2018-2019
2017-2018
OUR 68TH SEASON
Our first concert was December’s Mozart + Mahler, which included a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, “the Titan.” Love Conquers All 2019 featured a return of our favorite charismatic tenor Scott Piper, singing favorite arias and electrifying everyone. Our Youth Chamber and Youth Symphony orchestras offered a Mother’s Day concert in May, and once again all three orchestras flooded the stage on May 24 for our annual Youth Music Extravaganza at the Saroyan Theatre. Indianapolis International Violin Competition gold-medal winner Richard Lin ripped brilliantly through the Khachaturian violin concerto. Also on the program were Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, the Ginastera Dances from Estancia (played by all three orchestras together), and, excitingly, a new work by rising star Mexican composer Juan Pablo Contreras, his Mariachitlan.
FOOSA 2019 was outstanding. Click here for videos recorded on June 21, 2019, at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles: the FOOSA Philharmonic, conducted by Thomas Loewenheim, performs Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra and the Shostakovich Symphony No. 7, “Leningrad.”
OUR 67TH SEASON WAS OUTSTANDING
We have just completed a fantastic 17-18 season. Our first big concert was a celebration, called Celebration, on December 10. All three of our orchestras performed, and four wonderful young dancers joined our musicians for the Nutcracker Suite. In February, violinist Erika Raum played Mendelssohn concerto and two of our orchestras collaborated on Khachaturian’s Spartacus Suite at our fundraising Love Conquers All concert. Our final concert, on Memorial Day weekend, brought audience members to their feet several times, notably for pianist Steven Vanhauwaert, for his gorgeous rendition of the Rachmaninoff second piano concerto, then for all three orchestras—more than 300 young musicians—at the conclusion of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, to which the audience itself had added to the cannon fire by popping thousands of inflated paper bags.
Rounding out the musical madness was our FOOSA Festival/Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy, a collaboration with the Fresno State College of Arts and Humanities. This summer’s FOOSA served some 160 young musicians from the Central Valley and from around the world. Eight free concerts were offered, seven in Fresno. The other? That was our celebratory concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, iconic home of the LA Philharmonic. Cellist and FOOSA faculty member Lynn Harrell was our featured soloist, performing the Bruch Kol Nidrei with our FOOSA Philharmonic. Also on the program: Alfredo Casella’s little-known second symphony and the Rosenkavalier Suite by Richard Strauss. Fresno composer Mason Lamb’s Solstice was the featured premiere. The performance was reprised to standing ovations at Peoples Church in Fresno, closing the season with a heartwarming roar of enthusiasm.
2016-2017
WE HAD A GREAT 66TH SEASON!
Regular concerts for our 2016-2017 season were December 11, February 12, May 14, and May 28. During the first semester of that amazing year we enjoyed a special event with the Los Angeles Philharmonic's YOLA orchestra on October 28. Almost immediately after that our YPO orchestra traveled north to play a joint concert with the Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Orchestra. Fantastic! Then we had our absolutely amazing, sold-out Inspiration concert in December. Our soloist was Sphinx Competition Junior Division winner Maria Sanderson, playing the Barber violin concerto. All three orchestras performed—what an inspiring day! Our spring semester was perhaps even more amazing. In February guest artist Daniel Bolshoy played the Rodrigo guitar concerto at our fundraising Love Conquers All concert. And in May our younger two groups, the Chamber and Symphony orchestras, played a terrific concert together. Then on Memorial Day weekend all three orchestras and our Accent on Access violinists played an outstanding Youth Music Extravaganza concert that included super-star violinist Vadim Gluzman performing Tchaikovsky concerto AND the premiere of a specially commissioned work, Coming Home, created by four Fresno State composers, inspired by William Saroyan's The Human Comedy, featuring stories told by Valley residents, and performed by EVERYONE. AMAZING!
FOOSA 2017
FOOSA 2017! OUR SUMMER ORCHESTRA FESTIVAL RAN JUNE 11-25, 2017
Our FOOSA concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles was Friday June 23, 2017!
Learn more at foosamusic.org.
2015-2016
OUR 65TH SEASON WAS GREAT!
Our FOOSA Festival/Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy was fantastic! In fact, our whole 65th Anniversary season was incredible! To summarize: October, Cello Mania; December, ¡Viva Mexico!; February, Love Conquers All; May, Jump for Joy and our 65th Anniversary Celebration Concert, with 40 returning alums and all three orchestras plus Accent on Access violins performing! Thanks to all who participated and/or attended!