Reminder: Free Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Concert this Sunday

This is an excellent way to expose yourself and your family to the arts this summer!

Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) performers travel to Spain for a 10-day tour June 14 - 24, 2012. Chicago area symphonic music lovers will have the chance to preview the tour program in a free tour departure concert, June 3 from 6:30 - 8 p.m. at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. No reservations are required. Visit www.cyso.org for more information.

This tour will be CYSO’s first international tour since 2009 when CYSO traveled to South America. For this tour CYSO has selected an excitingly diverse selection of works by Samuel Barber, Richard Strauss, Alexander Borodin and Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky. “In considering repertoire for the CYSO's Symphony Orchestra, I try always to choose pieces that will challenge the students and inspire the audience,” says CYSO music director Allen Tinkham. “As there are many, many pieces that accomplish both of those tasks, I try to combine them in ways that provide musical variety and also illuminate interesting features of the works as compared to each other.”


Works in the tour program will include the following:
“Second Essay,” op. 17

Composed by Samuel Barber (1910 -1981)
Barber invented the orchestral essay, writing three in total: the first written in 1938, the second in 1942 and the third toward the end of his life in 1978. Each is a single movement of “absolutely abstract music which is essentially dramatic in character,” as Barber described.

“Don Juan,” op. 20
Composed by Richard Strauss (1864 -1949)
Don Juan is the work that launched German composer Strauss’ career. Using the genre of symphonic poem (a type of work, coined by Franz Liszt, that musically represents something non-musical, like a place or a story) Strauss uses broad colorful strokes to depict the dashing Don Juan: his dynamic personality full of romance and vigor, his tender persuasion of women and his daring fights with their men, and finally his pitiful demise.

Polovtsian Dances from “Prince Igor,” arranged by Carl Simpson
Alexander Borodin (1833 -1887)
The opera “Prince Igor” represents over a decade of work – a piece Borodin continually put aside. It remained incomplete at the time of his death but was completed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov. Segments of the work were performed during his lifetime, however, including the Polovtsian Dances from Act II, which have become a concert work for which Borodin is most widely known.

Symphony no. 5 in E minor, op. 64
Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 -1893)
One of Tchaikovsky’s most famous works, the composer considered it a failure, deciding after the second performance that the ending was crude and detrimental to the work as a whole. During the Siege of Leningrad, the Leningrad Radio Symphony Orchestra performed the 5th at the city's Philharmonic Hall. As the second movement began, bombs started to fall nearby, but the orchestra continued playing until the final note.

Stops on the CYSO summer 2012 tour include Madrid, Cuenca, Valencia and Barcelona. During their visit to Cuenca, the CYSO musicians will have the opportunity to spend a day rehearsing with and exploring the culture of their Spanish counterparts in the Joven Orquesta de la Mancha before participating in a joint concert on June 19. A tour itinerary is at the end of this release. For more information, including tour updates visit www.cyso.org.


Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras
Allen Tinkham was appointed Music Director of CYSO in 2001. Under his direction, CYSO has performed at Orchestra Hall, Millennium Park, Ravinia, Carnegie Hall and several international locales as well. During his tenure, CYSO has won seven of its ten ASCAP National Awards for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music, as well as five Illinois Council of Orchestras awards (one Programming of the Year Award, three Youth Orchestra of the Year Awards and one Orchestra of the Year Award).

CYSO has an abundance of alumni that have gone on to hold key positions as part of acclaimed national and international orchestras. Notable orchestras that feature CYSO alumni include: the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic. 26 alumni hold principal chairs in these and other orchestras. CYSO alumni also have established solo careers. Alumna Laurie Anderson is an accomplished violinist and performance artist. Alumnus Andrew Bird is an acclaimed singer songwriter who has received rave reviews about his albums and has even performed on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.” Alumnus Anthony McGill holds the principal clarinet chair in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and was selected to perform at President Obama’s inauguration along with Yo-Yo Ma, Gabriela Montero, and Itzhak Perlman.

Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) has provided music education through orchestral programs and performance opportunities of the highest caliber for 65 years. CYSO currently serves 450 Chicago area musicians ages 7-18 through five core orchestras, chamber music, music theory and composition. It also reaches 2,500 Chicago Public School students and educators each year through its Music Pathways program, which features presentations and concerts by CYSO musicians and training for CPS teachers on how to incorporate music into their classroom curriculum. CYSO is investing in the future of music and the next generation of leaders. Visit www.cyso.org to learn how you can become involved.


# # #




Tour Itinerary
All performances are subject to change.
For tour and program updates, visit www.cyso.org


June 16: Madrid - CYSO Concert, part of Con Los Cinco Sentidos - Festival de Verano de Fuenlabrada
Venue: Plaza de la Constitution



The festival is organized in association with the Town Hall of Madrid and run by the Auditorio de Fuenlabrada. In 2011, the Plaza de la Constitution became a makeshift stage to host the sixth edition of the festival; a cultural initiative that takes place every weekend in June and July. Con los Cinco Sentidos is a cultural program in which a family audience can enjoy theater, circus and music performed by national and international artists. The concerts are free, and are held every Saturday in June and July at 10:30 p.m.



June 19: Cuenca - Joint Concert with the Joven Orquesta de la Mancha
Venue: Teatro Auditorio de Cuenca



The Teatro Auditorio de Cuenca is a multipurpose space constructed by a collaboration between the Ministry of Culture, the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha, the Provincial de Cuenca and the city of Cuenca. It was inaugurated on April 6, 1994 in a ceremony presided over by S. M. Queen Sofia. The building is owned by the city of Cuenca. The modern design structure occupies the space that was formerly a quarry excavated at the foot of the Cerro del Socorro, the river Huécar and faces the old city.



June 20: Valencia – CYSO Concert
Venue: Palau de la Musica



This concert hall is built like a giant greenhouse, employing the theme of transparency and live plants inside. Situated in the Turia river bed it is amongst the most picturesque landscape of the Jardines de Turia, with a lively fountain square in front of it. The Palau and the garden around it totally change by night, creating a different mood. Since its construction in 1984, the ingenious acoustics of the Palau have made it one of the main concert halls of Spain.. The Palau also usually has a modern art exhibition.



June 22: Barcelona – CYSO Concert
Venue: Auditorio Conservatori Liceu



Established in 1837, the Conservatori Liceu celebrates its 175th Anniversary this year.
Don't forget to Subscribe to the free newsletter and check out My Chicago Mommy's Coupon Database to search for coupons!