Suppose you gathered some of the finest teenage orchestral musicians this country has to offer, brought them to New York for a summer, trained them with the top figures in the field, and sent them out on the road as a traveling all-star band?
You’d have the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, which this summer celebrates its 10th year of spotlighting the musical talents of young Americans.
The orchestra’s 2023 tour brings it to Stanford University for a single performance at Bing Concert Hall. The eminent British maestro Andrew Davis conducts the program, which includes Barber’s Violin Concerto with soloist Gil Shaham, along with Berlioz’ “Symphonie Fantastique.” “Giants of Light,” commissioned from American composer Valerie Coleman to mark the orchestra’s 10th anniversary, opens the program.
Among the players on this year’s roster are 10 who call Northern California home. They are violinists Yuli Choi, Jenna Seohyeong Kang, Shannon Ma, Kerrie Zhu and Sarah Son; violists Michelle Koo and Tejas Tirthapura; cellists Huisun Hong and Daniel Yim; and bassoonist Nolan Smith.