AYCO & AYSO Second Concert of the 22-23 Season

On Sunday, February 12th, the American Youth Concert Orchestra (AYCO) and the American Youth Symphonic Orchestra (AYSO) had their second concert of the season.

 American Youth Concert Orchestra, conducted by Doug Martin, performed first on the concert, playing Bellini’s adventurous “Norma Overture,” Bryant’s vivid “Dusk,” Delibes’ playful “March and Procession of Bacchus,” and von Suppé’s regal “Poet and Peasant Overture.” Following intermission, the American Youth Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Glenn Quader, performed Mussorgsky’s moody “Night on Bald Mountain” and the incredibly impressive “Enigma Variations” from Elgar – the first time in AYPO’s history that the variations have been performed in their entirety.

AYPO Board Welcomes New Board President

At a meeting of the AYPO Board of Directors, on 7th February, Dr Bill Hong stepped down as Board President, and handed over to his successor, Ambassador Allan Mustard. We are profoundly grateful for Dr Hong’s unfailing support during his years as President, and we are delighted that he will continue to be a member of the Board, as Past President. We warmly welcome Ambassador Mustard, whose international diplomatic career and wealth of experience will be of enormous benefit to AYPO.

AYPS First Showcase

On Monday, January 30th the American Youth Prelude Strings (AYPS), our youngest ensemble, performed their very first showcase for an audience of family, friends, and members of our American Youth Debut Orchestra (AYDO) at Langley High School.

Directed by Kristin Gomez, pieces performed included outdoor-themed repertoire such as Lady of the Lake by Jeremy Woolstenhulme, Snowy Woods by James O. Lockett, and Wildfire by Kathryn Griesinger.

AYPS concludes their first season on Monday, May 15th with their final showcase of the 22-23 season, and we are happy to announce we will be offering AYPS again for our elementary-aged musicians in the 23-24 season!

Music Buddies Winter Showcase

On Friday, January 27th, the AYPO Music Buddies Program performed their Winter Showcase in the auditorium of the Minnie Howard Campus of Alexandria City High School. Accompanied by Mr. John Healey on the piano, musicians performed solo works for parents and friends. Music Buddies mentees had been practicing with their mentors since the start of the program in September 2022. To conclude the performance, all mentors and mentees performed together as an ensemble with works by Richard Meyer, and an arrangement of In the Bleak Midwinter by Gustav Holst.

The Music Buddies mentees will perform their final showcase of the 22-23 season on Friday, May 19th at 5:30PM. We hope to see you there!

AYPO Concerto Competition winners to perform at May 2023 Concerts!

The winners of the 2022-2023 AYPO Concerto Competition from AYCO, AYSO, and AYP will be performing with their orchestra in May 2023 at the Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center.

AYCO Winner:
Anne Valerie Ter, piano
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 16 (Grieg)

AYSO Winner:
Louis Westerman, clarinet
Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73 (Weber)

AYP Winner:
Joshua Thrush, bass
Double Bass Concerto, No. 2, Kr172I. (von Dittersdorf)

Thank you again to all of the applicants for participating in the 2023 AYPO Concerto Competition!

AYDO & AYSE in First Concert of the 22-23 Season

The American Youth Debut Orchestra and the American Youth String Ensemble presented their first performance of the 2022-2023 season at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center in Alexandria on Sunday, December 11th.

The American Youth Debut Orchestra and the American Youth String Ensemble are performing a New York to L.A. theme this season, starting with a New York City themed performance. AYDO began the performance with The Star-Spangled Banner. They also performed a newer composition, Grand Central, with various solos performed by musicians throughout the orchestra, as well as Van Morrison's Moondance and the seasonal Somewhere in My Memory from the popular Christmas movie, Home Alone. Pieces performed by AYSE included well-known Broadway showtunes from West Side Story such as America and One Hand, One Heart, an arrangement for string orchestra of An American in Paris by Gershwin, and AYSE finished the holiday season concert in Santa hats and reindeer antlers by performing Leroy Anderson's classic, Sleigh Ride.

AYS Performs in its First Concert of the 22-23 Season!

AYS presented an incredible first concert on the George C. Marshall High School stage, December 10th. Families and friends listened to works by Édouard Lalo, Florence Price, and Ernest Bloch. The orchestra performed Concerto Grosso No. 1, by Lalo, for string orchestra with piano obbligato in incredible performance with the AYS pianist Ellin Kwak, along with Adoration and Symphonie Espagnole. The pieces highlighted solo musicians across the sections under the direction of AYS Conductor, Adrienne Caravan.

AYSO & AYCO First Concert of the 22-23 Season

On Sunday, November 20th, the American Youth Symphonic Orchestra (AYSO) and the American Youth Concert Orchestra (AYCO) had their first concert of the season.

