Two of what might be called the world’s most prestigious youth orchestras will come together on August 9th and 10th in joint performances here in New York.
From Milan, the home of Giuseppe Verdi, the Orchestra Sinfonica Junior (OSJ) joins The Children’s Orchestra Society of New York (COS), the youth orchestra founded in 1962 by Doctor H. T. Ma, the father of famed cellist, Yo Yo Ma, and is fiercely led by Yo-Yo’s sister, Dr. Yeou-Cheng Ma. COS just celebrated its 50th anniversary at Carnegie Hall.
Giovani Consonanze is a youth orchestras exchange program created by Orchestra Sinfonica Junior. OSJ was funded and is currently directly supervised by the principal musicians of the Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra and Choir (LaVerdi) of Milan. Comprised of three orchestras (the Baby Orchestra for students between the ages of 6-9; the Kids Orchestra for students between the ages of 10-14; the Orchestra Junior for students between the ages of 15-18 and up), since 2010 OSJ has been active in several exchange experiences throughout Europe and Russia, shaping a festival, Giovani Consonanze, that every summer would bring together OSJ and a different foreign youth orchestra for a week of intense work and performances. This year’s partner and host for Giovani Consonanze is The Children’s Orchestra Society of New York City.
OSJ and COS will be working together with a joint faculty for 6 days (from August 5th to August 11th) and will bring their collaboration alive in two concerts. On August 9th the Faculty Recital at 7.30 p.m. at St. John’s in the Village (218 W. 11th St, New York), where some of the more advanced students will be joining the faculty’s ensembles; and on August 10th the joint orchestra symphonic concert at the Parish of Calvary at St. George (277 Park Avenue South, New York). Both concerts will offer free admission (donations only) and will present traditional classical repertoire paired with some more modern and folk music as well.
This Festival will be continued next summer, when COS will be in Milan accompanied by their conductor and faculty. The culmination of this educational project will be hosted in the prestigious Auditorium della Fondazione Cariplo in Milan which is also home to LaVerdi.
