Review of Youth Orchestra's Nov. 8, 2009 Concert at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

"ESYO's} playing Sunday afternoon at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall was sometimes so extrordinary that one might have mistaken it for a professional orchestra. . .

. . . the large crowd of family and friends could bask in the orchestra's rich, mellow tone and be amazed at the skill level of the players."

Youth Orchestra delivers thrilling concert in Troy
By Geraldine Freedman for The Daily Gazette

Troy – The Empire State Youth Orchestra’s playing Sunday afternoon at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall was sometimes so extraordinary that one might have mistaken it for a professional orchestra.  Much of that high level of performance comes from music director Helen Cha-Pyo’s high expectations.

It’s no accident that the 84 musicians play with such clarity of rhythm and purpose.  One need only look to Cha-Pyo’s clear stick technique and, even when her hair flies during dramatic passages, she is in total control.

The concert began with a breathlessly quick Prelude to “Lohengrin”, Act III by Richard Wagner.  Energy and dynamic levels were high and Cha-Pyo got some nice lift in the phrasing from the woodwinds during a less tumultuous section.  Dmitri Kabalevsky’s Overture to “Colas Breugnon” also had some splash with its jazz-inflected rhythms.  Tempos were perky.  For both pieces, pitch was still settling and balances were a bit uneven.

The featured soloist for the afternoon was the 2009 Lois Lyman Concerto Competition winner, violinist Zachary Evans, who attends Niskayuna High school.  Although it was the first time Evans had performed a concerto with an orchestra, he played Edouard Lalo’s “Symphonie espagnole” (1875) with calm assurance.  The 30-minute work of four movements is part of a soloist’s standard repertoire and is full of virtuosic technique, stylish melodies and Spanish and gypsy dance rhythms.  It takes a Perlman to dazzle, but that’s a level Evans can work up to.

For now, he played all the notes with much clarity and passion, used precise rhythms and produced a big sound.  He was obviously well prepared and didn’t use music.  The first movement with its light and charming seguidilla dance seemed to lay under his fingers a bit more and Evans showed some flair here.

The orchestra was supportive but pedantic, although Cha-Pyo kept balances tight.  She set a slower tempo than usual in the final movement to accommodate all the notes Evans had to play.  The only problem Evans had was his pitch, which was almost consistently flat throughout.

From the opening bars of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade,” however, the large crowd of family and friends could bask in the orchestra’s rich, mellow tone and be amazed at the skill level of the players.  Concertmistress Lily Holgate of Saratoga Springs was exceptional in her many solos.  She played with marvelous presence, accuracy and soaring passion.  What Sultan couldn’t love this Scheherazade.

The orchestra had many wonderful moments throughout, but the last two movements were thrilling.  The 40 hours of rehearsal were worth it.

Concert Review, The Daily Gazette, November 9, 2009

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Reviews of 2008 Melodies of Christmas featuring ESYO's Youth Orchestra and Youth Chorale

Sweet Sounding Melodies from the Times Union's Around the Region
Every year the annual Melodies of Christmas show at Proctors seemingly gets better.  For my money, except for the Rockettes, the local volunteer performance is as entertaining as the famous Radio City Music Hall extravaganza.   . . . Of course, it’s hard to believe the Empire State Youth Orchestra and Choraliers performance could be topped by any youth musical groups in the nation. . . . On a scale of 1 to 10, we gave the latest Melodies a 12.

Concert review in Around the Region, Times Union, Dec. 30, 2008

Melodies of Christmas a spectacularly fun event
By Geraldine Freedman for The Daily Gazette

Schenectady – The 29th annual “Melodies of Christmas” opened Thursday night to a capacity crowd at Proctors.  It is an extravaganza of sight and sound with more than 300 children involved in the Empire State Youth Orchestra and Empire State Youth Chorale and dancers from Northeast Ballet and Orland School of Dance.. . .

Visually, the show was beautiful; the chorale’s red robes against the black orchestra, the winter mountain scenes on the scrims.  Stocking caps graced the tops of the double basses.

With all of this happening along with all of those Christmas carol singalongs, it was hard not to enjoy yourself.  And the crowd certainly did.

The ESYO under firebrand conductor Helen Cha-Pyo sounded terrific, and the chorale, which gathers only for “Melodies,” was amazing.  For director Ned Fleischer to work for about seven weeks with the singers and get such great diction and such discipline is more than impressive.. . .

After a brass fanfare from the balcony, trumpeter Anthony Bellino soloed in “A Trumpeter’s Lullaby.”  His sweet tone and unforced, easy phrasing were pleasing.  The orchestra also took a solo in Strauss’ “Tritsch-Tratsch Polka.”. . .

