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Press Releases
Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra to Celebrate Conductor Benjamin Zander's 85th Birthday with a Wide-ranging Program on Sunday, March 3, at Symphony
The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO), composed of musicians age 12-21, will celebrate the 85th birthday of their founder and conductor Benjamin Zander on Sunday, March 3, at 3:00 PM at Symphony Hall. The concert, which coincides with the Boston Philharmonic's 45th season, allows both in-person and livestream audiences around the world to join in the birthday celebration.
In a bold move that reflects Zander's commitment to musical excellence and his firm belief that young musicians can master extraordinarily complex music with the right guidance, the repertoire features what may be the most varied and demanding in the Orchestra’s history, especially for such young musicians. The program spans four different musical traditions, allowing the Orchestra to showcase its incredible versatility and skill: Benjamin Britten's "Four Sea Interludes" from Peter Grimes, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 featuring Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova, Charles Ives's Three Places in New England, and Maurice Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2.
Zander's personal connection to Benjamin Britten adds a poignant layer to the performance. Britten completed writing Peter Grimes in Aldeburgh, his summer home by the sea, in 1943. Years later, as one of Britten’s protégés, Zander and his family spent three summers there, taking lessons from both Britten and Imogen Holst, as well as experiencing the sea that inspired Britten’s music—making the inclusion of "Four Sea Interludes" a fitting tribute.
After making her Boston performance debut with the BPYO in 2018, Anna Fedorova will be the soloist for the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto. Her live recording of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto in the Royal Concertgebouw has become the most watched Classical concerto on YouTube with more than 37 million views as of this writing.
The concert is dedicated to the memory of John Heiss, who died in August 2023, a man with an unsurpassed knowledge of Charles Ives’s music and one of the most cherished figures in Boston’s musical community. It was he who introduced Zander to Ives’s work, particularly Three Places in New England, which features historic and natural imagery that will sound familiar to New Englanders. Heiss had a profound effect on the members of the BPYO, frequently coaching them with his unparalleled understanding and legendary ear. The concert concludes with Ravel’s musical poem, which is also about the natural world.
Tickets are $75, $45, $20, and $10 for students with code STU-DIS. The live stream is $20 ($10 for students). Live and streaming subscription packages are also available. For more information visit www.bostonphil.org or call 617-236-0999. Ticket and Covid policies are at www.bostonphil.org/concerts/ticket-policies and coronavirus updates.
About the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
The BPYO was formed in 2012 by Conductor Benjamin Zander under the auspices of the Boston Philharmonic with the motto “Shaping Future Leaders Through Music.” The Orchestra’s 120 enthusiastic and talented young musicians range from age 12 to 21, affording younger members of the orchestra the chance to collaborate with older students who are beginning their professional careers. In turn, collegiate members of the group are offered the opportunity to nurture and coach the future generations.
The BPYO offers a unique opportunity for young instrumentalists who want to study great orchestral repertoire in a musically dynamic and intellectually challenging community. BPYO members are asked not only to master their parts while gaining a deep understanding of the musical score, but also to engage in dialogue with Mr. Zander through weekly “white sheets,” where they are invited to share their thoughts on all aspects of the music and the rehearsal process. These conversations lead to stimulating discussions on personal leadership and often initiate ongoing individual conversations with Mr. Zander through email, phone calls, and conversations at rehearsal, creating a unique mentoring relationship between Mr. Zander and each musician. The orchestra’s many musical and personal growth opportunities cultivate exceptionally skilled musicians who become respected and acclaimed leaders in music and in their communities.
In its inaugural 2012-13 season, the BPYO performed two concerts to sold-out audiences in Boston’s Symphony Hall and undertook a wildly successful five-city tour of The Netherlands, culminating in a performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony in Amsterdam’s acclaimed Concertgebouw. Six months later, in December 2013, they performed at Carnegie Hall, receiving high praise in The New York Times for their “brilliantly played, fervently felt account.” In 2019 Boston Magazine named it“Best Classical Music Ensemble.”
Subsequent tours included: the Czech Republic, Germany, and Switzerland, including performances in the Prague Rudolfinum, the Philharmonie of Berlin, and the KKL of Luzern in 2015: Spain in 2016; performances and outreach activities in Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina in 2017; Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, and the Netherlands, including performances in the Prague Rudolfinum, Budapest National Concert Hall, Vienna Musikverein, and Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 2018; an eight-city tour through Brazil in 2019; and a six-city tour to Greece in 2022. In June 2023 the orchestra performed in five cities and engaged in musical exchanges in South Africa (Zander’s full report on the life-changing tour to South Africa with recordings, articles and videos is available here). Each international engagement has been met with top critical approval and has created life-long bonds between the orchestra and the musical cultures of the various host countries.
The BPYO has released three highly acclaimed commercial recordings: Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, recorded live at Carnegie Hall in 2013, and Mahler Symphonies No. 6 and No. 9, recorded live at Boston Symphony Hall in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
About Benjamin Zander
For more than 50 years, Benjamin Zander has occupied a unique place as a master teacher, a deeply insightful and probing interpreter, and a profound source of inspiration for audiences, as well as students, professional musicians, corporate leaders, politicians, and more. He has persistently engaged some of the most well-informed musical and public intellectuals in a quest for insight and understanding into the Western musical canon and the underlying religious, social, and political issues that inspired its creation.
For more than 25 years, Zander has also enjoyed a unique relationship with the Philharmonia Orchestra, recording a series of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies. High Fidelity named the recording of Mahler’s 6th as Best Classical Recording of 2002; the 3rd was awarded Critic’s Choice by the German Record Critics; and Mahler 9th and 2nd and Bruckner’s 5th recordings were all nominated for Grammy Awards.
Zander enjoys an international career as a leadership speaker, with several keynote speeches at the World Economic Forum in Davos and at TED. His best-selling book, The Art of Possibility, co-authored with his former wife and leading psychotherapist Rosamund Zander, has been translated into 18 languages.
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