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About the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras
The Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras experience provides extraordinary music education in pursuit of musical excellence. The programs aim to inspire in our students a strong sense of character, discipline, commitment, and community. The ensembles are inclusive, diverse, and accessible to all students, regardless of financial resources. High-quality ensemble training is led by Charlotte Symphony Resident Conductor Christopher James Lees, Youth Camerata conductor Ian Passmore, Youth Philharmonic Co-Conductors Katie Ebert and Eric Thompson, Youth Ensemble Conductor Eric Thompson and professional Charlotte Symphony musicians, who provide a nurturing environment through which young musicians create lasting bonds in music and friendship. We offer regular performance opportunities throughout the city, including the Belk and Knight Theaters; plus, access to the Charlotte Symphony's renowned Music Director Designate, Kwamé Ryan, and international visiting artists. Follow us
@cltsymphonyyo!
Our Conductors
| Christopher James Lees | CSYO Principal Conductor & CSO Resident Conductor |
Currently on sabbatical for the 2024-25 season, Christopher James Lees serves as the Resident Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony and has 15 years of experience conducting secondary, university, and honors-level orchestras all across the country. In addition to his extensive professional work, he also has served on the college faculties of the University of Michigan, Kent State University, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. >> Read More
The Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra Conductor Chair is made possible by a generous gift from The Symphony Guild of Charlotte. |
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| Ian Passmore | Interim Youth Symphony Conductor & Youth Camerata Conductor |
| Ian Passmore will serve as Interim Conductor of the Charlotte Youth Symphony and conductor of the new Youth Camerata for the 2024-25 season. He completed his Doctorate of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Masters of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Delaware, and Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. This past season, Ian led a program with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. >> Read More |
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| Katie Ebert | Youth Philharmonic Co-Conductor |
| Katie Ebert serves as Co-Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Philharmonic. Mrs. Ebert holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Bachelor of Music Performance from Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah GA, and a Master of Music Education from Western Carolina University. She is the Director of Bands at Cuthbertson Middle School in Waxhaw NC, and she also serves as the Assistant Director of Bands at Cuthbertson High School. |
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| Eric Thompson, III | Youth Philharmonic Co-Conductor & Youth Ensemble Conductor |
| Eric L. Thompson, III serves as the Conductor for the Charlotte Symphony Youth Ensemble and Co-Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Philharmonic. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2007 where he held the Robert Ehrman Fellowship. Upon graduation, Eric played double bass with the Charlotte Symphony prior to joining Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. |
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Our Ensembles
| Youth Symphony |
The Youth Symphony is our most advanced ensemble comprised mostly of high school students. Members are selected through a competitive audition process held annually in the spring. The Youth Symphony performs advanced and preprofessional level symphonic repertoire, and our students will focus on developing essential elements of professional musicianship by performing traditional and new works and collaborating with living composers and artists. By participating in this orchestra, musicians will hone skills such as transposition and proficiency in alternate clefs. Sectional and coaching opportunities with CSO musicians are offered on a regular basis.
The Youth Symphony meets on Mondays, 5:45-8:15 pm.
Repertoire Performed in Recent Seasons:
Bizet: Carmen Suite No. 1
Borodin: Symphony No. 2 (Movements 1 & 3)
Coleridge-Taylor: Danse Negre from "African Suite"
Coleridge-Taylor: Valse de la Rheine from "Four Characteristic Waltzes"
Dvořák: The Wild Dove
Elgar: Enigma Variations
Faure: Pellèas et Mélisande
Grieg: Symphonic Dances (Movement 1)
Handel: Harp Concerto Op. 4 No. 6
Haydn: Symphony No. 100 "Military" (movements 1 & 3)
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Rossini: Overture to Italian in Algiers
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 (Movement 1) "Little Russian"
John Corigliano: Elegy
Steven Bryant: The Machine Awakes
John Williams: Star Wars: Suite for Orchestra (Movement 3) |
| Youth Camerata |
The Youth Camerata caters to students mostly in middle school and high school and contains wind, strings, and percussion players who are building individual performance skills and ensemble playing techniques designed to prepare them to join our Youth Symphony program. All musicians should be able to play all major scales, and wind and brass players in this group should be able to double tongue and have knowledge of altissimo. String players should be comfortable playing outside of First Position. The Youth Camerata performs throughout the year at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Facilities as well as in communities in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.
The Youth Camerata meets on Tuesdays, 6:00-8:15 pm. |
| Youth Philharmonic |
The Youth Philharmonic provides intermediate students with the opportunity to refine the skills they developed in the Youth Ensemble. Students will learn appropriate etiquette for playing in an orchestra, expand their knowledge of orchestral repertoire, and further develop their skills in following a conductor and blending with other instruments in the orchestra. String players will focus on proper bow techniques, while wind and brass players will work on strengthening their breath control. The Youth Philharmonic performs three times per year at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Facilities in Uptown Charlotte.
