Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra to Perform

William Preucil working with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra violin section. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is pleased to announce its sponsorship of a free, public concert by the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, under the direction of Steven Smith, Tuesday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Finney Chapel. The Youth Orchestra's Oberlin appearance is one of only three outreach concerts it will perform this season.

The program features Georges Bizet's Suite from Carmen, the complete ballet music from Leonard Bernstein's Fancy Free, and Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

In a 1999 review of the Youth Orchestra, Plain Dealer music critic Donald Rosenberg praised the ensemble, whose members are the performers and audiences of the future

Led authoritatively by their conductor [Smith], the Youth Orchestra players tamed the intricacies [of Stravinsky's suite from The Firebird] and evoked the tender and powerful atmospheres in a marvelous display of individual and corporate artistry. The solo lines were handsomely shaped. The climaxes roared.

Founded under the auspices of the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra was established 15 years ago to provide talented young musicians with a pre-professional orchestral experience of the highest artistic standard. Youth Orchestra members are regularly coached by members of the Cleveland Orchestra--including Oberlin Conservatory graduates Michael Mayhew, assistant principal french horn; Donald Miller, percussion; and Oberlin faculty member James DeSano, principal trombone--and they share Severance Hall as their home venue.

This year marks Steven Smith's third season as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and his fourth as assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra. He is also music director of the Santa Fe Symphony and Chorus.