Carnegie Hall Announces Teen Musicians Selected for the 2024 National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America
Conductor Marin Alsop Leads NYO-USA at Carnegie Hall and on South American Tour, Featuring Performances with Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet
NYO-USA 2024 Program Includes Barber’s Symphony No. 1, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade
NYO-USA Performs During Historic World Orchestra Week (WOW!) (Aug. 1–7), A Summer Concert Festival Celebrating International Youth Orchestras
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(New York, NY, March 12, 2024)—Carnegie Hall today announced the names of the 103 outstanding young musicians selected from across the country for the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). The members of the 2024 orchestra—ages 16–19, hailing from 34 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico—have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as being among the finest players in the country following a comprehensive and highly selective audition process. This summer’s orchestra features 15 musicians who previously played with NYO-USA, as well as 30 musicians who gained experience through NYO2, a program for younger players ages 14–17, and one musician who previously performed as part of NYO Jazz. All three of Carnegie Hall’s national youth ensembles are offered free of charge, ensuring that all invited musicians have the opportunity to take part each summer. See below or click here for the names, instruments, and hometowns of the members of the 2024 National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. This summer, NYO-USA musicians will travel to New York in late July for an intensive two-week training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY). Celebrated conductor Marin Alsop leads NYO-USA at the orchestra’s annual Carnegie Hall concert (August 5), presented as part of World Orchestra Week (WOW!)—a week-long celebration of international youth orchestras —followed by a South American tour which includes stops in Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and more. Both at Carnegie Hall and abroad, the orchestra will perform Barber’s Symphony No. 1, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, with Jean-Yves Thibaudet as soloist, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Earlier this year, Carnegie Hall announced a new summer concert festival—World Orchestra Week (WOW!), a celebration of international youth orchestras—scheduled to take place from August 1–7, 2024. Inspired by the Hall’s three critically acclaimed national youth ensembles, this ambitious international initiative brings five youth orchestras from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America to New York City for high-level music making with some of today’s most internationally-renowned artists plus cultural exchange activities among the orchestras, including a massive play-in event to include all 700 young musicians. Carnegie Hall’s NYO-USA and NYO2 perform alongside the National Children’s Symphony of Venezuela, the Africa United Youth Orchestra, the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra, the European Union Youth Orchestra, and the Afghan Youth Orchestra. Tickets for the Carnegie Hall concert are now on sale for the general public. Tickets can be purchased at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or at carnegiehall.org. Discounted student tickets will be available online for verified Student Insiders only, as well as to any student with valid ID at the box office or over the phone.
"We’re thrilled to announce the roster of remarkable young musicians who will join NYO-USA for this upcoming summer,” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director. “These superb players will come together to train with some of the leading professional musicians in the country. They will have the opportunity to collaborate with Marin Alsop and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, interact with peer musicians from across the globe as part of this summer’s historic World Orchestra Week (WOW!) festival, and perform on some of the finest stages across South America. The members of NYO-USA will represent the best of America as musical performers and as cultural ambassadors, both in New York during the festival and on tour.”
During NYO-USA’s intensive training residency in July at Purchase College, SUNY, the musicians will work with a faculty made up of principal players from some of the finest professional orchestras. Having worked with NYO-USA since its inception, James Ross, returns to lead both NYO-USA and NYO2 during its residency as orchestra director, working closely with 2024 assistant conductors Tamara Dworetz and Carlos Ágreda. The faculty will oversee rehearsals during the orchestra’s residency in Purchase, also working with the musicians in master classes and sectionals, all leading up to the launch of NYO-USA’s annual tour. Two apprentice composers will also compose new works, working closely with celebrated American composer Sean Shepherd who serves as the composition program director and mentor/coach to the apprentices.
NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 2024 Orchestra Roster * Prior NYO-USA memberArizona Lillie Harper, Viola (Fountain Hills) Campbell Stewart, Percussion (Tucson)+ California Joseph Yoo, Flute (Chino Hills) Yuli Choi, Violin (Cupertino)+* Benjamin Jiang, Cello (Elk Grove)+ Atom Paz, Violin (Fresno) Natalie Kwok, Cello (Fullerton)+ Ariana Kim, Bassoon (Irvine) Jaden (Minjae) Kim, Violin (Irvine)+* Daniel De La Cruz, Viola (Laguna Niguel)* Marvel Jem Roth, Apprentice Composer (Los Angeles) Andrew Hwang, Viola (Palo Alto) Jenna Seohyeong Kang, Violin (Palo Alto)* Anika Gandhi, Apprentice Orchestra Manager (San Francisco) Daniel Torrero, Bassoon (San Diego) Roger Chen, Violin (San Jose) Kayla Lee, Violin (San Jose)+ Tejas Tirthapura, Viola (Saratoga)* Alvin Wang, Violin (Temple City) Kara Wong, Viola (Tustin)+ Josephine Velez, Cello (Yorba Linda)+ Connecticut Katherine Mombo, Violin (Southbury)+ Costa Rica Julian Jimenez-Pardo, Percussion (San Jose) Delaware Gabriela Salvador Riera, Violin (Wilmington) District of Columbia Ricardo Cruz, Percussion (Washington) Florida Brandon Garcia, Bass (Miami) Ella Marchetti, Bass (Tampa)+ Jeremiah La Fayette, Viola (Tampa)* Nihar Bhavsar, Apprentice Orchestra Librarian (West Palm Beach) Georgia Didi Stone, Violin (Alpharetta) Stephanie Kim, Flute (Atlanta) Jaia Alli, Cello (Atlanta) Anh Ho, Percussion (Lawrenceville)* Ashley Na, Oboe (Suwanee)* Idaho Matias Vidal-Russell, Trombone (Boise) Illinois Maxine Gimbel, Bass (Oak Park) Kansas Christine Miller, Violin (Emporia)+ Kentucky Joe Maiocco, Bass Trombone (Prospect) Maryland Olivia Cai, Violin (Ellicott City)+ Anna Hilderbrand, Violin (Mount Savage) Kyle Cho, Oboe (Potomac) Katherine Eunbee Song, Viola (Potomac)+ Katie Hwang, Viola (Rockville) Massachusetts Olivia Sunim Lee, Harp (Boston) Michigan Minji Kim, Violin (Ann Arbor) Missouri Anya Akhmadullina, Violin (Columbia) Kristen Yu, Viola (Columbia) Nebraska Heike Lowe, Bass (Omaha) New Jersey Michelle Kwon, Cello (Closter)* Nathan Spergel, Horn (Livingston) Julie Kim, Violin (Northvale) Iris Hur, Viola (Paramus) Nicholas Hyunkun Yoo, Violin (Ramsey)+* Tiffany Chang, Clarinet (Ridgewood)+ Sean Qin, Violin (Short Hills)+ New York Shaw Edwards, Cello (Brooklyn) Kaitlyn Choi, Oboe (Jericho) Santiago Del Curto, Clarinet (Queens)+ Christopher LeDoux, Trumpet (Staten Island)+ Josephine Buruma, Viola (New York) Ana Isabella España, Violin (New York) Logan Lee, Violin (New York) Diogo Muggiati-Feldman, Trumpet (New York)+* Jaehyun Park, Violin (New York)+ Alex Robertson, Apprentice Composer (New York) A. Jesse Schopflocher, Viola (New York) North Carolina Simon Vázquez-Carr, Bass (Durham)+ Gavin Hardy, Bass (Winston-Salem)+ Michael Stratford, Bass (Winston-Salem) Oklahoma Laura Pollack, Violin (Edmond) Stephan Zhang, Violin (Stillwater)+ Ohio Christy Kim, Violin (Mason)+ Oregon Katie Liu, Violin (Portland) Katelyn Nguyen, Bassoon (Portland)* Pennsylvania Aidan Peterson, Trumpet (Ardmore) Rishab Das, Violin (Philadelphia) Eunah Kim, Flute (Philadelphia) Aaron Liu, Cello (Philadelphia) Puerto Rico Dylan Alvira Correa, Horn (Carolina)+ Rhode Island Liam DeRosa, Viola (Cranston) South Carolina Devin O’Brien, Bass (Mount Pleasant)* Cadence Shevy, Violin (Rock Hill)+ South Dakota Jacob Pagone, Oboe (Sioux Falls) Tennessee Oscar E. Ruiz, Cello (Memphis)+ Texas Noah Semsar, Trumpet (Austin) Samuel Igbo, Violin (Boerne)+* Brayden Rooks, Horn (Cibolo) Osiel Cárdenas, Viola (Denton) Leah Wu, Bassoon (Katy)+ Sydney Richardson, Horn (Longview) + Prior NYO2 member ^ Prior NYO Jazz member
Daniel Tauhert, Clarinet (Plano)
Rufino Medado, Tuba (Portland)Virginia Enzo Baldanza, Violin (Arlington) Henry Price, Trombone (Arlington)^ Jayden Hunter Lee, Flute (McLean) Tyler Anderson, Clarinet (Springfield) Washington Seohyun Hwang, Violin (Sammamish) Wisconsin Anaïs Griffith-Oh, Percussion (Madison) Collin Runnoe, Cello (Milwaukee) Jackson Ingram, Horn (Richmond) Mary Brook Hartmann, Cello (Sugar Land) Ayi Ekhaese, Violin (Sugar Land)+* Cade Carter, Violin (Tomball)
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About the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America For more than ten years, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute has brought together some of the finest young musicians from across the country (ages 16–19) to form the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). Following a comprehensive audition process and a multi-week training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York, with faculty made up of principal players from top professional US orchestras, these remarkable teenagers embark on a tour to some of the great music capitals of the world, serving as America’s dynamic music ambassadors. As part of their travel schedule, NYO-USA musicians also have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with local young musicians and experience the richness of the local culture.NYO2 for outstanding classical musicians (ages 14–17), and NYO Jazz for the nation’s finest jazz instrumentalists (ages 16–19). Over the last decade, well over a thousand young musicians have performed in the three ensembles, creating a unique musical community, spotlighting musical excellence found across the United States and transforming countless lives. NYO-USA has been praised for “exuding vitality and confidence” (The New York Times) in its performances. Following annual concerts at Carnegie Hall, NYO-USA has performed on landmark stages around the world including in the United Kingdom, China, Mexico, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Colombia, and more as well as across the United States. Last summer, the orchestra embarked on a coast-to-coast North American tour to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the program. NYO-USA is one of Carnegie Hall’s three acclaimed national youth ensembles, which also includes
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Lead Donors: Hope and Robert F. Smith; The Kovner Foundation; and Beatrice Santo Domingo. Global Ambassadors: Michael ByungJu Kim and Kyung Ah Park, Hope and Robert F. Smith, and Maggie and Richard Tsai. Major funding has been provided by Veronica Atkins, Mercedes T. Bass, Ronald E. Blaylock and Petra Pope, Lorraine Buch Fund for Young Artists, Estate of Joan Eliasoph, Clive and Anya Gillinson, The Carl Jacobs Foundation, Melanie and Jean E. Salata, JMCMRJ Sorrell Foundation, and United Airlines®, Airline Partner to the National Youth Ensembles. Additional funding has been provided by the Alphadyne Foundation, Sarah Arison, The Jack Benny Family Foundation, Mary Anne Huntsman Morgan and The Huntsman Foundation, IAC, Stella and Robert Jones, Martha and Robert Lipp, Beth and Joshua Nash, The Netherland-America Foundation, The Morton H. Meyerson Family Foundation, and David S. Winter. Founder Patrons; Blavatnik Family Foundation; Nicola and Beatrice Bulgari; The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; Marina Kellen French and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation; The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation; Ronald O. Perelman; Robertson Foundation; Beatrice Santo Domingo; Hope and Robert F. Smith; Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon; and Joan and Sanford I. Weill and the Weill Family Foundation.
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To learn more about NYO-USA, visit carnegiehall.org/nyousa. Like NYO-USA on Facebook at facebook.com/nyousa. Follow NYO-USA on Instagram at instagram.com/nyo.usa. See more from NYO-USA on YouTube at youtube.com/nyousa.
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People and History
Read more information about our storied history.
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Then and Now: Carnegie Hall History (PDF)
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