Metropolitan Youth Symphony: Against the Grain

• Amir Avsker, piano
• Cyrus Ngan, piano
• Interlude Orchestra – Metropolitan Youth Symphony

Emilie Mayer — Faust-Ouverture, Op. 46
Leonard Bernstein — Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Elaina Rae Stuppler — Selected works (TBA)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 ("III. Rondo. Allegro Assai")
Ludwig van Beethoven — Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 ("III. Rondo. Allegro")

Note: Portland'5 has cancelled MYS' May 19 concert due to HVAC failure at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The concert has been rescheduled to Friday June 2 at either the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, if a temporary cooling system can be put in place, or Keller Auditorium if the cooling system is not yet in. We will contact ticketholders & performers via email and post updates on the MYS website regarding the final location as soon as we know.

The season finale will showcase Faust Overture by Emilie Mayer, an underappreciated contemporary of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt. Emilie challenged the expectations of female composers during her time, veering away from salon music in favor of grand form. Despite her eight symphonies and numerous overtures, the Faust Overture was the only work printed during her lifetime.

Wrapping up the 2022-23 season, MYS will play Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story: Symphonic Dances, telling the iconic story of forbidden love and power struggles on the streets of upper west side New York in the 1960s. The narrative will unfold across nine interconnected pieces of music, including the Prologue, Somewhere, Scherzo, Mambo, Cha-Cha, Meeting Scene, 'Cool' Fugue, Rumble, and Finale.

Student composer Elaina Stuppler will finish off this season's lineup for the Authentic Voice Project with her piece addressing gun violence. This project provides aspiring composers with an opportunity to write and hear their work performed by MYS students, cultivating musical creativity in the next generation of musicians.

This show will spotlight two of the winners of MYS’ annual Concerto Competition. Co-winners of the Winds/Brass/Percussion/Piano category Amir Avsker and Cyrus Ngan will perform Mozart Piano Concerto K. 466, Mov 3 and Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3, Mov 3, respectively. Held each January, with its winners showcased during the March and May shows alongside the Symphony Orchestra, this competition tests mastery of challenging and mature solo repertoire for strings, winds, brass, and percussion.

About Metropolitan Youth Symphony

https://playmys.org/

About Interlude Orchestra – Metropolitan Youth Symphony

Musicians in this full orchestra (strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion) will be reading music in the keys up to three sharps. They should play with a nice tone, accurate intonation and have good rhythm skills. Musicians should be able to respond to changes in dynamics, tempo and meter. Rhythms will include triplets, 16th notes, and dotted rhythms. Interlude performs three concerts a year and takes a day tour in the spring.

https://playmys.org/ensembles-portland/#interlude