Now in its seventh decade, the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO) is one of the oldest and most highly regarded youth orchestras in the United States, providing professional-caliber musical experiences to gifted young instrumentalists and thrilling discriminating audiences in greater Philadelphia and around the world for more than 65 years. Its companion ensemble, the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO), was established in 1996 under a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts. In 2003, the PYO and PYAO ensembles were joined by Bravo Brass, an advanced brass instrument program. Ranging in age from 10 through 21 years, the musicians of the PYO, PYAO and Bravo Brass are selected by competitive audition and come from a seventy-plus-mile radius of Philadelphia encompassing much of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The three ensembles present a full season of concerts each year.
The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra was founded in 1939, when a group of young musicians in the Germantown section of Philadelphia began to play music together. Soon thereafter, they approached junior high music teacher Ruth Zippler for help. In short order, the group was organized as the Germantown Youth Orchestra, and applications for membership were received from students throughout the region. The orchestra was incorporated in 1948, and changed its name to the Youth Orchestra of Greater Philadelphia in 1951. It has been known as the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra since 1982.
Widely regarded as one of the world's foremost youth ensembles, the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra has performed in more than twenty countries on five continents. Thirteen international concert tours since 1981 have offered hundreds of talented young musicians the opportunity to perform in many of the world's great concert halls, where their performances have often been judged comparable to those of professional orchestras. The orchestra's international destinations have included cities in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay, and Wales. The orchestra's most recent foreign tour, in June 2004, took it to eastern and central Europe, where it visited Warsaw, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg and Prague, and performed in such distinguished venues as the Roma Musical Theatre, Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic Hall, the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music State University, Radio Symphony Hall, the Mozarteum Grand Hall, and the Rudolfinum-with some of the performances broadcast live on state radio and television programs.
Former PYO musicians currently hold chairs in most of the top twenty professional orchestras in the United States, with many PYO alumni currently serving in The Philadelphia Orchestra alone.
The Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra has become one of the premiere youth orchestras in the greater Philadelphia region, appearing at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts; The Union League of Philadelphia, Montgomery County Community College (Pennsylvania); Irvine Auditorium (University of Pennsylvania); Saint Mark's Church (Philadelphia); Andalusia Estate; The Media Theatre for the Performing Arts; and Valley Forge Military Academy.
The orchestras have collaborated with area ensembles including the Choral Society of Montgomery County; the Germantown Oratorio Choir; and the Upper Darby High School Encore Singers (Pennsylvania). They have also participated in Strings for Schools' "Jazz Violin Summit"; the American Harp Society's 2004 National Conference; grand opening festivities of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts; and the Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival.
Each year, the PYO program engages in community and charitable work. For the past ten years, many performances have helped raise funds for such Philadelphia-area charitable organizations as Reach Out and Read at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; MANNA (Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutritional Alliance); the Voices for Children Foundation; and the Youth Work Foundation of The Union League of Philadelphia.
The orchestras have collaborated with such accomplished soloists as William dePasquale, former Co-Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra; Michael Ludwig, former Associate Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra; pianist Kenneth Drake; vocal soloists Laura Heimes, Serena Benedetti, Phyllis Lewis-Hale, Richard Zuch, Todd Thomas, Brian Chu, Sandra Carney, James Longacre, Steven Brenfleck, and Monica Ziglar; leading jazz artists Regina Carter, Diane Monroe and John Blake, Jr.; and internationally renowned soloists Sarah Chang (violinist) and Susan Starr (pianist).
Bravo Brass is the brass ensemble of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, created in 1996 to provide advanced musical education and performance opportunities for talented and accomplished high-school-age brass players in the Delaware Valley region. Ranging in age from 14 to18 and chosen by auditions held annually in June, the members of Bravo Brass improve their individual and ensemble playing skills, experience important pieces in the brass ensemble repertoire, and have the opportunity to rehearse and perform with the Resident Faculty Brass Ensemble. Bravo Brass thus provides valuable musical training and experience, particularly for young brass players who hope to pursue musical study at the college level and, perhaps, beyond.
Extraordinary artistic leadership is a hallmark of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra program. Adolph Sorian conducted the orchestra's inaugural 1940-41 season, and was followed by J.W.F. Leman, who held the podium for the next ten years. William R. Smith served from 1952 to 1954, when he left to become Assistant Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Joseph Primavera assumed the podium in 1954, and for fifty-one years — from 1954 through the 2004-05 concert season — had the extraordinary distinction of being the longest-serving active conductor of any orchestra anywhere in the world. In September 2005, Maestro Primavera was named Music Director Laureate of the PYO, and was succeeded as the PYO's Music Director and Conductor by Maestro Louis Scaglione, whom he personally and enthusiastically recommended.
Maestro Scaglione joined the artistic staff in 1997 as Conductor of the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra and Coordinator of Chamber Ensembles. He was appointed Associate Conductor of the Youth Orchestra in 1999. In 2004, Mr. Scaglione was promoted to President of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra program, having served as the program's Executive Director for three years.
Paul Bryan, Artistic Coordinator and Conductor of Bravo Brass, joined the artistic staff in 2003. Mr. Bryan is also the Registrar for the Curtis Institute of Music, an adjunct faculty member of Temple University, and is an active freelance musician (trombone).
The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Center, located in historic Saint Patrick Hall at 20th and Locust streets in Philadelphia, hosts open rehearsals of the two orchestras and the brass ensemble: the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra on Sundays from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and Bravo Brass
The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra receives support from the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a State agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts.