Youth Symphony of Kansas City Fall Concerts

2 p.m. Concert

Debut & Classical Orchestras

There is a great repertoire list for this concert and Julie Coucheron is the featured Soloist on Beethoven’s Piano Concert No. 5 “Emperor.”

Debut Orchestra is a preparatory string orchestra made up of students from our Junior School and arrangements of symphonic literature and original compositions. It provides the foundations for exemplary performance and musicality, developing students’ skills as they continue their foray into instrumental study.

Classical Orchestra is an advanced full orchestra in our Senior School. The Classical Orchestra performs standard orchestral repertoire from the Classical period onwards, as well as 18th & 19th Century Opera.

Purchase tickets to the 2 p.m. concert

7:30 p.m. Concert

Philharmonic & Symphony Orchestras

There is a great repertoire list for this concert and Sean Chen is the featured Soloist on Tchaikovsky Piano Concert No. 1.

Philharmonic Orchestra is a full orchestra and the graduating ensemble of our Junior School. Philharmonic Orchestra performs original compositions and arrangements of symphonic music. It expands upon young musicians’ prior experiences to continue honing their skills and ensuring excellence in musicality.

Symphony Orchestra is an advanced full orchestra in our Senior School. The Symphony orchestra performs standard orchestral repertoire from the Late Romantic period onwards.

Purchase tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert

Youth Symphony of Kansas City

The Youth Symphony of Kansas City (YSKC) was founded as “The Youth Symphony of the Heart of America” by conductor Leo Scheer in 1958. The organization initially consisted of one orchestra of 80 musicians. Incorporated on July 31, 1958, the organization has endured a long and interesting history as the musical home to young musicians in the Kansas City metro area.

Today, YSKC is comprised of four full orchestras. More than 450 young musicians participate annually. In summer 2015, a Summer String Camp was added. In June 2016, YSKC toured Ireland — its first international tour in a decade. A new young strings program — the Overture Program — launched in the 2016-17 season. June 2018 brought the Youth Symphony’s second recent international tour, this time to Austria. Performances took place in Salzburg and Vienna.

Following 20 years of musical contributions as conductor of our junior orchestra in Kansas City, Russell E. Berlin retired in 2018. The YSKC Academy was introduced for the 2021-2022 season, providing chamber music instruction, soon followed by elective course opportunities for students, featuring teaching, conducting, music theory, performance psychology, and other classes.