Lorin Maazel

News

DC Youth Orchestra Program
Maestro Maazel leads the Youth Orchestra in a rehe...

Maestro Maazel Leads Young Musicians in Rehearsal: the DC Youth Orchestra Program

On Saturday, October 17, Maestro Maazel paid a much-anticipated visit to Coolidge Senior High School to work with a group of forty young musicians from the DC Youth Orchestra Program. The group, called the Youth Orchestra, is made up of musicians drawn from the Program's most advanced students. Maestro Maazel led the orchestra in rehearsal of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, the Pastoral, which it is scheduled to perform at the Kennedy Center in December.

Having recently completed his tenure at the New York Philharmonic, Maestro Maazel continues to keep a challenging schedule, which includes conducting concerts all over the world, his Music Directorship of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain, and embarking on the second-ever Castleton Festival with his fast-growing non-profit organization, the Châteauville Foundation.

In keeping with his usual spirit of passing forward knowledge to the younger generations, Maestro Maazel makes time for young musicians by developing further outreach educational opportunities with his Foundation, building a Festival that focuses on young artists in the opera world, inviting high school musicians to pariticipate in a full evening of concert program during the Castleton Festival, opening rehearsals with different orchestras around the world to groups of student audiences, and visiting and working with young musicians in programs such as the DC Youth Orchestra.

The DC Youth Orchestra Program has served the Washington, D.C. community since 1960 by providing music education and performance opportunities to young people regardless of previous skill, experience or income level. Because of the program's unique structure and curriculum, no child is turned away and every child is challenged by being placed in a level appropriate to his or her ability.  In the past year, the students of the Youth Orchestra performed for the National Endowment for the Arts Council meeting and at the White House for the current administration’s first Easter Egg Roll.

Read the related story from the Washington Post here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102101595.html