Carnegie’s youth orch to tour China
mainThe National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, founded by Carnegie Hall, is heading to China this summer. Dutoit conducts. Players to be announced in March.
(January 7, 2015; NEW YORK, NY)—Carnegie Hall today announced details for an extensive tour to China by the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) in July 2015. This remarkable ensemble, created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, annually brings together some of the most talented young musicians from across the United States, ages 16-19, offering them an opportunity to train at the highest level with some of the world’s greatest artists while also serving as cultural ambassadors for their country, connecting with people around the world through their passion for music.
The orchestra will perform nine concerts in the US and abroad from July 10–26, visiting many of China’s greatest concerts halls in several different regions of the country, including the National Centre for the Performing Arts in China’s capital city, Beijing. This historic first visit to Asia by NYO-USA follows acclaimed inaugural year performances in Washington DC, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and London in 2013 and a coast-to-coast US tour in 2014.
The 2015 NYO-USA China tour schedule is as follows:
| July 10 | Purchase, NY | Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, SUNY |
| July 11 | New York, NY | Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage |
| July 15 | Beijing | National Centre for the Performing Arts |
| July 17 | Shanghai | Shanghai Oriental Art Center |
| July 19 | Suzhou | Suzhou Cultural and Arts Centre |
| July 21 | Xi’an | Xi’an Concert Hall |
| July 23 | Shenzhen | Shenzhen Concert Hall |
| July 24 | Guangzhou | Xinghai Concert Hall |
| July 26 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong Cultural Centre |
Celebrated conductor Charles Dutoit, Conductor Laureate of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Artistic Director of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, leads NYO-USA this summer, joined by internationally-renowned pianist YUNDI as guest soloist. The orchestra’s 2015 concert program to be performed at all tour venues will include the premiere of a new work from award-winning Chinese composer Tan Dun, commissioned by Carnegie Hall especially for NYO-USA as well as Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”) with YUNDI; and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.
It seems unfortunate to me that the NYO-USA cannot find a way to perform a work by a composer from the USA.
Here are some performances of the NYO-USA playing works by American composers (and some more videos about and by the musicians):
https://www.youtube.com/user/nyousa/videos
The absence of works by American composers for concerts on their China tour might be based on the preferences of the audiences there.
They performed a world premiere by Samuel Carl Adams as well as Bernstein last year. Also, another premiere by Sean Shephard the year before. I don’t think it’s a big deal.
I wonder how many western orchestras have appeared in China largely due to the engagement of a small handful of Chinese soloists. Would the NYO-USA have got near China without the presence of Yundi?
Ironically China itself, a country producing many very fine musicians, has no National Youth Orchestra of its own. The Beijing Conservatory Orchestra sometimes tours with a roughly similar title. One would have thought, though, that any country with such a growing interest in classical music and so many young people studying music would have got a truly National Youth Orchestra off the ground by now.