The American Youth Symphony (AYS) is an orchestra based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States, It was founded in 1964. Carlos Izcaray was announced as the third music director in the orchestra's history in 2016.

History

AYS was founded in 1964 by conductor

Mehli Mehta Mehli Mehta (25 September 1908 – 19 October 2002) was an Indian conductor and violinist. Early life Mehta was born in Bombay, India to a Parsi family. His involvement in music stemmed from his birth. As a young violinist his main musical infl ...

(father of

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

and

Zarin Mehta Zarin Mehta (born 28 October 1938) is an Indian-Canadian arts executive who served as the president and executive director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 2000 to 2012, in addition to various positions in the performing arts industry ...

), then Director of the Orchestra Department at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. Mehta led AYS for 33 seasons, retiring at age 90. Of his reasons for founding AYS, Mehta said: "It takes a lifetime to learn symphonic literature... When they leave the American Youth Symphony they will have performed all the symphonies of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

and Dvořák, plus the last six symphonies of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, five of

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

, two of

Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

and all the

Strauss Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is always spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" usually re ...

tone poems. To be a musician, you must know these things."

Training

During the 2013/14 season, AYS was composed of 108 musicians from 26 schools. Training with AYS is tuition-free, and acceptance is competitive. Each season, 250-300 applicants audition to fill an average of 30 open positions. Composer and violinist David Newman (an alumnus of AYS), said of the training: "It's a place where talented kids... come together every weekend and rehearse, with the idea of performing the standard classical music repertoire. So it's a training orchestra, but it's almost the same as a professional orchestra, the quality is so good... Anyone can play in our group. You have to audition to get in but if you're good, anyone can play."

Programs

AYS performs five to seven concerts each season, and the majority of concerts are presented free to the public at UCLA's

Royce Hall Royce Hall is a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Designed by the Los Angeles firm of Allison & Allison (James Edward Allison, 1870–1955, and his brother David Clark Allison, 1881–1962) and completed ...

. Performances have been described by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' as possessing "polish and depth". The repertoire includes classical masterworks, along with contemporary compositions and film music. Past guest artists have included Sarah Chang,

Daníel Bjarnason Daníel Bjarnason (born 26 February 1979) is an Icelandic composer and conductor. He has garnered widespread acclaim for his debut album, ''Processions'' (2010), with TimeOut NY writing he "create(s) a sound that comes eerily close to defining ...

Anna Clyne Anna Clyne (born 9 March 1980, in London) is an English composer, now resident in New York, US. She has worked in both acoustic music and electro-acoustic music. Biography Clyne began writing music as a child, completing her first composition a ...

, Johannes Moser,

Lera Auerbach Lera Auerbach (russian: Лера Авербах, born Valeria Lvovna Averbakh, russian: Валерия Львовна Авербах; October 21, 1973) is a Soviet-born American classical composer and concert pianist.

Valentina Lisitsa Valentina Lisitsa, ; russian: Валентина Евгеньевна Лисица, translit=Valentina Evgen'evna Lisica, ) (born 25 March 1970) is a Ukrainian-American pianist. Lisitsa independently launched her career on social media, without ...

, David Newman,

Alan Silvestri Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for all of his feature films including the ''Ba ...

, Charles Fox,

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...

and

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

The Hollywood Projects

In May 2012, AYS launched the multi-year "Elfman Project" featuring the scores of composer

, and conducted by

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

-nominated film composer David Newman. This project follows a similar three-year exploration of the work of film composer

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franch ...

, and serves the dual purpose of training young musicians in the art of playing for film, and restoring and preserving film scores. The Elfman Project has received attention and praise from the film music community, with Justin Craig of ''Film Score Monthly'' writing: "The American Youth Symphony stands high, mastering the challenge of performing film music with all its unconventional meters and rhythms. Don’t be deceived by the label of “youth” orchestra; the AYS is the real deal." This project has been supported by the

Los Angeles County Arts Commission The Los Angeles County Arts Commission provides leadership in cultural services of all disciplines for the largest county in the United States, encompassing 88 municipalities. The Arts Commission provides leadership and staffing to support the Coun ...

, the

James Irvine Foundation The James Irvine Foundation is a philanthropic nonprofit organization established to benefit the people of California. The foundation's grantmaking focuses on a California where all low-income workers have the power to advance economically. The fou ...

, and BMI.

Notable alumni

AYS alumni "populate major American orchestras of all stripes and make up significant percentages of most of the major performing ensemble here in Los Angeles." Currently, thirteen AYS alumni perform with the

LA Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leaders ...

, seven with the

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. LACO presents its Orchestral Series concerts at two venues, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA's Royce Hall. History James Arkatov, a ...

, and fourteen with the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

. Notable alumni include: * Nigel Armstrong, violinist * Danielle Belen, violinist * Andrew Bulbrook, violinist with the

Calder Quartet The Calder Quartet (CQ) is a string quartet based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1998 at the University of Southern California, the group takes its name from American sculptor Alexander Calder. The ensemble is currently composed of its ...

Barry Carl Barry Strauss Carl (born April 20, 1950) is an American voice-over actor and musician best known as the bass of the a cappella vocal band Rockapella while the group was house band on the PBS children's geography game show '' Where in the World ...

, of

Rockapella Rockapella is an American a cappella musical group formed in 1986 in New York City. The group's name is an amalgam of "rock" and "a cappella". Rockapella sings original vocal music and a cappella covers of pop and rock songs; and over time, their ...

* Raynor Carroll, Principal Percussion at LA Phil * Shoshana Claman, violinist * Franklyn d'Antonio, Concertmaster of the Berkeley Symphony *

John Gross John Gross FRSL (12 March 1935 – 10 January 2011) was an eminent English man of letters. A leading intellectual, writer, anthologist, and critic, ''The Guardian'' (in a tribute titled "My Hero") and ''The Spectator'' were among several pu ...

* Ken Hamao, violinist * Mayumi Kanagawa, violinist * Michelle Kim, Assistant Concertmaster of the NY Phil * René Mandel, Executive Director of the Berkeley Symphony * J. Greg Miller, composer and horn player with

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

and

The United States Army Field Band The United States Army Field Band of Washington, D.C. is a touring musical organization of the United States Army. It performs more than 400 concerts per year and has performed in all 50 states of the United States and in 25 countries. Stationed ...

* Jonathan Moerschel, violist with the

* David Newman, composer and violinist *

Cynthia Phelps Cynthia Phelps (born 1961 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California) is an American violist whose versatile career involves work as a chamber musician, solo artist, and orchestral musician. Phelps is currently the Principal Violist of the New York P ...

, Principal Viola of the New York Philharmonic *

Elizabeth Pitcairn Elizabeth Pitcairn (born December 5, 1973) is a renowned American classical violinist who is noted for performing on the 1720 "Red Mendelssohn" Antonio Stradivari violin. In addition to a solo career, Pitcairn is President and Artistic Director ...

, violinist * Michael Sachs, Principal Trumpet of the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Sev ...

* Sheryl Staples, Principal Associate Concertmaster of the NY Phil * David Stenske, Associate Concertmaster of the

* John Walz, Principal Cellist with the

* John Yeh, Acting Principal Clarinet of the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

External links

American Youth Symphony official website

References

{{Authority control Orchestras based in California Musical groups from Los Angeles