Season 39

1990-1991

Roster

Seniors

A Legacy Remembered and a New Vision: The 1990–1991 Transition

The Passing of a Maestro: Dr. Lauren Jakey (1937–1991)

The 1990–1991 season was marked by profound sorrow following the untimely death of Music Director Dr. Lauren Jakey on January 14, 1991, at the age of 53. Dr. Jakey had impressed his unique stamp on CYS for twelve years, leading the organization through a decade of unparalleled growth and international acclaim.

• Under his stewardship, the orchestra expanded from a single senior ensemble to a comprehensive program of five groups totaling approximately 260 young musicians.
• His tenure was highlighted by rigorous international tours, including the historic 1990 visit to France, where CYS became the first youth orchestra ever invited to perform at the Festival de Sully.
• Remembered for his unwavering integrity and high standards, Dr. Jakey challenged students to reach professional levels of execution, leaving behind a "living memorial" in the thousands of lives he touched.

A New Chapter: The Appointment of Leo Eylar

In the wake of this loss, the CYS Board of Directors appointed conductor-composer Leo Eylar to lead the orchestra. Eylar, a native of Los Angeles, grew up in a rich musical environment; his mother was a professional pianist and his uncle was the well-known film composer Albert Glasser. A distinguished scholar, Eylar graduated as high school valedictorian before attending Northwestern University and the University of Southern California, where he earned his bachelor's degree "Summa cum Laude". He later finished his education with a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1986. Additionally, he was awarded an International Rotary Foundation grant to study conducting at the prestigious Hochschule fur Musik in Vienna, Austria.

Eylar was already a familiar face to the ensemble, having served as a conductor for the California Youth Symphony since October 1990. Formerly the Co-concertmaster of the San Jose Symphony from 1984 to 1989, Eylar brought an international reputation as both a performer and a composer. His compositions have been performed in world-renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and Wigmore Hall in London. His extensive conducting credits in the Bay Area include work with the El Camino Youth Symphony and the San Jose Symphony Youth Orchestra, as well as a nationally televised performance of "America Sings" with Bobby McFerrin.

President of CYS Greg Wheelwright noted that the search committee was particularly impressed by Eylar's "love of music, his knowledge of repertoire, his skill as a violinist and his determination and commitment to work with the organization". Eylar himself expressed great enthusiasm for the appointment, stating that the CYS is the best of all the symphonies he has worked with in terms of talent and commitment. Looking toward the future, he aims to expand the current repertoire and move beyond traditional "warhorse pieces". Under his leadership, the orchestra will soon perform works by Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Kabalevsky, and Copland.

November 1990 Concert

CYS opened its 39th Season with a pair of ambitious performances on Sunday, November 11, at the Flint Center in Cupertino, and Sunday, November 18, at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. Under the overall leadership of Music Director Dr. Lauren Jakey, now in his twelfth season with the orchestra, the ensemble presented a program that ranged from 20th-century Argentinian landscapes to the sweeping impressionism of the French coast.

The repertoire for this series was particularly demanding:

• Ginastera: Pampeana No. 3: Pastoral Symphony

• Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16

• Mozart: Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K. 504

• Debussy: La Mer (The Sea)

Artistic Leadership & Guest Conductor: Leo Eylar

A significant highlight of the November 1990 series was the appearance of Leo Eylar as guest conductor. Eylar, a graduate of the University of Southern California and the Peabody Conservatory, was a highly regarded figure in the Bay Area music scene, having served as Co-concertmaster of the San Jose Symphony from 1984 to 1989. His appearance with CYS came at a time when he was gaining international recognition, having recently studied conducting in Vienna and conducted various professional ensembles across Europe. His collaboration with Dr. Jakey provided the young musicians with a fresh perspective from a conductor-composer whose works had been performed at venues as prestigious as Carnegie Hall.

