinet); Jonathan Sherwin (bassoon); Shachar Israel (trombone); Hans Clebsch (horn); Lyle Steelman (trumpet); Yasuhito Sugiyama (tuba); Trina Struble (harp); Joela Jones (keyboard); and Thomas Sherwood (timpani/percussion).
“This is my third year in the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and I have many treasured memories from experiences in this ensemble. It’s hard to describe in words the way we connect,” said COYO violin member Célina Béthoux. “During coachings and side-by-side rehearsals, we learn from Cleveland Orchestra musicians and their own discoveries and happenings on their musical journeys; they have a broad variety of high-level insights to share. Maestro Parameswaran picks out extraordinary repertoire, and, through his incredibly valuable input, helps translate the composer's emotions and messages for all of the different instruments. I’ve learned so much — not just about orchestral playing, but concepts and musical ideas I can incorporate into solo and chamber music.”
About The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
Currently in its 33rd season, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra is a full symphonic ensemble comprised of 100 young musicians drawn from 40 communities in 11 counties across Northern Ohio. Since its inception in 1986, the Youth Orchestra has performed more than 200 concerts and has provided a musical home to 1500+ of the region’s most talented young musicians.
In 1998, the ensemble was one of five youth orchestras chosen to participate in the second National Youth Orchestra Festival at Michigan’s Interlochen Center for the Arts. Three years later, it made its debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall as part of the Carnegie Hall Family Concert Series, and at Penn State University’s Eisenhower Auditorium. In 2009, the Youth Orchestra embarked on a six-day, four-concert tour to Boston, Massachusetts and its surroundings. The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra made its first international appearance in 2012 with a tour that included concerts in Prague, Vienna, and Salzburg, followed by a second international tour to China in 2015. A third international tour to Europe is planned for June 2019.
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra is supported by a generous grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation and by gifts from many other donors from across Northeast Ohio. Endowment support is provided by The George Gund Foundation and the Estate of Jules and Ruth Vinney.