The Music Institute of Chicago Students Selected for Chicago Youth in Music Festival

The Music Institute of Chicago is proud to announce that seven of its students have been selected to participate in the Chicago Youth in Music Festival, a biennial celebration of the achievements of young classical musicians from across Chicago and the world for an incredible journey of music-making and learning. The 2013 Festival takes place January 14–February 4.

Music Institute students Tess Krope* (Chicago), violin student of Marko Dreher; Nathan Walhout* (Wheaton), cello student of Gilda Barston; Richard Li* (Bolingbrook), cello student of Gilda Barston and Hans Jorgen Jensen; and Aaron Kollasch(Naperville), cello student of David Cunliffe, were chosen after a selective audition process. Kitsho Hosotani (Wilmette), violin student of Paul Vanderewerf, and MIra Williams* (Chicago), viola student of Marko Dreher, have also been selected to participate in the Festival Orchestra. (The * indicates students in the Music Institute's prestigious Academy for extraordinarily gifted pre-college musicians.) Tess Krope also will serve as Assistant Concertmaster. 

The Music Institute students are among the approximately 65 Chicago area high school students in grades 9–12 who make up the Festival Orchestra, as well as select members of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Joined by a dedicated group of mentors from the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas (YOA), the Festival's international guest youth ensemble, these young musicians will participate in a series of intensive rehearsals and workshops in preparation for appearances onstage at Orchestra Hall and in neighborhood locations around the city and suburbs. 

In addition, Music Institute student March Saper (Chicago), flute student of Meret Bitticks, was named a Student Ambassador. Ambassadors play an important role in welcoming YOA members, participate in a workshop with YOA and the Civic Orchestra about citizen musicianship, assist with production of community-based events January 30–February 2, and attend the Festival's culminating event February 4 at Orchestra Hall. 

CSO Music Director Riccardo Muti, YOA Music Director Carlos Miguel Prieto, and Civic Orchestra Principal Conductor Cliff Colnot are serving as the artistic leadership of the 2013 Festival. Students will gain valuable orchestral experience and develop an understanding of the values expressed by the CSO's Citizen Musician initiative through workshop sessions.

To launch the 2013 Festival, the Orchestra will rehearse with Civic Orchestra Principal Conductor Cliff Colnot to prepare for an open rehearsal led by CSO Music Director Riccardo Muti on Monday, January 14, 2013. Repertoire will include select movements of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and Verdi's Overture to The Sicilian Vespers. On Wednesday, January 30, the Orchestra will join YOA members for a public reading session of standard orchestral works led by Guest Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto. Both events take place at Orchestra Hall and are free and open to the public.

On Saturday, February 2, 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m., the Music Institute hosts a Festival-related community event, free and open to the public, at its Highland Park campus, the Highland Park Community House Ballroom, 1991 Sheridan Road. Music Institute Academy strings students and YOA musicians will perform side by side in a chamber orchestra reading session conducted by Academy Director James Setapen. Following the session, YOA and community leaders will engage in a panel discussion about how young people can forge paths as Citizen Musicians and cultural entrepreneurs in their own communities.

The Festival culminates with "A Celebration of Youth in Music," a free public concert conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto Monday, February 4 at 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall. The program will include Copland's El salón Mexico and Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40.

The Chicago Youth in Music Festival is a collaboration between the Institute for Learning, Access and Training at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago's leading organizations in music education, including the Music Institute of Chicago.