Welcome to the first and only live concert of YPSO’s 2020-21 Season. At long last, our students are breathing a sigh of relief at being able to play together again as one whole ensemble. Throughout this year, they have bravely navigated the changing restrictions of Covid-life. Some have been able to practice in small cohorts. Many have had to stay remote and rehearse through the use of Zoom and Jamulus - a software which allows for close to real-time audio. I applaud them all for pivoting with the changes from week to week, and for making the right choices to keep themselves and their families as safe as possible during the pandemic. Bravo.

If you have been following our journey on Facebook, you will have had the pleasure of seeing the last few rehearsals, which have been full in-person rehearsals in an outdoor setting. It is absolutely amazing to hear how well they sounded together, despite having not practiced together all season. This speaks so much to their level of musicianship, the incredible support they receive from their families, and the vision and direction of Maestro Ramadanoff.

Being an advanced youth orchestra, the music set forth this season was intricate and complex, especially in a recorded medium, which was what our students had to do earlier this year. Tonight, you will be able to hear some of those complex pieces live, and I hope you too will be impressed and uplifted by the musical talents of all the YPSO musicians.

If you have friends and family at home who want to watch this please share with them THIS FB EVENT LINK. They will need to click the link and then Follow the page to be informed when the concert goes live.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s concert and graduation celebration!

YPSO is extremely grateful to be able to partner with another long-time Bay Area institution - Cal Shakes. The setting of an outdoor amphitheater, the long summer evening, and the close family and friends of our YPSO musicians is the perfect venue for our live concert celebration.

Please respect the following ground rules for being on these premises and practicing proper safety protocols:

• Turn your phones to silent

• Phone use for photos and videos are OK, as long there are no flashes and you are not disrupting anyone else’s view

• Stay within your own pods

• Bring your own chairs, blankets, and picnic supplies - Cal Shakes does not have any of its usual amenities such as a cafe or blanket rental

• It can and will get cold as the evening progresses - bring some extra blankets or layers from your car

• Keep your masks up when you are walking around

• Maintain social distance with others not in your pod

• Everything that you bring in, please take back out. The facility does not have the full staff to pick up after us.

• Please stay in the main amphitheater and walkway areas. Do not roam about the grounds and do not go into the woods. The facility does not have the full staff to ensure your safety.

• Welcome

• Housekeeping Rules

• Music Director David Ramadanoff

• About YPSO

• Pre-concert Program (6:45pm)

• Concert Program (7:30pm)

• Musicians

• Our 2021 Graduates (Procession immediately following concert)

• Board, Faculty, & Staff

• Acknowledgements

• Season Sponsors

David Ramadanoff has been Music Director/Conductor since 1989. Under his leadership, YPSO has grown to a membership upwards of 100 young players from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and has gained wide recognition as an outstanding youth ensemble.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Ramadanoff began his professional studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Temple University. He was a doctoral candidate at The Juilliard School where he also taught conducting until Seiji Ozawa offered him the position of Assistant Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony.

Mr. Ramadanoff worked closely with Robert Page, William Smith, Herbert Blomstedt, Otto Werner Mueller, Seiji Ozawa, Eugen Jochum, Leonard Bernstein, and Gunther Schuller, and attended both Aspen and Tanglewood. He performed regularly on the San Francisco Symphony subscription concert series, continuing as Associate Conductor under Edo de Waart.

As Music Director, he developed and strengthened the Symphony’s educational programs and community concerts.

In 1980, Mr. Ramadanoff won the Leopold Stokowski Conducting Award, and in 1982 made his Carnegie Hall debut with the American Symphony. He served as Director of Orchestral Activities at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1984 to 1988 as well as Principal Conductor of the SFCM Orchestra. Mr. Ramadanoff has been guest conductor for performances with the Kansas City Philharmonic, the North Carolina Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Napa Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, and Fort Collins (Colorado) Symphony. 

