Youth Orchestras of Fresno

Cultivating the musicians of tomorrow!

The Youth Orchestras have been a Fresno institution since 1950, when an all-city string ensemble of young musicians was formed. In 1953 winds and percussion were added and the group became the Kiwanis Youth Orchestra. Soon the orchestra gained a new sponsor, the Fresno Philharmonic, and in 1957 became the Fresno Junior Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1988 the group’s name changed once again, and the Fresno Youth Philharmonic emerged—only to become, in a few more years, the group we know as Youth Orchestras of Fresno. This miracle was accomplished by Rick and Susan Gratz, who incorporated the organization as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1995.

¡Cultivando a los músicos del mañana!
Las Orquestas Juveniles han sido una institución en Fresno desde 1950, cuando se formó un ensamble de cuerdas de jóvenes músicos que representaba a la ciudad. En 1953, los alientos y las percusiones se añadieron y el grupo se transformó en “Kiwanis Youth Orchestra”. Poco después, la orquesta tuvo un nuevo patrocinador, la Filarmónica de Fresno, y, en 1957, se transformó en la “Orquesta Filarmónica Fresno Junior”. En 1988, el nombre de la agrupación cambió de nuevo emergiendo así la “Filarmónica Juvenil de Fresno” – solo para llegar a ser, algunos años después, el grupo que conocemos como las Orquestas Juveniles de Fresno.

These days the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra is one of three orchestras — the others are the Youth Chamber and Youth Symphony Orchestras — that make up the Youth Orchestras of Fresno. We serve young musicians throughout the Central Valley, with students hailing from Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, and Tulare counties.  The Access Violin Program was established in fall of 2011 as a collaboration between the Youth Orchestras of Fresno, the Fresno County Office of Education, and the Bonner Family Foundation. Our FOOSA Festival/Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy, known simply as FOOSA, started with opera, and the energetic collaboration of tenor Scott Piper, in summer of 2013.

Actualmente la Orquesta Filarmónica Juvenil es una de tres orquestas – las otras son la Orquestas de Cámara Juvenil y la Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil – que conforman a las Orquestas Juveniles de Fresno. La Orquesta de Cámara Juvenil está conformada por nuestros músicos más jóvenes. Las edades de los músicos de las Orquestas Sinfónica Juvenil y Filarmónica Juvenil es entre 9 y 20 años. Todos los miembros son jóvenes músicos comprometidos que van tras la alegría y el reto de tocar música clásica. Los ensayos se llevan a cabo los domingos en las instalaciones de la Universidad de California, Fresno.

COMMISSIONS OF NEW MUSIC!
The organization has commissioned a number of original compositions from living composers, with grant assistance from New Music USA, the California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Among our commissions are Fresno State composition professor Kenneth Froelich’s Jubilation Fanfare, composed for us in 2011; Fresno sin Frenos: Mariachi Madness, composed by Fresno State professor Benjamin Boone; A Beautiful Spark, composed as part of our Beethoven Ninth celebration by Fresno Kenneth Froelich; Water(less) Music, also by Ben Boone, commissioned in 2015 for our Water, Water, Everywhere concert, an exploration of the Valley’s troubled relationship with water—in this case the piece got a second performance by our summer FOOSA Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles; and Coming Home, a collection of Central-Valley-related works by Fresno State student composers Alexander Bianco, Chris Carreon, Mason Lamb, and Matthew Wheeler. For FOOSA festivals so far we have commissioned Subnatural Delights, by YOOF alum Joseph Bohigian, and we Solstice, again from composer Mason Lamb.

COLLABORATIONS WITH EXCEPTIONAL SOLOISTS!
YOOF also has a history of bringing in exceptional soloists to perform with the orchestras. Among guest artists have been violinists Vadim Gluzman and Jinjoo Cho, cellists Emilio Colon, Philippe Muller, and Czaba Onczay, pianist Andreas Werz, and a large number of singers, including Scott Piper and Christopher Bengocheatenors, Layna Chianakas, mezzo soprano, and Brigid deJong and Laura Pedersen, sopranos. During the 2016-2017 season, guest artists were Sphinx Competition junior winner Maria Sanderson, violin, Daniel Bolshoy, guitar, and, for a return visit, violinist Vadim Gluzman and his ex-Leopold Auer Stradivarius. In 2017-2018 our guest artists were violinist Erika Raum and pianist Steven Vanhauwaert. In 2018-2019 our favorite tenor, Scott Piper, returned for Love Conquers All, and another Indianapolis Violin Competition winner, Richard Lin, played Khachaturian concerto on our May 26 Youth Music Extravaganza concert. In 2020 we enjoyed another visit from violin megastar Vadim Gluzman, who joined the Youth Philharmonic in a performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto and also in a performance of the Bach Double Concerto with student violinists Benjamin Pegram and Alexander Han. Mr. Gluzman plays the “ex-Leopold Auer” Stradivarius, made in Italy in 1690.

Here’s a nicely complete telling of our YOOF/FOOSA story, from Board President Dee Lacy’s words at the front of our 2019-2020 program books. Please read to learn more about the work our organization is doing here in California’s Central Valley and elsewhere.

THE YOOF/FOOSA ORIGIN STORY (in English and Spanish)

MISSION STATEMENT

 

MUSIC IS LIFE. LIVE BIG! START YOUNG.

  • We cultivate musical excellence and a spirit of cooperation in young musicians throughout California's Central Valley.

  • We are committed to the principles of access and excellence, and strive for comprehensive inclusiveness.

We have expanded our existing statement in response to the essential work being done in the arts with regard to racial equity.

  • We approach racial and cultural equity by providing resources that allow and encourage young musicians to participate on an equitable footing with one another. We seek to privilege all youth equally.

MISIÓN

LA MÚSICA ES VIDA. ¡VIVE EN GRANDE! COMIENZA JOVEN. 

  • Nuestra misión es cultivar la excelencia musical y el espíritu de cooperación en los jóvenes del Valle Central.

  • Nuestro compromiso es hacer accesible a todos una educación musical de excelencia; aspiramos a una completa inclusividad. 

  • Nuestra perspectiva en torno a la equidad racial y cultural nos lleva a proporcionar recursos que permiten y alientan a los músicos jóvenes a participar con igualdad de oportunidades. Nuestro objetivo es privilegiar a todos los jóvenes por igual.

  • Nuestra visión con relación a la equidad racial y cultural nos lleva a proporcionar recursos que permiten y animan a los músicos en formación a participar en situación de mutua igualdad. En otras palabras, buscamos que todos los jóvenes gocen de los mismos privilegios. 


 From José Antonio Abreu, founder of Venezuela's El Sistema, a program that promotes musical and social development in that country's youth:

“To my mind, our social problems all stem from a sense of exclusion. If you look at the world, you see that exclusion in some form or other is to blame for the explosion of social problems everywhere. So, we have to fight to bring as many people as we can, everyone, if possible, into our wonderful world of music, like the world of the orchestra, of singing, of art.” 

 "La música infunde sentimientos sublimes, de paz y de armonía que erradican del hombre el odio y la necesidad de resolver sus problemas por las malas. La música es un elemento catalizador extraordinario para la sociedad".

Organizations we support and which support us/Organizaciones que apoyamos y que nos apoyan:
Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO)
Fresno Arts Council (FAC)
League of American Orchestras (LAO)


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