Penzance Youth String Orchestra

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PYSO latest.... Summer 2012

PYSO are currently preparing their summer programme, which includes a new work Tros an Tres by Andrew Wilson, a Concerto Grosso by Charles Avison, Holst St. Pauls Suite, and PYSO’s own arrangement of the 8^th String Quartet by Dmitri Shostakovich.
Come and hear us in concert at one of our performances.

Shostakovich 8^th Quartet: Uncovered

Shostakovich’s Eighth String Quartet, composed in Dresden over a period of just 3 days in 1960, is now recognised by many people as one of the great musical testimonies of the 20^th Century. Officially dedicated ‘to the memory of victims of fascism and war’ the work is widely understood to be privately dedicated to the composer’s own memory. The inner intensity of the writing conveys some profoundly shocking contrast, encompassing moods of great tenderness and beauty alongside barbaric destructiveness. The musicians of Penzance Youth String Orchestra explore and reveal the quartet using live music, spoken word and film in a 50 minute presentation, followed by an unbroken performance of their own orchestral arrangement of this masterpiece of the Soviet era.
Saturday September 8th 8pm
St. Ives Theatre

Concerts Programme		Penzance Youth String Orchestra was founded in 2006, and its members are all resident in Penwith – the tip of the South West peninsula in Britain. PYSO players, who are aged between 11 and 18 years old, have included representatives from many local schools and colleges as well as the home education community. Its existence is possible because of the dedication of several local teachers over many years, a great deal of dedication from the 22 young players who meet at least once a week to rehearse under the guidance of Tim Boulton, and the support of Music Cornwall. The orchestra have won an enthusiastic and loyal following in Cornwall and beyond. PYSO rehearse and perform without a conductor, directed by Tim Boulton from the viola position. It is part of the ethos of the group that the players should develop a wide range of skills, including those that are transferable to many areas of life, such as the ability to listen well, to be adaptable and flexible, to take responsibility and lead, develop excellent organisational skills, and strive to achieve personal best. Many people have commented on the great discipline of PYSO performances, and this is achieved within an atmosphere of individual expression and joy. They perform a wide range of music and styles from the last 300 years until the present day. PYSO performances this season include concerts at Symphony Hall Birmingham at the National Festival of Music For Youth, in the lunchtime series of St. Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, London, at festivals in Cornwall including Golowan, Lafrowda, St. Ives, Lizard, and Polperro, and many other performances including BBC Music Nation Day when PYSO performed alongside the South West Camerata and members of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and several Christmas concerts where the group promoted their new CD. In March PYSO were awarded the Youth Orchestra trophy at the Cornwall Music Festival for the 5^th consecutive year, also winning awards for the highest mark for an ensemble and for the most inspiring director/conductor. The orchestra are also participating in the celebratory event Marvellous Music in Cornwall and for the Queen’s Jubilee at Morrab Gardens, Penzance.
Archive
Photos
Audio/Video
Visit to Sweden August 2009
Contact (e-mail)

In July 2011 we attended the MFY National Festival of Music for Youth at City Hall Birmingham.
We were proud recipients of the ‘Federation of Music Services Orchestras Award’ for ‘Amazing original composition by Ben (Comeau) for piano and orchestra, not only a stunning composition but played with such aplomb by both soloist and orchestra.’
This particular piece, the Jazz Patchwork for Piano and Strings, was also performed in November 2011 at St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, and there is a video of this performance.

In 2010 we won the
Classic FM String and Chamber Orchestras Award
for "innovative pushing of musical boundaries and an excellent performance in its own right".

PYSO News from 2010...
Following the Music for Youth Festival in Birmingham (see link below), on 9th November 2010 PYSO and Ross Pike played at the Royal Albert Hall at the Schools Proms. “I saw the Penzance Youth String Orchestra perform Vivaldi’s ‘Summer’ at the School’s Proms, which I thought was absolutely fantastic. In fact I am not sure I will ever be able to listen to the four seasons without remembering it with a smile on my face! The members of the Penzance Youth String Orchestra should be incredibly proud of their performance. Bravo!” Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, November 2010. For photographs of the event please follow this link to our Photos page... See Music for Youth information here...
	See photos & videos of the fantastic visit of our Swedish friends Dalaviolinisterna on this new page! July 2010
Please listen...to our recordings available on this website. PYSO play with the Dante Quartet, and with Ross Pike, May 2010. Go to our updated Audio/Video page...

Penzance Youth String Orchestra is funded and supported by Music Cornwall			We are also grateful for support from Cornwall Community Foundation
Some of our members are students of South West Music School			Some of our members are supported by Awards for Young Musicians