Tag: Youth Orchestras

Nicholas Sharma Named Resident Conductor at Toronto Symphony and Conductor of Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra

Posted on May 12, 2025 by - Who's In

In Friday’s (5/9) Ludwig Van (Toronto), Anya Wassenberg writes, “The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) and Music Director Gustavo Gimeno have announced the appointment of Nicholas Sharma as the TSO’s next RBC Resident Conductor, and conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO). Sharma’s tenure begins with the 2025/26 season…. He’ll be taking over from Trevor Wilson, who has served in both capacities with the TSO and TSYO since 2022…. Sharma is a native of Toronto. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music, followed by a Masters in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Oregon. He … holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the Eastman School of Music. He has worked with the New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami and the National Academy Orchestra of Canada … He served as Assistant Conductor of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the South Dakota Symphony Youth Orchestra for the 2024/25 season. As RBC Resident Conductor, Sharma will work closely with the orchestra’s artistic leadership team … As the conductor of the TSYO, he’ll lead three concerts each season, as well as working with the TSO staff on programming and education.”

Three Appointments at Cleveland Orchestra’s Artistic Team

Posted on May 1, 2025 by - Who's In

The Cleveland Orchestra has appointed three new members to its artistic and creative team. Beginning with the 2025–26 season, Taichi Fukumura joins the Cleveland Orchestra as assistant conductor, James Feddeck becomes principal conductor and musical advisor of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and Tyler Taylor becomes the Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow.

Taichi Fukumura is the music director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. He won second prize in the Mahler Competition 2023 and is a four-time recipient of the Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award. Recent and upcoming appearances include debuts with the Bamberg Symphony, Utah Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Eugene Symphony, Delaware Symphony, and Colorado Springs Philharmonic. He recently returned to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra as guest conductor after serving as assistant conductor and leading the orchestra in over 110 concerts. Other appearances include guest conducting members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in their Community Chamber Concert series, and serving as assistant conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta, where he had been a Freeman Conducting Fellow. Born in Tokyo, Fukumura grew up in Boston and began music studies at age 3 on the violin. He holds a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Boston University, and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University. Additional training includes the Aspen Music Festival and School and the Pierre Monteux School and Festival.

James Feddeck previously served as assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra and as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) from 2009 to 2013. Until last season, he was principal conductor of Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan. He has appeared with European orchestras including the Vienna Radio Symphony; the national orchestras of France, Belgium, Ireland, and Scotland; orchestras in Britain (BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra); and the symphony orchestras of cities throughout Europe. He has also conducted orchestras in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Taiwan. In North America, he has led the major orchestras of Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Montreal, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto. He has nurtured the musical interests of young people at music festivals and orchestral training programs in the U.S. Feddeck is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied in four programs: oboe, organ, piano, and conducting. He received the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award as well as the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from Oberlin.

Tyler Taylor joins the Cleveland Orchestra as composer fellow for a term of three years, beginning with performances of his Permissions this fall. He succeeds Composer Fellow Allison Loggins-Hull. In the 2026–27 season, Taylor will compose a new orchestral work for the Cleveland Orchestra; in his final season, he will write a score for COYO. Taylor’s honors include awards and residencies at the San Francisco Symphony, Copland House, I-Park Foundation, and Louisville Orchestra. He founded and teaches at the Louisville Orchestra’s Young Composer Program, where public-school students have their pieces workshopped and performed by members of the Louisville Orchestra. He teaches composition and horn at the Louisville Academy of Music while maintaining a private studio. He has been commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Washington and Lee State University, Chicago Composers Orchestra, Indiana University New Music Ensemble, Indiana Bandmasters Association, and the National Orchestral Institute. Taylor holds degrees from Indiana University (Doctor of Music with minors in music theory and horn performance), the Eastman School of Music (Master of Music), and the University of Louisville (Bachelor of Music).

