Incorporating young talent from all over Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, the American Youth Symphony aims to provide pre-professional musicians with the skills they need to earn places in top orchestras. Conductor Alexander Treger, who also holds a spot as first violinist and concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, will lead the symphony in a performance of works by Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff at Royce Hall on Sunday.
Since its creation in 1964, the American Youth Symphony has had support from musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma and John Williams as well as top musicological organizations, such as The Film Music Society and the Colburn Foundation. Alumni of the group have gone on to become members of some of the nation’s most renowned orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
This year, the orchestra features musicians aged 15 to 27, the majority of whom are undergraduate or graduate students.
UCLA alumnus Jamie Strowbridge is in his fourth year performing as a percussionist with the American Youth Symphony. In his time at UCLA, Strowbridge performed with the UCLA Wind Ensemble and Bruin Marching Band, along with other ensembles. He found out about the American Youth Symphony from other percussionists he was working with at UCLA and auditioned during his first year of graduate school. Strowbridge will be a featured percussionist in Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale.”
“It has been a very enriching experience, very educational. It’s been terrific to play really good music with a lot of really good players that are all around my age, as well as to be led by a very good conductor,” Strowbridge said. “I’ve improved as an ensemble player and as an orchestral player. I’ve been the principal percussionist ““ this is my third year doing that job ““ so I’ve definitely learned from that experience how to be a leader in an orchestral section.”
Besides containing UCLA students and alumni, the American Youth Symphony holds other close ties with UCLA, having held performances at Royce Hall for the past 47 years. The orchestra also practices in UCLA’s Schoenberg Music Building on weekends.
“We are always happy when (UCLA) students participate in quality music organizations,” said Professor Neal Stulberg, music director and conductor of the UCLA Philharmonia and the UCLA Symphony. “We’re delighted to have the American Youth Symphony with us. … I’m sure that many professional musicians remember very fondly their time in orchestras like the American Youth Symphony, not only because of the musical experience, but also because of the friendships they developed in the orchestra.”
Part of the close-knit experience comes from the selectivity of the symphony. Though only 20 to 30 spots open up each year, there are often up to 250 musicians auditioning for a position. However, for Treger, it’s the talented youth that help keep the music rejuvenated.
“Working with the young people, having this opportunity to see someone who’s (experiencing) these pieces for the first time, for me as a conductor it’s absolutely an incredible feeling. … The freshness, the eagerness to learn, that’s absolutely irreplaceable,” Treger said. “The response we always get from all this, we know we are doing something really important for the music and for the musical life.”