In addition to YPSO, Mr. Ramadanoff is Music Director/Conductor of the Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra and the Conductor of the California Sound Collective. Mr. Ramadanoff also served as the Music Director/Conductor of the Vallejo Symphony Orchestra from 1983 to 2015.

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Celebrating its 84th season in 2020-21, Young People’s Symphony Orchestra is the oldest youth orchestra in California and the first independent youth orchestra in the nation. Founded in Berkeley in 1936, YPSO has developed the musical talents and skills of thousands of students in the San Francisco Bay Area. Today we are the top regional youth orchestra located in the East Bay and serve musicians who live in 31 cities in seven counties including Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma. Many YPSO alumni are internationally distinguished musicians and prominent community members.

Our mission is to guide young musicians, ages 11-21, to achieve excellence within an orchestral setting. We provide an educational environment that fosters accomplishment, serves as a cultural resource for the community, and builds future audience by instilling a passion for music. We encourage young people to become exemplary musicians, and young musicians to become exemplary people.

In his 32nd season with the orchestra, Music Director/Conductor David Ramadanoff leads a team of master teachers who provide specialized sectional coaching each week, addressing technical and musical issues unique to their instruments. Student applicants audition for placement into YPSO in Spring and Summer for the following season.

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Glière Cello Duets — Reinhold Glière (1874 - 1956)

Theodora Fort (Cello) & Mia Stoliartchouk (Cello)

Brahms Clarinet Quintet — Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)

Tevy Emoedi (Violin), Ashley Hembree (Viola), Noa Marvit (Violin),Emile Serper (Cello), Sophena Tuli (Clarinet)

Auric Wind Trio — Georges Auric (1899-1983)

Ethan Chen (Clarinet), Soumili Mukherjee (Bassoon), & Aya Rokeach (Oboe)

Overture to Magic Flute — W.A. Mozart (1756 - 1791)

Night on Bald Mountain — Modest Mussorgsky (1839 - 1881)

Capriccio Italien — P.I. Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)

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| ✧ - Ringers | ± - Alumni | ✠ - Coaches | ✱Principal - All Pieces |

*Principal - Overture to Magic Flute | **Principal - Night on Bald Mountain | ***Principal - Cappricio Italien |

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During this graduation procession, each graduating senior will be called up from their seats and recognized by Maestro Ramadanoff. This is a great photo opportunity!

Aidan Baraban

University of California, Davis

Neurobiology, Physiology, & Behavior Major

Justice Gardner

Northwestern University

Bassoon Performance & Political Science Major | Music Technology & Composition Minor

Lev Gordon-Feierabend

University of California, Davis

Public Policy | Undeclared

Isabel Handa

Hawaii | South East Asia

Hawaiian Settler Colonialism | Volunteering

Briana Hanson

Southern Adventist University

Film Major

Marina Hoffman

University of British Columbia (Vancouver)

Forest Bio-economy Sciences and Technology

Ciela Johnson

University of California, Los Angeles

Undeclared

Lucas Kathol-Voillequé

Oberlin College & Oberlin Conservatory

Economics Major & Jazz Saxophone/Jazz Studies

Joel Kim

Brown University

Computer Science or Engineering Major

Christopher Lu

University of The Pacific

Pre-dental Program

Artemisia Matera

Princeton University

International Relations

Julianna Meneses

University of the Pacific

Music Education

Ananya Navale

Stanford University

Undeclared

Elias Ramos

Sonoma State University

Music Education

Emile Serper

University of California, Berkeley

Mathematics and Music Majors

Kaitlyn Shimanuki

Hofstra University

Direct Entry Physician Assistant Program & Honors College

Corbin Strong

University of Washington

Pre-Sciences Major

Mwanday Yamegni

Loyola Marymount University

Biochemistry Major

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Special Thanks to our parent volunteers for this Live Cal Shakes Concert of 2021!

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If you would like to support YPSO and our continuing mission to provide youth music education, please visit the link below!

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