Spring 2008 Concert Series

May 16, 17 & 18

The three ensembles of the Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 16 at Grants Pass High School’s Performing Arts Center, on Saturday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Southern Oregon University’s Music Recital Hall in Ashland, and on Sunday, May 18 at 3:00 p.m. at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater in Medford.  Tickets are $5.00 for students/seniors and $10.00 for adults and are available at Paddington Station in Ashland and Larry’s Music in Medford and Grants Pass.  Tickets for the May 18 performance in Medford are also available through the Craterian Theater’s box office.  The Carpenter Foundation, City of Ashland, U.S. Bancorp Foundation and Avista Fund have provided funding for 2007-2008 YSSO concert series performances.  This project is also funded in part by the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. This year marks the YSSO’s twentieth season of performances.

The Youth Symphony will perform three movements from Piotr I. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, Op. 64. The musicians of Youth Orchestra also will play works by Tchaikovsky, including Sleeping Beauty (waltz from the ballet) and Introduction & March from Symphony No. 6. Youth Orchestra will also perform Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakov’s Procession of the Nobles.  Youth Strings will perform works by W.A. Mozart and Bob Phillips.

Cynthia Hutton, YSSO Music Director and Conductor of the Youth Symphony and Youth Orchestra, marks her thirteenth season with the YSSO this year.  Dr. Hutton is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Southern Oregon University (SOU).  She is a member of the Rogue Valley Symphony Orchestra and the SOU Faculty Brass Quintet.  Prior to coming to Southern Oregon, Dr. Hutton served as Director of Bands and horn instructor at the University of California, San Diego, and was Assistant Conductor of the La Jolla Civic University Orchestra.  She received her doctorate in conducting from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Faina Podolnaya, YSSO Associate Conductor, joined the YSSO in 2000-2001. Upon completion of her studies in violin performance and teaching at the Soviet Conservatory of Music she accepted a teaching position at Kazakhstan’s most prestigious music academy where she worked privately with students, lectured and coached ensembles preparing for competitions and concerts.  Ms. Podolnaya has been the recipient of numerous awards, including her selection as the Soviet Union’s Teacher of the Year.  Ms. Podolnaya conducts Youth Strings, and maintains a thriving private studio where she teaches violin and viola.