53rd AYS Gala, April 21st

Saturday, April 21, UCLA's Royce Hall
4:30 pm Q&A, 5:00 pm Concert

Carlos Izcaray, Conductor 

Judith Light and Robert Desiderio, Narrators

REVUELTAS: Sensemayá
IZCARAY: Strike Fugaz
COPLAND: Lincoln Portrait
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”

Tickets: Free   /  Reserve Now

This year’s gala concert features repertoire celebrating the triumph of the human spirit in a first-time collaboration with Human Rights Watch, with works by Revueltas, Copland and Beethoven.

This special performance is the brainchild of AYS Music Director, Carlos Izcaray, who was personally affected by human rights abuses in his native Venezuela in 2004. This pivotal experience led him to become a champion of human rights around the world, and a firm believer in music as a vehicle to voice a message of freedom and justice for all. The concert will feature Strike Fugaz, a world premiere by Maestro Izcaray commissioned for this event.

The concert will be preceded by a Q&A exploring the use of music as a tool for social change, featuring:

• AYS Music Director and Human Rights Advocate Carlos Izcaray
• Professor Joanna Demers, Chair of the Musicology department at USC’s Thornton School of Music, and
• John Raphling, a Human Rights Watch senior researcher covering criminal justice

Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress Judith Light and her husband, actor and filmmaker Robert Desiderio, will join the orchestra to narrate Copland's Lincoln Portrait. Join us for this exciting event!

Presented in Partnership with Human Rights Watch
and sponsored by:

Gala Dinner 7:30pm

Join AYS friends and orchestra members for our annual Gala Dinner, celebrating the continuing success of the American Youth Symphony, and honoring the centennial birthday of loyal AYS supporter and life-long philanthropist Edna Weiss. Individual Dinner & Concert Packages start at $500. Tables for ten start at $5,000.

Reserve a Dinner & Concert Package, or make a gift in honor of Edna Weiss.

This event is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Kaman Foundation, and the Flora L. Thornton Foundation

UCLA's Parking Structure 5 will be under construction for the next two years. Please see our updated parking instructions for Royce Hall.

Parking instructions and more (such as ticketing procedures, audience attire, etc.) can be found in our newly-added "know before you go" feature.

Announcing 2018 AYS Concerto Competition Winner: Sergio Coelho

We are excited to announce the winner of the American Youth Symphony's Annual Concerto Competition: AYS Principal Clarinetist, Sergio Coelho!

Sergio, who first joined the orchestra in 2015, will be featured as a soloist during the 2018/19 Season, and has also won a a cash prize of $1,000.

Congratulations Sergio!

AYS is Hiring Two Summer Interns

This summer, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission is generously funding two 10-week paid internships through their Summer Arts Internship Program. The program is open to all currently-enrolled undergraduates in LA County (full eligibility details here).

The two open positions are in Programs and Public Relations.
Visit our website for full application details!

Our deepest appreciation to the
Los Angeles County Arts Commission
for providing this opportunity! 

Community Concert This Week at A Place Called Home

On Friday, April 13th, an AYS Quartet led by Concertmaster Fellow Gallia Kastner, will present a chamber performance at A Place Called Home, a non-profit youth center just south of Downtown LA.

Operating after-school, on weekends, and during the summer, APCH provides students with enrichment activities, educational opportunities, mentorship and counseling. Their work provides support to help kids to stay in school, go on to higher education, pursue successful careers, and develop into active, contributing citizens and leaders.

AYS is excited to partner with this wonderful organization, and as always, thankful to Peter Mandell and Sarah Coade Mandell, for their support of the Concertmaster Fellowship, and this community chamber concert series. 

Human Rights High School Concert at Harvard-Westlake

Last month, AYS Citizen Musician Fellow Spencer Baldwin brought a string quartet to Harvard-Westlake High School to perform George Gershwin's "Lullaby," and participate in a Q&A about the important role immigration and the blending of cultures has had on the history of music, as part of our ongoing partnership with Human Rights Watch Southern California. 

Thank you to the HRW task force at Harvard-Westlake High School for inviting us to be a part of this important conversation, and to Alexis Hatch, Emma McAllister, Alec Santamaria, and Dustin Seo for their great work as music ambassadors.

You can read more about the event, and the students' reactions to the performance in their school newspaper, the Chronicle. 

Programming Announcement for May Concert

Member's Priority Concert
Saturday, May 12, 2018, 3pm 
Ann & Jerry Moss Theater
At the Herb Alpert Educational Village at New Roads School

HARRY PARTCH: Studies on Ancient Greek Scales 
"MOONDOG" LOUIS HARDIN: String Quartet in C Major, Mvt. 2 Romance
VIVALDI: L'estro Armonico, Op. 3, Concertos No. 1, 3, 6, and 11
VIVALDI: Concerto No. 1 “Spring” from The Four Seasons 

Tickets: Free

Reservations Now Open for Members
General Reservations Open on 4.28.18

We end the 2017/18 season with a very special chamber performance to thank our donors for all they do in support of AYS!

Our inaugural Musician Citizen Fellow, Spencer Baldwin, selected music for this unique event around the theme of "Home," with each composer having a deep connection to the issue of homelessness. 

Musical maverick Harry Partch dropped out of USC in 1922 and spent decades building his own instruments and composing in microtonal scales, while traveling the country as a transient worker. "Moondog" Louis Hardin, whose fans included Philip Glass and former-NY Philharmonic conductor Artur Rodziński, performed on the streets of New York City from the 1940s-70s, wearing a cloak and horned helmet, known to locals as "the Viking of 6th Avenue."  Antonio Vivialdi, a Catholic priest as well as a composer, served from 1703-1740 as a music instructor at the Ospedale della Pieta, a Venetian orphanage known across Europe for presenting extraordinary musical performances. Together, these inspiring works prove that great art can come from unlikely places, and that music can sustain and uplift us during dark and challenging times. The concert will be interspersed with spoken word poetry, written and performed by AYS bassist Mark Gutierrez.

As part of this uplifting event and the Citizen Musician Initiative, AYS orchestra members will be volunteering with organizations providing support and services to our local homeless population.

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