Students in the Philadelphia Sinfonia Association’s three ensembles have created a virtual orchestra performance of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” that also includes musicians who are alumni of the program. The video was created by PSA alumna and videographer Meg Sarachan and is posted at the PSA’s YouTube page. Students in the program, who have been rehearsing during the pandemic using the Zoom platform, first suggested the idea of creating a virtual orchestra to Music Director Gary D. White, who arranged an excerpted version of “Ode to Joy” for an expanded orchestra that includes harps and percussion, with White performing on Baroque recorder. A total of 170 current and past members of the youth orchestra program submitted videos, including several parents who are musicians playing with their children. Philadelphia Sinfonia Association was launched in 1997, and serves students ages 11 to 23 in three ensembles: Philadelphia Sinfonia (advanced full orchestra with 100 members from age 14 through college), Philadelphia Sinfonia Players (intermediate full orchestra for ages 11 to 18), and Philadelphia Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra (advanced string chamber group).
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