Tour Preview Concert
The California Youth Symphony, the first U.S. youth orchestra ever to tour overseas, will continue its proud tradition this June when the Senior Orchestra travels to Italy and Austria, marking its 19th international sojourn and its 13th with Leo Eylar. The itinerary will begin in Mozart’s home town of Salzburg with a concert at the prestigious Grand Hall of the Mozarteum. The orchestra will then head south to Italy for concerts in Verona and Montecatini before finishing up in Rome for the final concert. Of course there will be plenty of time for sightseeing as the orchestra entourage – musicians, staff, and parent chaperones – experience this extraordinary destination.
Those of us who were lucky enough to attend one of last November’s Senior Orchestra concerts were treated to an astonishing display of musicianship by young piano soloist Misha Galant in electrifying performances of the fearsomely difficult Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3. The wonderful news for both local and European audiences is that Misha will be our featured tour soloist! If you missed Misha in November -- or if, like everyone else who did hear him, you want to hear him again – you are in luck. Misha will perform Gershwin’s beloved Rhapsody in Blue.
On this day, CYS will also select its Paris Benefit Raffle winner. The CYS Benefit Raffle is a fabulous opportunity to win valuable prizes while helping our orchestra and its members fund the 2016 Austria & Italy Tour. If you have not yet purchased raffle tickets for this event and would like to find out more about raffle program, please click on the raffle ticket image to the right.
Leo Eylar, conductor
Misha Galant, piano
Falla: Three Dances from The Three-Cornered Hat
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (Misha Galant, soloist)
Borodin: Polovetsian Dances
Williams: Star Wars Suite
Márquez: Danzón No. 2
Young Artist Concerto Winner
Misha Galant is a senior at California High School in San Ramon. He began piano lessons at the age of six with his mother and current teacher, Olya Katsman. Misha’s musical heritage includes three generations of pianists, including his great-grandmother who was a student of Maria Yudina, and his great-grandfather who studied with Heinrich Neuhaus in Kiev, Ukraine.