American Youth Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Glenn Quader, performed first on the concert, playing Copland’s lively “Hoe-Down,” Verdi’s dynamic “Nabucco Overture,” Gounod’s playful “Funeral March of a Marionette,” and Tchaikovsky’s sweeping “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture.” Following intermission, the American Youth Concert Orchestra, conducted by Doug Martin, performed Bach’s rhythmic “Fugue in G minor,” Barnes’ dreamy "Yorkshire Ballad,” Beethoven’s moody “Egmont Overture,” Diemer’s modern “Youth Overture,” and Strauss’s stormy “Thunder and Lightning Polka.” The concert was a hit, boasting one of the largest AYPO audience’s in recent history.

AYP joins the NSO onstage at the Kennedy Center

Musicians from the American Youth Philharmonic (AYP) were excited to join the NSO onstage Tuesday, November 1st, performing selections from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 with NSO Music Director Gianandrea Noseda. Musicians then performed this work and Verdi’s Overture to La forza del destino at the first AYPO orchestra concert of the 58th season at Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center on Sunday, November 6th.

With the impact of COVID in 2020 and cancellation of all in-person events, the planned NSO side-by-side to perform Mahler, Symphony No. 5 in March 2020 was unfortunately impacted. The last time AYP had an NSO side-by-side rehearsal was in March 2018, also under the baton of NSO Conductor, Gianandrea Noseda. This year, the musicians had the amazing opportunity to join a Q&A session with Maestro Noseda before rehearsing the first two movements of the Symphony.

This was an incredible opportunity to share with the AYP musicians from the 22-23 season, and we look forward to joining the NSO onstage again in the future. AYPO is thankful to all those with the NSO, Education Department, and Kennedy Center staff to make this possible.

Symphony Spooktacular

Symphony Spooktacular was a hauntingly good time for all the ghouls and ghosts. With 40 students participating in the first annual event, our musical crew learned seven thrilling tunes that included “Rosin Eating Zombies from Outer Space,” “Devil’s Dream,” and “Spooky Twinkle.” After their pizza party, students had fun with mummy wrapping, boo-bowling, candy in the hay, and pumpkin painting. The spooktacular experience came to an end with a costumed concert for family and friends.

Happy Halloween!

AYPO Chamber Ensemble holds the first masterclass in October!

AYPO is excited that the Chamber Ensemble Masterclass #1 started the season events on October 16th at the Alexandria History Museum, Lyceum, in Alexandria, VA. A total of four masterclasses are held throughout the season. Groups from AYPO Junior Chamber Ensemble (JCE) hope to join the live coaching's later in the season. All are welcome to attend the upcoming Ensemble da Camera of Washington performances in December 2022 and March 2023. 

AYPO Welcomes an AYPO Staff Member to a New Administrative Position - Brian Seemann, Production Manager

Brian Seemann lives in Falls Church, VA, where he is the Director of Handbell Ensembles at the Landon School in Bethesda, MD. Brian previously served as Director of Special Events for Inspire Arts and Music in Boston and as the summer Tour Manager for the Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corps. He is a production lead for Under the Sun Productions, producing large scale pageantry events and parades such as DC's National Cherry Blossom, Memorial Day, and Independence Day Parades, the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Chicago Magnificent Mile of Lights Parade. He is also heavily involved in the handbell community having served as an Event Chair for Handbell Musicians of America managing their yearly Distinctly Bronze events, and was on the planning committee for the 2022 International Handbell Symposium in Nashville, TN. Brian is a published composer, and has served as faculty, clinician, and conductor for handbell events around the US.

Brian has served as a production assistant for several years with AYPO, but is now paving his way in our organization as Production Manager. He will oversee all of the production assistants and manage rehearsal and concert spaces to ensure a quality experience for our AYPO events.

AYPO Welcomes A Staff Member - Melissa Schexnaydre, Orchestra Manager

Melissa Schexnaydre (shhex-neye-der) joined AYPO in September 2022 after earning her B.M.Ed in Music Education with a Vocal Primary from Longwood University, her M.A. in Elementary Education from the College of William & Mary, and finally her second M.A. in Arts Management from George Mason University. Melissa performed at the Vatican in 2010 for Pope Benedict XVI and at the 2012 London Olympics. At Longwood, she served as Music Librarian for the choral department and performed in the annual Farmville Summer Garden Opera series. She also served as the Main Stage Chair for Mortar Board, hiring artists that included Post Malone and Aer. At W&M Melissa co-taught in a 5th grade classroom in Williamsburg and post-graduation went on to serve as a Choral Director at two middle schools in Hampton, VA. At George Mason, Melissa re-founded and led the Graduate Arts Management Society, programing social and learning events in the virtual realm for the Arts Management program. She was awarded the Arts Management Leadership Award in 2022 for her time at GMU. Melissa interned with Washington Performing Arts as the Education & Community Engagement Intern, overseeing WPA’s Summer FAM series and the Feder Memorial String Competition.

As Orchestra Manager, Melissa manages the day-to-day functions of the American Youth Concert Orchestra and American Youth Symphonic Orchestra and multiple ensembles.

Melissa can be reached at mschexnaydre@aypo.org.