Season 25

1976-1977

Roster

Seniors

From the Redwoods to the Stage: The CYS Summer Camp 1976

CYS summer music camp was a cornerstone of the orchestra's rigorous training program, held for one intensive week in the scenic La Honda of Northern California in the summer of 1976. Under the leadership of Maestro Aaron Sten, who conducted the camp for over 17 years by the mid-1970s, the primary purpose was to provide the approximately 77 student musicians with a "head start" on the upcoming concert season.

The camp was characterized by its high-intensity musical environment and its unique outdoor setting:

• Rigorous Rehearsal Schedule: students followed a demanding daily routine involving up to seven hours of rehearsal time.
• Specialized Instruction: Sessions were divided into specialized sectionals for woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion during the morning and afternoon, followed by full orchestral rehearsals in the evening.
• Professional Mentorship: Rehearsals were led by Aaron Sten and a corps of professional instructors, many of whom were CYS alumni returning to mentor the next generation.
• The "Woods" as a Classroom: Faculty members, such as Neil Panton, were often seen leading woodwind rehearsals directly under the shade of massive redwood trees.
• Facilities and Recreation: Held at the San Francisco YMCA in La Honda in 1976, the site featured dormitory cabins, a cafeteria, a large swimming pool, and a rustic "performance shell" for outdoor concerts.
• Social Integration: While the work was described as "hard," students were given free time for recreational activities like volleyball and swimming to foster "companionable teamwork" and integrate new members into the group.

November 1976 Concert - the Silver Anniversary Season Opening Concert

CYS celebrated as one of the longest-enduring youth orchestras in the United States, inaugurated its Silver Anniversary (25th) Season with a pair of gala concerts conducted by Aaron Sten. The season opened on Sunday evening, November 21, 1976, at the San Mateo High School Auditorium, followed by a repeat performance on Sunday, November 28, at the Flint Center in Cupertino. The program showcased the orchestra’s "near-professionalism," featuring complex, unsimplified masterworks designed to challenge the 77 young musicians who had spent an intensive week at summer camp in the La Honda redwoods preparing for the debut.

The concert opened with Gioachino Rossini’s spirited The Thievous Magpie Overture. This was followed by the first half’s centerpiece, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C Major. After the intermission, the program shifted toward 20th-century Russian literature with Aram Khachaturian’s rhythmic and colorful Masquerade Suite.

A primary highlight of the opening concerts was the appearance of guest soloist Davis Law, a 17-year-old violinist and winner of the CYS spring auditions. Law, who began his violin studies at age eight, was a scholarship student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music preparatory department, where he studied under the tutelage of Zaven Melikian. For his solo performance with the symphony, Law presented Henryk Wieniawski’s technically demanding Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, a work that exemplified the high caliber of musicianship expected of the orchestra’s soloists.

Fusing Two Worlds: CYS Collaboration with a Jazz Legend

On Monday, March 21, 1977, CYS participated in a landmark crossover event at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. Presented by renowned rock producer Bill Graham, the concert paired a large contingent of the symphony - consisting of 55 strings and 6 flutes led by Conductor Aaron Sten - with the "superbly gifted" jazz guitarist and vocalist George Benson and his band.

The program opened with a "clean, crisp, and buoyant" performance of Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik by the CYS players, establishing a foundation of classical seriousness before transitioning into the jazz collaboration. The remainder of the evening featured the orchestra providing a "lush, silken sheen" for Benson’s performances of hits such as "Nature Boy," "This Masquerade," and "The Wind & I," all featuring sophisticated string arrangements by Claus Ogerman.

While critics noted that the attempt to fuse symphonic string sounds with Benson's upbeat, amplified styling was only partially successful due to the orchestra being physically separated at the rear of the stage, the event was nonetheless hailed as a "rousing, scintillating night". For the young musicians of the CYS, the opportunity to perform alongside a Grammy-winning artist at the height of his career provided a valuable and worthwhile experience that allowed them to "stretch themselves in an entirely new direction".

The Silver Anniversary Finale: 25th Season Gala Concert (May 1977)

Program Overview

CYS concluded its landmark Silver Anniversary season with a series of grand concerts conducted by Aaron Sten. The performances took place on Sunday, May 22, 1977, at the San Mateo High School Auditorium and on Sunday, May 29, at the Flint Center in Cupertino. This celebratory program featured a sophisticated selection of European masterworks and contemporary American compositions, showcasing the "top form" of the 77 young musicians after a year of intensive artistic growth.

The concert opened with the vibrant Three Dances from "The Bartered Bride" by Bedřich Smetana, followed by the ambitious Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 7 by Carl Nielsen. After the intermission, the orchestra performed Robert Jaeger’s Sinfonietta, conducted by assistant conductor Richard Peterson. The gala concluded with two major concerti featuring the season's premier soloists, delivering what critics described as an "enthusiastic and well-played" finale to the quarter-century celebration.

Featured Soloists

Wendy Sharp (Violin): The 16-year-old concertmistress from Palo Alto performed the first movement of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61. A native San Franciscan, Sharp began her studies at age six under Leon La Fosse and continued with Kenneth Goldsmith and Jenny Rudin. Critics praised her "mature musicality" and "stratospheric" technical precision during the performance.

William C. Adcock (Trumpet): A 19-year-old student at Fullerton State University and a 1976 audition winner, Adcock performed Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto in E Major. Raised in a musical family in San Jose, he studied under James Stamp and Charles W. Daval, eventually being named a finalist for the Young Musician Awards sponsored by the San Francisco Symphony. His performance was lauded as "heroic, elegant, and full of poised sentiment".