***Online ticket sales have closed. You can still purchase tickets on Concert Day, at the California Theatre Box Office, one hour before the performance, starting at 1 pm.
The Philharmonic Orchestra Performs Chaminade, Reinecke, Chausson and Poulenc
The San Jose Youth Symphony’s Philharmonic Orchestra, under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Yair Samet, presents its 2024 Spring Concert to be held on Saturday, March 23, 2024, 2 pm, at the California Theatre, 345 S. 1st Street, San Jose, CA 95113.
The concert opens with female composer Cêcile Chaminade’s lovely and romantic work, Callirhoë Ballet Symphonique, and will conclude with Poulenc’s Les Biches Suite. This concert will also feature winners from the 2023 Young Artists’ Competition, proudly sponsored by the San Jose Symphony Foundation*. Outstanding young soloists, Lyria Zhu, flute, will perform Reinecke’s Flute Concerto in D Major; and Saarthak Shankavaram, violin, will perform Chausson’s Poème for Violin and Orchestra.
Lyria Zhu is a senior at Lynbrook High School and has been playing flute with Dr. Ming Li for over six years. She has been with the San Jose Youth Symphony for four years total, three of those as part of the Philharmonic Orchestra.
Saarthak Shankavaram, 16, is a sophomore at Prospect High School. In Singapore, where he was born, he learned singing in the Indian Hindustani classical tradition. After moving to the US in 3rd grade, he began violin lessons with Gretchen Mieschke, and has been with the San Jose Youth Symphony for several years, the last two of those as part of the Philharmonic Orchestra.
The San Jose Youth Symphony (SJYS) is one of the oldest and finest youth orchestras on the West Coast of the U.S. Founded over seven decades ago as part of the former San Jose Symphony, SJYS has a rich tradition of musical performance and education.
The musicians of SJYS, all school-age youth, are chosen from more than 650 applicants through our annual auditions. The SJYS comprises 12 distinct performing ensembles: two full orchestras, a Chamber orchestra, two flute choirs, two string ensembles, as well as winds, harp, saxophone, percussion and jazz ensembles