The Youth Philharmonic meets on Tuesdays, 5:45-7:45 pm. |
| Youth Ensemble |
The Youth Ensemble is a training ensemble designed to bridge early music education with the Intermediate and Advanced Youth Orchestras. The Youth Ensemble will be an introduction to music ensemble learning and provide regular coaching by our Charlotte Symphony musicians and conducting staff. This group does not require an audition, but musicians should have a fundamental knowledge of their instrument. String players should be able to play at Suzuki Book 2 or higher. Wind and brass players should have at least one year of instruction on their instrument.
The Youth Ensemble meets on Saturdays, 1:30-3:00 pm. |
Coaches
We hold sectional rehearsals frequently throughout the year for all CSYO ensembles. These sectionals offer young musicians the chance to receive coaching by Charlotte Symphony musicians and special training on musical aspects and issues unique to their instrument.
Masterclasses
Masterclass dates for the 2024-25 season coming soon! View previous masterclasses listed below. Masterclasses are hosted by the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra Programs -- all are welcome to attend!
| 2022-23 |
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May 20, 2023
Masterclass - Alexi Kenney
Knight Theater
Violinist Alexi Kenney has earned wide-spread acclaim for his insightful and artistic interpretations, as well as his inspired programming, often melding the new with the old, the familiar with the obscure. He is the recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award and an Avery Fisher Career Grant.
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February 5, 2023
Masterclass - Hollis Ulaky
Park Road Baptist Church
3900 Park Rd, Charlotte NC 28209
3:30 pm-4:30 pm
Open to the public to view
Hollis Ulaky is currently Principal Oboist of the Charlotte Symphony. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. Before joining the CSO, Ms. Ulaky was principal oboist in the Wheeling Symphony, and Opera Festival Orchestra in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Hollis Ulaky is a Yamaha Performing Artist. |
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February 4, 2023
Masterclass - Alex Wilborn
Park Road Baptist Church
3900 Park Rd, Charlotte NC 28209
3:30 pm-4:30 pm
Open to the public to view
Alex Wilborn is the Principal Trumpet of the Charlotte Symphony, as well as an alum of The Julliard School. His recent achievements include 2nd place in the 2018 National Trumpet Competition Graduate Solo Competition and winner of the 2017 International Trumpet Guild Orchestral Excerpts Competition. |
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January 14, 2023
Masterclass - Bella Hristova
Park Road Baptist Church
3900 Park Rd, Charlotte NC 28209
3:30 pm-4:30 pm
Open to the public to view
A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, she has won numerous awards including First Prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, First Prize in the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, and is a Laureate of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.
In addition to her many appearances with orchestras, Hristova performs frequently with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and has held residencies at top conservatory and summer music festival programs as a recitalist. |
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November 19, 2022
Masterclass - Julie Albers
Belk Theater
Julie Albers was awarded the Grand Prize at the XIII International Competition for Young Musicians in Douai, France, and toured France as soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Douai. She is principal cellist of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Albers currently holds the Mary Jean and Charles Yates Cello Chair at the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. |
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November 19, 2022
Masterclass - Tai Murray
Belk Theater
Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2004, Tai Murray was named a BBC New Generation Artist (2008 through 2010). As a chamber musician, she was a member of Lincoln Center's Chamber Music Society II (2004-2006).
Murray is an Assistant Professor, Adjunct, of violin at the Yale School of Music, where she teaches applied violin and coaches chamber music. She earned artist diplomas from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music and the Juilliard School. |
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October 7, 2023
Masterclass - Melissa White
CPCC Bryant Recital Hall
A first-prize laureate in the Sphinx Competition, she has performed with such leading U.S. ensembles as the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Pops, the Louisville Orchestra, and the Atlanta, Baltimore, Colorado, Detroit, and Pittsburgh symphony orchestras.
Ms. White is a founding member of New York-based Harlem Quartet, where since 2006 her passion and artistry have contributed to performances hailed for "bringing a new attitude to classical music, one that is fresh, bracing and intelligent" (Cincinnati Enquirer).
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January 20, 2024
Masterclass - Jennifer Koh
Knight Theater
She made her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 11. She was Musical America's 2016 Instrumentalist of the Year and has also been recently recognized as a Virtuoso Award honoree by Concert Artists Guild in 2020 and "A Force of Nature" by the American Composers Orchestra in 2019.
Recognized for intense, commanding performances, delivered with dazzling virtuosity and technical assurance, violinist Jennifer Koh is a forward-thinking artist dedicated to exploring a broad and eclectic repertoire, while promoting equity and inclusivity in classical music. She has expanded the contemporary violin repertoire through a wide range of commissioning projects and has premiered more than 100 works written especially for her.
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April 6, 2024
Masterclass - Sterling Elliott
Belk Theater
Acclaimed for his stellar stage presence and joyous musicianship, cellist Sterling Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the winner of the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition.
Sterling is pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim, following completion of his Master of Music and undergraduate degrees at Juilliard. He is an ambassador of the Young Strings of America, a string sponsorship operated by Shar Music. He performs on a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello on loan through the Robert F. Smith Fine String Patron Program, in partnership with the Sphinx Organization.
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Contact Us
For more information about Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras, please contact us at
csyo@charlottesymphony.org or 704-714-5131.
