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Contact: Katie English, 267-974-1250
Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Announces 8th Annual Bravo Brass Festival Concert
All-Brass Ensemble of PYO to perform final concert of the season on June 4th
Philadelphia, PA – June 1, 2011 (Download PDF). The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization (PYO) today announced the 8th Annual Bravo Brass Festival Concert on Saturday, June 4 at 8:00 p.m. at The Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia. Brass on Stage will feature brass students performing music of the opera, stage and screen with works by Gershwin, Bizet and Wagner, conducted by Paul Bryan.
“The Bravo Brass ensemble of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization is the only brass-only ensemble for classical music students in the Tri-State Region, offering young musicians the opportunity to hone their skills through a unique playing experience,” said Maestro Louis Scaglione, President and Music Director of PYO. “The annual Bravo Brass Festival Concert is a special evening for our students and attendees, alike, and I’d like to offer special thanks to my colleague, Paul Bryan, our Bravo Brass faculty and students for their hard work during the 2010/2011 Season.”
Bravo Brass is the brass ensemble of PYO 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 12 to 21 years old 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.
Paul Bryan, Artistic Coordinator and Conductor of Bravo Brass, is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Temple University. He currently serves as Orchestra Conductor at Drexel University, Music Director of Symphony in C’s Summer Symphony Camp, conductor of the Reading Summer Music Institute, conductor of the Rodney Mack Philadelphia Big Brass, conductor of the Philadelphia All-City High School Concert Band, and a faculty member at Temple University and the Curtis Institute of Music. Paul is the Registrar and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Curtis Institute of Music.
The Church of the Holy Trinity is located at 1904 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students (ages 14 – 17) and seniors; children 13 and are admitted at no charge. For information, please call (215) 435-1698.
About the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra: Founded in 1939, the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO) is one of the nation’s oldest classical music training and orchestra performance programs for gifted and talented students from the Tri-State region. Lead by Maestro Louis Scaglione, PYO’s companion ensembles include the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO), formed in 1996; Bravo Brass, added to the program in 2003; Philadelphia Region Youth String Music (PRYSM) created in 2007; and the Musicopia String Orchestra partnership, which began in 2008. Young musicians from ages six through 21 are selected by competition audition and have represented the United States on five continents. The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization offers classical musical performances to the Greater Philadelphia region each year and supports musical education to children from Philadelphia’s more challenging neighborhoods through its newest after-school program launched in 2010, Tune Up Philly.
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