Season 66
2017-2018
Senior Orchestra Roster
Associate Orchestra Roster
String Prep Group Roster
Wind Prep Group Roster
Wind Symphony Roster
Seniors
November 2017 Senior Orchestra Concert
The California Youth Symphony Senior Orchestra opened its 66th season with two dynamic performances on November 12, 2017, at the Flint Center and November 19 at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. Led by Music Director Leo Eylar in his 28th season at the helm, the orchestra delivered a rich and contrasting program that moved from lighthearted Broadway theatre to introspective Russian passion and grand Italian orchestral spectacle.
The concert began with Leonard Bernstein’s sparkling "Candide Overture," a lively and popular showpiece filled with catchy melodies and driving rhythms. The first half then turned to deep emotional reflection with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 126. Featuring a featured young soloist, this somber yet brilliant work builds upon intimate melodies, an Odessa street song, and complex dialogues between solo cello and orchestra.
Following the intermission, the Senior Orchestra performed the final work in Ottorino Respighi’s famous Roman trilogy, "Feste Romane" (Roman Festivals). Across four vivid movements, Respighi’s colorful tone poem depicts contrasting scenes from Rome's past, including the intense gladiator battles of "Circenses," the solemn hymns of "The Jubilee," the gentle serenades of "The October Festival," and the exuberant, bustling carnival crowds of "The Epiphany". It served as a thrilling start to a memorable season that would culminate in a summer concert tour to the Baltic region and St. Petersburg.
Featured Soloist: Davis You, Cello
CYS was proud to feature fifteen-year-old cellist Davis You as the soloist for Shostakovich's challenging Second Cello Concerto. Davis earned this prominent performance spotlight after winning First Place in the 2017 California Youth Symphony Young Artist Competition. A sophomore at Palo Alto High School, Davis studies cello with Jonathan Koh and previously studied with Irene Sharp.
Davis has built an impressive record of musical achievements, winning First Place in the 2016 California ASTA Solo Competition, earning five invitations to perform in the Junior Bach Festival, and advancing as a semifinalist at the Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Astana, Kazakhstan. He has served as principal cellist in CYS and previously won the CYS Associate Orchestra Concerto Competition. A dedicated chamber musician and composer, Davis has studied composition since age seven and participated in the SFCM Summer Music West intensive workshop, California Summer Music, and the Meadowmount School of Music. His mature technique and expressive sensitivity brought compelling depth to Shostakovich's complex masterwork.
March 2018 Senior Orchestra Concert
The California Youth Symphony Senior Orchestra continued its 66th season with two captivating performances on March 11, 2018, at the Flint Center and March 18 at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. Led by Music Director Leo Eylar in his 28th season at the CYS helm, the orchestra presented a dynamic program showcasing modern orchestral groove, classic American jazz influences, and one of the grandest Russian symphonies of the twentieth century.
The program opened with Mason Bates’s propulsive work "Devil's Radio," a fanfare driven by sparkling woodwinds, a bluesy bassline, and energetic percussion that moves between darkness and an infectious swing. The orchestra then joined forces with a featured young soloist for Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto. Originally commissioned by jazz legend Benny Goodman, the concerto moves seamlessly from a bittersweet, lyrical opening movement through a virtuosic solo cadenza into a lively finale filled with Latin and jazz rhythms.
Following the intermission, the Senior Orchestra performed Sergei Prokofiev’s monumental Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100. Composed during the dark years of World War II as a hymn to the grandeur of the human spirit, the four-movement masterpiece ranges from the epic, sweeping themes of the opening movement to a driving, humorous scherzo, a deeply moving Adagio, and a radiant, high-energy finale. It provided a powerful showcase of symphonic power as CYS prepared for its upcoming summer concert tour to Europe.
Featured Soloist: Ray Wyant, Clarinet
Sixteen-year-old clarinetist Ray Wyant was featured as the soloist for Copland's Clarinet Concerto after winning the annual CYS Young Artist Competition. Currently serving as the principal clarinetist for the California Youth Symphony, Ray began studying music at age seven on the piano before taking up the clarinet at age ten under Fred Rast. He currently studies with Janet Averett, Professor of Clarinet at San Jose State University.
A junior at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, Ray has amassed an impressive list of musical honors. He won the principal clarinet chair for the 2018 CASMEC All-State Honor Orchestra, placed first in the Mission College Young Artist Solo Competition, won the 2018 Nova Vista Symphony Young Artist Solo Competition, and spent six weeks performing with the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) Young Artists Orchestra. Ray’s expressive lyrical tone and effortless virtuosity during Copland's challenging cadenzas earned him enthusiastic applause.
May 2018 Senior Orchestra Concert
The California Youth Symphony Senior Orchestra brought its 66th season to a grand conclusion with performances on May 13, 2018, at the Flint Center and May 20 at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. Under the direction of Music Director Leo Eylar in his 28th year leading CYS, the orchestra presented a spirited, colorful program featuring Slavic dances, classical woodwind virtuosity, orchestral humor, and American ballet classics.
The afternoon opened with Antonín Dvořák’s celebratory "Carnival Overture," filling the hall with vibrant Bohemian folk rhythms and joyous orchestral color. The program then featured Carl Maria von Weber’s Bassoon Concerto in F Major, Op. 75, performed by a featured graduating senior soloist, moving from an operatic cantilena Adagio to a witty, fast-paced Rondo. The first half concluded with Nathaniel Stookey’s modern family classic "The Composer is Dead," featuring humorous text by Lemony Snicket and a special guest narrator who interrogated every instrument family in the orchestra to solve a mystery.
Following the intermission, the orchestra performed a special student orchestration of Claude Debussy’s "Passepied" from Suite bergamasque, crafted by a young student composer. To bring the concert and season to a triumphant close, the Senior Orchestra performed Aaron Copland’s famous "Billy the Kid" Ballet Suite. Capturing the vast open spaces of the American West through inventive open harmonies and traditional cowboy melodies, the work provided a grand finale as CYS prepared for its summer tour preview and European concert journey.
Featured Soloists & Guest Artists
William Sallomi, Bassoon
Eighteen-year-old bassoonist William Sallomi was featured as the soloist in Weber's Bassoon Concerto. William won the 2017 California Youth Symphony Graduating Seniors Concerto Competition. He began his music studies at age seven on the piano before playing clarinet and bass clarinet, eventually starting bassoon at age thirteen with Dr. Yueh Chou. A student at Palo Alto High School, William performed with CYS for four years, including two seasons in the Senior Orchestra. He will begin his freshman year at Stanford University in the fall.
Omari Tau Williams, Narrator
Guest artist Omari Tau Williams served as the narrator for Stookey and Snicket’s The Composer is Dead. Omari holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Michigan State University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Houston. He serves as the Director of Opera Theatre at Sacramento State University and leads the Vocal Studies Program at Cosumnes River College. A versatile singer, conductor, and composer across classical, jazz, and musical theatre, Omari spent nearly nine years touring with Disney's The Lion King and has composed commissioned operas for Houston Grand Opera’s HGOco.
Darioush Mackani, Composer & Arranger
Sixteen-year-old composer and pianist Darioush Mackani provided the custom orchestral arrangement for Debussy's "Passepied". Darioush began playing piano at age six and currently studies composition under Maestro Leo Eylar, while also playing bassoon in the Sacramento Youth Symphony. His original works have been premiered at the Festival of New American Music at CSU Sacramento and the Orfeo Music Festival in Italy. In addition to his musical passions, Darioush studies languages—including Japanese, Korean, Hungarian, and Esperanto—and enjoys inventing his own artificial languages.
