Joshua Ji, Winner of the 2019 Portland Piano International / SOLO Piano Concerto Competition

Posted on October 11, 2019

Photo by Robert Leong

Congratulations to Joshua Ji on winning the 2019 Portland Piano International / SOLO Piano Concerto Competition, presented in partnership with Portland Youth Philharmonic. As part of his prize, Joshua will perform George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto with PYP on the orchestra’s upcoming tour to Corvallis and their 96th Season opener on Saturday, November 9, 2019, at the Arlene... Read More ›

PROGRAM NOTES: BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ‘s Concerto for Oboe

Posted on April 10, 2019

Photo from the BBC

PYP alumnus (2008) Max Blair, now Associate Principal Oboe with the Pittsburgh Symphony, returns to Portland to perform Martinů’s beautiful Oboe Concerto with PYP on Sunday, May 5, 2019, in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

Bohuslav Martinů wrote his Oboe Concerto in 1955 at the request of Czech oboist Jiri Tancibudek. Like other composers, most notably Richard Strauss, Martinů... Read More ›

AUERBACH & MARTINŮ OBOE SOLOIST MAX BLAIR

Posted on April 8, 2019

PYP alumnus (2008) Max Blair, now Associate Principal Oboe with the Pittsburgh Symphony, returns to Portland to perform Bohuslav Martinů’s beautiful Oboe Concerto with PYP on Sunday, May 5, 2019, in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

Max’s appearance is sponsored by PYP alumna (1943) Vlasta Becvar Barber.

Max Blair joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Oboe in 2016. He has... Read More ›

Jeremiah Symphony Vocal Soloist Laura Beckel Thoreson

Posted on February 13, 2019

On Saturday, March 2, 2019, at 7:30 PM, PYP will perform Leonard Bernstein’s Jeremiah Symphony, sung in Hebrew by mezzo-soprano soloist Laura Beckel Thoreson.

Vocal soloist sponsored by:

Praised for her warm, rich tone quality, sensitive musicality, and compelling stage presence, mezzo-soprano Laura Beckel Thoreson is a rising presence in the opera and concert world.

Equally at home in the opera house, on the... Read More ›

MEET KIRA WANG, WINNER OF THE 2018-19 PYP CONCERTO COMPETITION

Posted on February 1, 2019

Kira Wang is the winner of the 2018-2019 PYP Concerto Competition. She will perform Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo with PYP on Saturday, March 2, 2019, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

Kira Wang is a 14-year-old freshman at Catlin Gabel.  She began playing cello at the age of four, and has been studying with Dr. Valdine Mishkin for the past 9 years, with recent... Read More ›

MEET HANAMI FROOM, RUNNER-UP OF PYP’S 2018-19 CONCERTO COMPETITION

Posted on January 21, 2019

Hanami Froom is the runner up for the 2018-19 PYP Concerto Competition. She will perform the first movement of Jean Sibelius’s Violin Concerto with PYP’s Conservatory Orchestra on Sunday, February 10, 2019, in the Skyview Auditorium in Vancouver, WA.

Hanami Froom is a twelve-year-old violinist. She has been studying violin from the age of two, and is currently a student of Carol Sindell.... Read More ›