League Digital Learning Workshop: “Shaping a Positive Musical Learning Environment for Youth”

Posted on April 14, 2025 by - News Briefs

On Tuesday, April 15, the League of American Orchestras will present “Shaping a Positive Musical Learning Environment for Youth,” a two-and-a-half-hour interactive online workshop that empowers orchestral musicians and teaching artists with tools, mindsets, and strategies to become impactful educators in youth settings. Participants will explore best practices in student engagement, instructional techniques, and pedagogical frameworks that foster musical and personal growth. Leading the workshop are Hassan Anderson, Assistant Professor of Oboe and Coordinator of Teaching Artistry, University of South Carolina School of Music, and Leelanee Sterrett, Third Horn, New York Philharmonic. The content of this digital workshop was developed by Hassan Anderson, Leelanee Sterrett, and the League of American Orchestras.

“Shaping a Positive Musical Learning Environment for Youth” takes place on Tuesday, April 15, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern /11:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Learn more and register at https://americanorchestras.my.site.com/s/lt-event?id=a2cVt00001AJlI5IAL. If you can’t attend the digital learning workshop live, register to receive the recording. Questions? Please contact League Member Services at member@americanorchestras.org.

Instrument Repair Shop for LA Public School Students Gets $1 Million Gift, Plus a Visit from Yo-Yo Ma

Posted on April 10, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Monday’s (4/7) Los Angeles Times, Catherine Womack writes, “In a downtown Los Angeles warehouse Sunday night … an unlikely quartet performed … At the piano, Amanda Nova, a Fairfax High School graduate and freshman at the USC Thornton School of Music. On alto sax, Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School student Ismerai Calcaneo. On violin, Palms Middle School seventh-grader Porche Brinker. And on cello, the most senior member of the group: Yo-Yo Ma. All four performers played on instruments owned and maintained by the Los Angeles Unified School District…. The ensemble came together at a fundraiser at the facility where about a dozen LAUSD employees maintain and repair the school district’s 130,000 instruments. The repair shop, its staff and the students who played with Yo-Yo Ma on Sunday were featured in the documentary short ‘The Last Repair Shop.’… The film won an Academy Award for documentary short last year…. The film’s creators saw the shop’s financial needs and launched a capital campaign … said [co-director Ben] Proudfoot … Sunday’s event … celebrated a $1-million donation from the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation, founded by the veteran TV producer … Proudfoot said 82% of LAUSD’s more than 440,000 students live below the poverty line. ‘For a family to pay $25 a month to rent a violin or take responsibility for a $2,000 tuba, it’s not going to happen for most students … We are doing whatever we can to protect this shop and to rally the community … so that L.A. can keep this beautiful, wonderful thing.’ ”

The Cavalier Symphony, the University of Virginia’s Student-Run Orchestra

Posted on April 9, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Saturday’s (4/5) Cavalier, the student newspaper of the University of Virginia, Abigail Milne writes, “The Cavalier Symphony Orchestra, the University’s only student-run symphony orchestra, gives student musicians an opportunity to perform both classical and contemporary instrumental music in a supportive college ensemble. This semester’s CSO concert takes its audience on ‘The Wanderer’s Tale’—a hero’s journey narrated through a number of orchestral pieces.” Works include Jean Sibelius’ “Finlandia,” selections from Johannes Brahms, Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and the score of the Japanese film “Kiki’s Delivery Service.” “The CSO is a Contracted Independent Organization, meaning everything from conducting pieces to organizing concerts is done solely by students. The main orchestra practices classical and contemporary repertoire and is CSO’s largest group with around 100 members. Its philharmonic orchestra is a smaller ensemble of about 25 CSO musicians who elect to practice for an extra hour each week to perform additional music during their concerts at the end of each semester. CSO offers student musicians a more relaxed alternative to music department-affiliated ensembles like the Charlottesville Symphony, and neither of the main orchestras require an audition to join…. Virginia Lee, CSO co-president and third-year College student, plays cello in both [university] orchestras. She says she appreciates how CSO brings classical music to a wide audience…. Lee said … ‘We’re all college students, and we love music, and we want to bring that love of music out.’ ”