December 11, 2003


California Youth Symphony announces live concert CD for sale
A unique holiday gift under $15

The California Youth Symphony has just released a new CD, recorded live at two concerts in November 2002. Proceeds from the limited edition CD will benefit the CYS Orchestra’s Tour to Italy in June 2004.

The CD features one of the country's most promising young pianists, Fremont resident Natasha Paremski, performing Brahms’ “Piano Concerto No. 2.” Only 16, Paremski began her piano studies at age 4 in Moscow. She immigrated to the United States with her family in 1995. Paremski has won numerous awards and competitions and has recorded two CDs. She studies privately with many prominent teachers. See http://www.natashaparemski.com for more information.

"It is a memorable event, akin to being mystical, to hear a 15-year-old with the talent of pianist Natasha Paremski,” says music critic Daniel Leeson.

Also featured on the CD is the CYS Orchestra performance of Leonard Bernstein's enormously popular “Fancy Free.” "These talented young men and women tore into the piece — the entire ballet, mind you, not excerpts from it, as if the girls were wearing poodle skirts and the boys had DA haircuts. How did they know how to play this late 1940s jazz with such stylistic accuracy? I've heard professional European orchestras fall all over the floor with the demands of the work's trendy, faddish, and rhythmic peculiarities. Yet the kids from Cupertino ate it for lunch," says Leeson.

Every other year, the CYS Orchestra mounts an international tour. Recent tours have included Central Europe, where the CYS Orchestra won the grand prize at the International Youth and Music Festival in Vienna, and to Spain, Japan and Taiwan. In June 2004, the CYS Orchestra will travel to Italy where they will perform concerts in Rome, Florence, Bologna and Milan, and participate in the Albano Laziale Summer Music Festival and the Cento Summer Music Series.

The CDs are $15 each and will be available at the upcoming free CYS Orchestra holiday concert on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 2:30 p.m. at the Smithwick Theater, located on the Foothill College campus in Los Altos Hills, or by mail order. Call (650) 325-6666.

Founded in 1952, the California Youth Symphony has taught upwards of 15,000 students and includes two full symphony orchestras – the California Youth Symphony Orchestra and the CYS Associate Orchestra as well as a percussion ensemble and six additional groups for younger musicians. The 2003-2004 members of the California Youth Symphony include more than 470 of the greater Bay Area’s most promising young musicians ranging in age from 11 to 18 and representing more than 100 elementary, middle and high schools.

The state’s first independent youth orchestra, the California Youth Symphony, has conducted 14 international summer tours and it is one of the largest and most influential youth symphony organizations in the United States. The Orchestra’s concerts draw thousands of people annually and feature a challenging repertoire. Many of the Orchestra’s alumni have gone on to pursue solo careers or have joined major orchestras in the United States. Members are chosen at auditions held each May and membership is open to any musician high school-age or younger.

For more information about the California Youth Symphony or to purchase tickets for upcoming events, call (650) 325-6666 or visit www.cys.org