Concert Review, The Daily Gazette, December 19, 2008

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Review of New Music for a New Generation Festival Evening Concert, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, March 8, 2008

“A marathon of the latest contemporary music… …remarkably confident and vibrant performances.”

Music of the future will be in good hands
By Joseph Dalton for the Times Union

Troy – A marathon of the latest contemporary music sounds like something staged in a funky concert hall in lower Manhattan, or perhaps at a conservatory somewhere.  But Saturday night it was happening in downtown Troy and, even more unexpectedly, the performances were all by middle school and high school musicians.

“New Music for a New Generation” was a commissioning project and day of activities put on by the Empire State Youth Orchestra, an organization that actually encompasses nine different ensembles.  Each group presented the world premiere of a work written expressly for it.  All of the composers attended rehearsals and were on hand to introduce their pieces.

It was a long but fulfilling evening that culminated with the youth orchestra and conductor Helen Cha-Pyo performing Samuel Adler’s “A Bridge to Understanding.”  The impressive and substantial five-movement piece was given remarkably confident and vibrant performance.  Adler conceived it as a concerto for orchestra with solos for many of the players, all of whom delivered with aplomb.

Adler recently turned 80; in tribute, the orchestra ended with Aaron Copland’s arrangement of “Happy Birthday,” written for Eugene Ormandy’s 70th birthday.

There were lots of generations represented, since Copland taught Adler and Adler taught Dana Wilson, who wrote “Water, water…” for the Repertory Orchestra and conductor David Beck.  Also a surging and powerful score, it was imaginatively orchestrated to evoke aquatic images, but also brought to mind Bernard Hermann’s dream music from “Vertigo.”

Janice Macaulay’s “Shifting Gears,” her third piece written for the string ensemble since 2000, was an imaginative essay in seven movements, with a skillful deployment of various string techniques, all based on a single motif.

Three lively percussion works began the evening.  “Harry’s Final Journey,” written by Richard Albagli for the Junior Percussion Ensemble, was a simple but evocative retelling of a climactic scene in the final “Harry Potter” book.

Both of the jazz ensembles were given tuneful big-band-style pieces, ripe with solo opportunities.  In Bill Cunliffe’s “O.C.,” a tribute to avant jazz master Ornette Coleman, the final bars were an improvisational free-for-all.

Concert Review, the Times Union, March 10, 2008

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Review of ESYO's Youth Orchestra concert, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, November 11, 2007

“Cha-Pyo’s hair-flying passion and intense involvement clearly inspired the musicians.  The orchestra displayed an abundant energy and technical proficiency, listened well to each other and rocked the hall with the finale’s fireworks.”

ESYO opens 29th season successfully at Troy Music Hall
By Geraldine Freedman for The Daily Gazette,

Troy -  The Empire State Youth Orchestra opened its 29th season Sunday afternoon at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall with a varied program that was satisfyingly played.

Performing to a hall filled with family and friends, the orchestra began with Bernstein’s evanescent Overture to Candide.  Under conductor Helen Cha-Pyo, who is herself a bubbly ball of fire, the orchestra was enthusiastic.  The strings soared, the tempos sparkled and the players put some nice sharp edges to the mood changes.

Beethoven’s “Leonore Overture, No. 3” was a bit more of a challenge.  Technical proficiency and rhythmic clarity were never issues but, in the transparent and slower sections, control of the pitch and consistency in the woodwinds – things that confound even professional orchestras – were cloudy.  The young man who played first flute did a very nice job with the famous solo in the faster section.  Cha-Pyo, who has some of the clearest beat patterns around, kept the tempos tight and well paced.

The orchestra’s trumpeter, Anthony Bellino, a sophomore at Niskayuna High School, was this year’s Lois Lyman Concerto competition winner.  He chose Ernest Bloch’s “Proclamation.”  Written in 1955, it is a darkly dramatic work.

Melodic Abstraction

Bellino, who played from memory, seemed relaxed.  His part was a series of long and eloquent phrases, which were both melodic and abstract.  Bellino impressed with his delicate attacks, excellent breath control and pure tone.  He did well with the diverse dynamic levels and finished his phrases cleanly.  Cha-Pyo and the orchestra gave him a sympathetic and lush-sounding support.

The audience was extremely responsive, which seemed to surprise Bellino.  Still new to stardom, he took a moment to adjust before he shook the requisite hands and got off stage.

The test of the day, however, was Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.  One of the great works of the 20th century, it is haunting, yet celebratory, in turns.  It’s also quite difficult technically, and musically requires a depth of feeling to make the work ring.

Cha-Pyo’s hair-flying passion and intense involvement clearly inspired the musicians.  The orchestra displayed an abundant energy and technical proficiency, listened well to each other and rocked the hall with the finale’s fireworks.

Concert Review, The Daily Gazette, November 12, 2007

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