Featured Soloist: Bill-John Newbrough

The centerpiece of the first half of the program was Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor, featuring pianist Bill-John Newbrough. His performance of this Romantic staple—comprising the Allegro molto moderato, Adagio, and Allegro moderato molto e marcato—anchored a program that otherwise pushed the boundaries of the students' technical abilities with the complex rhythms of Ginastera and the intricate textures of Debussy’s La Mer.

March 1991 Concert

The March 1991 concert series marked a profound and emotional milestone for the CYS, serving as a tribute to the legacy of former conductor Dr. Lauren Jakey, who passed away in January 1991. Under the leadership of newly appointed conductor-composer Leo Eylar, the orchestra performed two weekend concerts: the first on Sunday, March 17, at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center, and the second on Sunday, March 24, at the Flint Center at De Anza College. Critics noted that despite the recent loss of their long-time music director, the ensemble played with a "professional" sound and "controlled commitment," honoring Jakey's high musical standards.

The program opened with Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90, popularly known as the "Italian" Symphony. Reviewers described the performance as "rousing," with the orchestra capturing the "pomposity and elegance" of the work's texture while navigating its brisk, demanding tempos. Following the Mendelssohn, the symphony presented Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39, a four-movement masterpiece of varying character. The Sibelius was hailed as an "unqualified success," particularly noted for the "spirited and committed reading" of the ensemble, which began with a palpable, "lonely opening herald" from principal clarinetist Ixi Chen and a soft drum roll by Alex Wong.

The centerpiece of the afternoon featured cellist Semyon Kobialka as the guest soloist for Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme for Violoncello and Orchestra, Op. 33. Kobialka, a student at Columbia University and the winner of the instrumental division of the 1990 CYS Young Artist Competition, returned from New York specifically for these performances. His interpretation was praised for its "thoughtful, intense, and thoroughly professional" quality, exhibiting a "silken melodic line" and fine mastery over the work's technical difficulties. The son of San Francisco Symphony violinist Daniel Kobialka, Semyon was lauded for his ability to produce "different colors across the register" in what critics called a "stunning tribute" to Dr. Jakey.

May 1991 Concert

The May 1991 concert series marked a momentous turning point for the CYS, as it served as the official debut of its newly appointed music director, Leo Eylar. Following the passing of former conductor Lauren Jakey earlier that year, the orchestra demonstrated it was in "top form" under Eylar’s leadership, maintaining the high musical standards established over nearly four decades while beginning to expand into more diverse repertoire. The "Third Concert" of the 39th Season was presented across two weekends, first at the Flint Center at De Anza College in Cupertino on May 19, and subsequently at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center on May 26.

The program was a sophisticated blend of 20th-century and Romantic masterpieces that showcased the technical precision and emotional range of the young musicians. The performance opened with Aaron Copland’s Quiet City, a piece praised by critics for its "illusion of tranquility" and "soothing, distant mystique". This was followed by Peter Tchaikovsky’s energetic Capriccio Italien, Op. 45, which utilized solid crescendos and powerful brass textures to bring a sense of "pomposity and elegance" to the stage. After the intermission, the orchestra performed the first movement of Dimitri Kabalevsky’s Cello Concerto No. 1, a rendition noted for its soulful depth. The concert series reached an "ecstatic" conclusion with Igor Stravinsky’s 1919 Firebird Suite, a work that challenged the ensemble with its unique dissonances and vibrant rhythms, culminating in a "joltlingly impressive" finale.

The talent of the orchestra's individual members was highlighted through several featured soloists who earned critical acclaim for their contributions. In Copland’s Quiet City, trumpet soloist Jonathan Yan and English horn soloist Kate Carroll were recognized for adding a rich, atmospheric mystique to the performance. For the Kabalevsky concerto, Susan Park served as the cello soloist, delivering a performance that revealed great musical skill and emotional depth during her cadences. These successful debut concerts affirmed the Board of Directors' confidence in Maestro Eylar, whose international reputation as a performer and composer ensured that the California Youth Symphony would continue its pursuit of excellence during this period of transition.