Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra completes nine-day, four-city tour of China

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Jul 1

Music Director Brett Mitchell (top center) and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra on the Great Wall in June 2015 during their four-city tour of China.

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and music director Brett Mitchell have returned from a highly successful nine-day, four-city tour of China, the ensemble’s second international tour and their first to Asia.

DATES & VENUES

Sun, Jun 14
Severance Hall - Cleveland, OH

—

Thu, Jun 18
Forbidden City Concert Hall - Beijing, China

Fri, Jun 19
Tianjin Grand Theatre - Tianjin, China

Sun, Jun 21
Shanghai Oriental Art Center - Shanghai, China

Mon, Jun 22
Ningbo Cultural Plaza Grand Theatre - Ningbo, China

REPERTOIRE

SHOSTAKOVICH - Festive Overture
KILAR - Orawa
BARBER - Medea’s Meditation and Dance of Vengeance
TCHAIKOVSKY - Symphony No. 4

ENCORE
Flower Drum Song from Feng Yang (arr. Huang Ruo)

ANNOUNCEMENTS & PREVIEWS

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's plans for new season include tour of China
–The Plain Dealer (Nov 18, 2014)

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra to Launch China Tour and More This Summer
–Broadway World (May 13, 2015)

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra looks to draw closer on upcoming tour of China
–The Plain Dealer (Jun 9, 2015)

Maestro Minutes (audio): Brett Mitchell previews the repertoire for COYO’s China tour
–Ideastream (Jun 22, 2015)

SEND-OFF CONCERT

Music Director Brett Mitchell leads the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra in performance at Severance Hall. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)

Listen to complete audio of COYO’s send-off performance at Ideastream or via the player below.

Review: An orchestra “many cities would be happy to have as their professional orchestra”

On Sunday, June 14 at Severance Hall, a large and enthusiastic audience was treated to a thrilling send-off concert when music director Brett Mitchell led his talented young musicians in works by Shostakovich, Kilar, Barber, and Tchaikovsky.

The program opened with an exuberant performance of Shostakovich’s Festive Overture. Following the grand brass fanfare, Mitchell set a fast tempo for the wind section’s opening melodic lines, which they played with aplomb. Throughout, the orchestra produced a clear, lush sound…

Mitchell led COYO’s string section in an inspired performance [of Wojciech Kilar’s Orawa] and they sounded splendid…

Samuel Barber gives the wind section ample opportunity to shine in [Medea’s Meditation and Dance of Vengeance], and shine they did. Mitchell kept the tempos in check without losing any of the work’s wonderfully hysterical qualities.

Following intermission, Mitchell and his brass section held back nothing as they launched into Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. As this ensemble has proven in the past, it is one that many cities would be happy to have as their professional orchestra. Mitchell again led a technically clean and musically thoughtful performance.

— Cleveland Classical (June 18, 2015)

VIDEOS FROM THE ROAD

INTERVIEW: TIANANMEN SQUARE

INTERVIEW: TOUR WRAP-UP

TOUR FAREWELL SPEECH

POSTCARDS

WCLV Classical 104.9 enlisted three members of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra as “field reporters” to send back pictures, video, audio, and text of their experiences throughout the China tour.

Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7

‘SOUND OF APPLAUSE’ RECAP

Upon returning home, Brett Mitchell sat down with host Dee Perry on Sound of Applause for a debrief to wrap up the tour. Listen at Ideastream or via the player below.