Radical Days
Youth Chamber Connection students performed at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Alleghany and Brookline locations as part of the 2021 Radical Days! They brought beautiful music to after school students at the locations and helped demonstrate playing the instruments during the petting zoos!
First Days of Rehearsal
Youth Chamber Connection started in October 2021 with 15 different groups between Satrudays, Sundays, and online! The kids immediately hit it off and got to work creating their own ensemble names, choosing pieces, and making friends.
Crash the Carnegies
The Saturn Quartet, coached by Katie Wickesberg, performed at Crash the Carnegies at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. This was a weekend long event at the Carnegie Museums and Library in Oakland with different performances happening simultaneously through the buildings.
Light Up Night
Downtown Pittsburgh’s annual Light Up Night had events going on all over the city, including 4 Youth Chamber Connection ensembles performing at the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh. Saturn Quartet, coached by Katie Wickesberg; Steel City Troubadours, coached by Jim Rodgers; Upright Aces, coached by Pierce Cook; and Lunar Quintet, coached by Kathy Melucci!
Montgomery Fellowship Competiton
The 2021-22 winners of the Montgomery Fellowship Competition were the Azure Quartet (Nathan, Yunjoe, Jeongwoo, and William). The Montgomery Fellowship Quartet (MFQ) or Quintet is an annual, PYSO-run competition for string quartets or quintets sponsored by Chamber Music Pittsburgh. YC2 matches the price of tuition for the winning group and provides scheduling and management, in addition to the rich YC2 curriculum.
Entrepreneurship Competition
Simul Seorsum became the first winners of the Youth Chamber Connection Entrepreneurship Competition! Latin for "Together Apart," Simul Seorsum was a pre-formed group which came together at the beginning of the pandemic to continue making music! Their project included detailed plans for a series of community education concerts, program notes, their name and logo, and even a cute mascot! Simul Seorsum was coached by PSO cellist, Charlie Powers.
For one month, students from 8 chamber groups worked hard on projects to further their skills in a professional setting. Students participated in workshops alongside their friends and teachers, presented their proposals, and got together outside of their rehearsals to get the most out of this opportunity! Check out some of their designs below!
South Hills Children’s Choir Holiday Concert
The Azure Quartet performed with the South Hills Children’s Choir for their holiday concert in Bethel Park. They opened the concert with Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 2 before performing Andrea Ramsey's "Aurora Lucis Rutilat" with the choir.
MuseumLab Performance
In December, right as all our students were about to leave for holiday breaks, Youth Chamber Connection students joined the TRYPO Symphonette orchestra at the MuseumLab for their SYMcity community performance! Saturn Quartet, Four Tailed Strings, and No Fret Quintet coached by Katie Wickesberg; Steel City Troubadours, coached by Jim Rodgers; and Baguette Quartet and Lunar Quintet, coached by Kathy Melucci.
Chamber Days
In March and April of 2022, Youth Chamber Connection had the amazing opportunity to collaborate with TRYPO and PYSO on a residency program with Imani Strings through Chamber Music Pittsburgh! These master musicians worked for 2 weekends with our students in solo and chamber workshops, masterclasses, performances, and Q&As about their careers and life as professional musicians.
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Oakland
Youth Chamber Connection groups performed a community pop-up concert at the CLP Main location in Oakland. The performance covered pieces spanning all eras of music, and the groups shared information about their instruments and the pieces they were playing with the audience!
Ensembles included Milky Way Trio, Pattern Brass, No Fret Quintet, Steel City Troubadours, and Three Rivers Cello Trio.
SLB Radio Performance
Coloratura performed Borodin's Quartet No. 2 on The Saturday Light Brigade in May 2022. Coached by Dennis O'Boyle and their performance had students from both PYSO and TRYPO students!
YC2
Spring Recitals
All 17 groups who finished the season performed in the spring recitals at Duquesne University for friends, family, coaches, and the Saturday TRYPO large ensembles! At the end of each group’s performance, YC2 staff awarded them with unique awards for everything from “Most Performances,” and “Most Coachable” to “Treble Makers,” and “Feet to the Fire.” Each award came with a small physical prize the students carried out of the rooms with pride!
YC2 at French Woods Festival
As part of TRYPO’s Conquer Carnegie tour, Youth Chamber Connection tagged along to bring the full chamber music experience to students in and out of the program! For over an hour, students were paired into chamber groups, handed music, and tasked with rehearsing on their own before performing for each other. They filled the camp with incredible music and kept running back to the music table for more!
