OAKLAND YOUTH ORCHESTRAS WINTER CONCERT

The four orchestras that comprise Oakland Youth Orchestras (OYO) will be performing works by master composers Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Barber, Rossini, as well as other music virtuosos for the February 4th, 2016 winter concert. OYO is proud to feature two award-winning, local soloists Matthew Yao and Amanda Beaune at this event.

The first featured soloist is Matthew Yao a 14 year-old freshman at Troy High School. He will be performing Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21, 1st movement by Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo. Matthew was the winner of OYO’s 2015 Philharmonia Solo Competition. He has been studying violin for about 4 1/2 years now and has a true gift for playing the violin. He previously studied with Jack Robbins and currently with Adrienne Ronmark. This is his 4th year in OYO. He is also the concertmaster of Troy High School’s Freshmen Orchestra. In addition to playing violin, he also enjoys the robotics club and the swim team.

The second featured soloist is Amanda Beaune a senior at Clarkston High School. She will be performing Violin Concerto, Op. 14, 1st movement by Samuel Barber with the Symphony Orchestra. Amanda was the 2015 Teresa Schuster Memorial Award winner. She began studying violin privately at the age of 8 and studied with several teachers including Tasha Miner, Sunny Cirlin and currently with Sonia Lee. Amanda has also had lessons with professors from The Hartt School of music, Wayne State University and Hope College.

Amanda joined her first youth orchestra, OYO, at the age of 9. She has been the co­ncertmaster of OYO’s Symphony orchestra since 2013. Amanda’s current music resume also includes regularly performing with her trio, Music Envy, a quartet, Main Street Strings and the Oakland University Chamber Orchestra. She has also played with the Rochester and Grosse Pointe Symphony Orchestras.

At school, Amanda is a member of the National Honors Society and enjoys participating in extracurricular activities such as French and Poetry Club. Over the last year, Amanda has participated in the Michigan Music Conference All ­State Honors Orchestra and the Michigan Youth Arts Festival, and is a regular participant at Solo and Ensemble festivals.

In the past, Amanda has been a guest ­soloist with the Michigan Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Zeljko Milicevic and the Grosse Pointe Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Joe Striplin.

Oakland Youth Orchestras Winter Concert is February 4th, 2016. The concert will be held at the Oxford Fine Arts Center at 6:30 p.m. Oxford Fine Arts Center is located at Oxford High School, 745 N. Oxford Road, Oxford, MI 48371.

Tickets will be available at the door: Adults–$10, children and students–$5, and ticket quartets–$30 (includes four tickets).

Oakland Youth Orchestras has been educating and enriching youth through music since 1975. In 1975, OYO had 50 students and one orchestra. Today, OYO is a four-tiered orchestra program (Studio String, String, Philharmonia and Symphony orchestras) serving over 350 students in grades two through twelve from Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland and St. Clair counties in southeast Michigan. The mission of OYO is to inspire student musicians by providing an exceptional orchestral experience to public, private and home schooled students. OYO fosters enrichment through opportunities in music theory, chamber music, community outreach performances and competitions.

OYO is supported in part by grants from the Michigan Council of the Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as Corporate and Foundational Support from Oakland University Department of Music, DCI Aerotech, Charity Motors, Kroger, Meijer and Community Foundation Greater Rochester.