Arts & Entertainment
Virtual Orchestra Concert
Local youth orchestra performs final concert virtually during the pandemic.
“I always think of an orchestra like a little miracle,” says Andrew Hauze, conductor and music director of the Delaware County Youth Orchestra (DCYO), as well as director of the Swarthmore College Orchestra. As the Philadelphia and Mainline area endured the past three months of the “stay-at-home” order during the coronavirus pandemic, one of the things that helped people through this period is music, whether playing it or listening to it.
DCYO, a highly selective ensemble of 103 student musicians from Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey, now in its 48th season, had to suspend its rehearsals in mid-March, and has been using music to keep its student members engaged and provide a positive experience in an otherwise challenging time. Although certainly not as satisfying as performing together in person, the virtual activities planned by the conductors of DCYO (and its intermediate-level orchestra, the Young Musicians’ Orchestra, or YMO) have provided the students a way to stay connected and play music together.
The most recent (and certainly the most challenging) exercise was orchestrating a virtual performance of “The Toreadors” from Bizet’s Carmen (https://youtu.be/vFI_GXLlpU0), requiring members of the DCYO orchestra to practice, record, and upload videos of their individual parts at home, and have the conductor put them all together. No small feat, the resulting video is an exhilarating display of youthful energy and musical talent. It shows how committed these students are to their music, even during this time of uncertainty and isolation.
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In addition, the conductors, Andrew Hauze (DCYO) and Nick Pignataro (YMO), have kept their students engaged with weekly videos about orchestral repertoire, practice tips, music theory, and music history, as well as resources for watching concerts and master classes, to help expand the students’ musical horizons. DCYO and YMO recently held their auditions online for its next season, with an eye towards returning to regular rehearsals when the pandemic subsides.
