1:00 PM Coda Concert
String Ensembles and Associate Orchestra

CYS will present its final season concert featuring both the Associate Orchestra and the Virtuosi and Intermezzi String Ensembles at 1:00 PM on May 17 at Smithwick Theater, Foothill College. Maestra Kati Kyme will conduct the Intermezzi Strings in works by Antonio Brioschi, Antonín Dvořák, and George Frideric Handel, and the Virtuosi Strings will feature works by Arriaga, Beethoven, and Schubert. Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga (1806-1826) was a Spanish Basque composer of extraordinary promise. After his early death, he came to be known as “the Spanish Mozart,” a nickname that reflects striking parallels with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Like Mozart, Arriaga was a remarkable child prodigy and a gifted composer whose life was cut tragically short. The similarities run even deeper: both shared the same first and second baptismal names, and—by a remarkable coincidence—were born on the same day, January 27, the feast of St. John Chrysostom, exactly fifty years apart. At the age of 16, Arriaga wrote three string quartets that were published in 1824, and were the only works of his published during his lifetime. Handel’s Entrance of the Queen of Sheba, from his 1748 oratorio Solomon, is one of the composer’s most beloved and most-often-performed works. In the Book of Kings, the Queen of Sheba travels from afar to visit the splendid court of King Solomon, arriving, as the Bible puts it, “with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, very much gold, and precious stones.”

      The Associate Orchestra, under the direction of Music Director Leo Eylar, will take you on a worldwide musical tour with music from Brazil, Japan, France, Mexico, and Germany as we finish off our 2025-26 season. We are delighted to feature our final AO Solo Concerto Competition winner, Tristan Liao, who will perform the first movement of Brazilian composer Ney Rosauro’s Marimba Concerto No. 2. This sparkling work abounds in jaunty rhythms and a definite Brazilian ‘groove’, and is a tour-de-force of brilliant marimba writing (the composer is a marimbist himself). As a special treat, we also offer a cello ensemble work by the German composer Georg Goltermann, featuring a collaboration between the Senior Orchestra and Associate Orchestra cellists. Our orchestral showpieces will end the season with a flourish as we perform Hector Berlioz’s wildly rambunctious Roman Carnival Overture, Joe Hisaishi’s iconic music from Kiki’s Delivery Service, and the beloved Danzón No. 2 by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez. You don’t want to miss this thrilling season finale! You will be dancing your way out of Smithwick Theater!

Concert Highlights

Intermezzi Strings
G.F. Handel: "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" from Solomon
Brioschi: Sinfonia
Dvorak: Third Movement from Symphony no. 8

Virtuosi Strings
Beethoven: Overture from The Creatures of Prometheus, op. 43
Arriaga: Allegro (First Movement) from Quartet in D minor
Schubert: Scherzo (Third Movement) from Quartet in G Major

Associate Orchestra
Rosauro: Concerto no. 2 for Marimba and Orchestra - I. Water Running in High Mountain - Tristian Liao, Marimba
Klengel: Hymnus for 12 Celli, op. 57 - featuring members of the Associate and Senior Orchestra Cello Sections
Hisiashi: "A Town with an Ocean View" from Kiki's Delivery Service
Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture, op. 9
Márquez: Danzon no. 2

Associate Orchestra Concerto Competition Winner

Tristan Liao is a 14-year-old marimba player who attends William Hopkins Middle School in Fremont. He began studying percussion at the age of nine under the guidance of Tammy Chen, whose mentorship helped him discover a deep passion for the marimba and for expressive music-making.

Tristan has been a member of the California Youth Symphony (CYS) for four years. He spent his first two seasons performing with the Wind Symphony and currently plays with the Associate Orchestra. During the 2023–2024 season, Tristan was named the Wind Symphony Solo Competition winner and appeared as a featured soloist in the season finale concert.

Since winning the International Young Artist Competition and making his solo marimba debut at Merkin Hall of the Kaufman Music Center in New York City in 2022, Tristan has continued to earn many recognitions for his musical achievements. His honors include First Place in both the Young Artist and J. S. Bach categories at the United States International Music Competition (USIMC) in 2023, Second Place in the same categories in 2025, Silver Awards at the International Young Artist Competition from 2022 to 2024, and First Place at the Golden Classical Music Award Competition in 2023.

Tristan also had the privilege to study in master classes with many renowned percussionists, including Gordon Stout, Weichen Lin, Svet Stoyanov, Anthony J. Cirone, Twincussion, Adam Tan, and Ming-Hui Kuo.

In addition to his musical pursuits, Tristan’s interests extend from skiing on snowy slopes to well-loved books to the disciplined practice of wushu.

Associate Orchestra Concerto Competition

California Youth Symphony's annual CONCERTO COMPETITION for the Associate Orchestra offers its current students a special challenge and an opportunity for public recognition. All students in the Associate Orchestra are encouraged to compete.