WASHINGTON, July 11 (RIA Novosti) – The National Youth Orchestra of the United States will play its first ever public performance under the direction of acclaimed Russian maestro Valery Gergiev Thursday night.
The concert will take place in the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College in New York State, according to the website of New York’s legendary music venue, Carnegie Hall.
A project of the Weill Music Institute, the educational arm of Carnegie Hall, the orchestra consists of 120 musicians between the ages of 16 to 19. Billed on the Weill website as “The first national youth orchestra in modern US history, NYO-USA is an opportunity for high school aged musicians to participate in a professional-level performance program, forge personal and artistic bonds with peers, and represent both their own communities and the US as their country's musical ambassadors.”
Gergiev, the artistic and general director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, postponed a planned vacation in order to lead the orchestra on its first tour, according to The New York Times.
After Thursday’s debut, Gergiev will conduct the Orchestra at performances in Washington, Moscow, St. Petersburg and London.
