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Listen to the Future!
TIME OUT CHICAGO
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| STEELE TRAP Nothing escapes violinist Emma Steele's musical memory. |
Daniel Barenboim is fond of saying that orchestras are models for society, with each member learning how to fit into a larger whole. Orchestra musicians learn to lead when playing a solo, and to follow when their solo ends. They listen to opposing points of view from other musicians and work toward compromises to achieve solutions acceptable to all. For 60 years, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra has given the opportunity to learn those skills to young area musicians.
The name is a bit misleading, as there are actually four orchestras in the CYSO organization. The flagship group, comprising the most experienced players, performs Sunday 12. Taken together, the four include 250 musicians from ages 8 to 18. And the CYSO doesn't just introduce the kids to the standard repertoire; it's won six Adventurous Programming awards from ASCAP, the respected American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
One kid who's benefitted from the orchestra's efforts and risen through its ranks is Emma Steele, a 16-year-old violinist who won the CYSO's most recent concerto competition. She's playing Alexander Glazunov's swooning concerto in this weekend's concert. Somewhat nervous at first when we recently contacted her, the fresh-faced teenager gradually opens up. “I really want to be a soloist,” she says, “but it's not good just to have private lessons. I think you should have a rounded education.” She's in her second year as the CYSO's concertmaster and also plays in two string quartets with other young players. After she graduates, she has high hopes of attending the Curtis Institute or Juilliard.
Steele was given a violin when she was three, but didn't take to the instrument immediately. “I tried again when I was four, with a different teacher,” she says, laughing. “I wasn't into it quite yet.” Still, she persevered, and has now been in the CYSO for three years. Playing Mahler's First Symphony, a piece whose frequent tempo changes can vex college ensembles, was a highlight for her thus far.
That the orchestra attempts such challenging music speaks to its leaders' ambitions. Allen Tinkham has been music director of the CYSO for six years and enjoys being able to conduct the core repertoire. Most conductors who don't work with professionals have to get by on watered-down arrangements of the classics. In addition to playing music from all eras, Tinkham's adamant about playing it “at a certain level,” that being a high level.
Tinkham found his way to the CYSO after a stint as assistant conductor at the Oregon Symphony. But his interests aren't confined to classical music: While at the University of Michigan , he played in pop and jazz groups and Caribbean music in a steel band. His pop connections have kept him interested in the composer Michael Daugherty, a U of M prof whose pop-inflected music Tinkham first heard while in school, and whose Route 66 Tinkham will conduct. (Daugherty will discuss the work before the performance.)
Daugherty's probably the most pop-influenced composer in front of the new-orchestral music crowd. (Pop-influenced minimalists tend to inhabit smaller venues.) Elvis is a recurring obsession in his music, and his Motor City Triptych weaves Motown fragments into the orchestral fabric.
“I'm really into a lot of his pieces right now,” says Tinkham. Route 66 doesn't quote other songs outright, Tinkham says, but there's a lot in it “that's completely new but it sounds like something you've heard before.”
Steele speaks highly of Tinkham, but mentions that “Every once in a while he has to get mad at us.” She's quick to add that he doesn't yell every week. But then again, taking orders is also part of fitting into society.
Youth reigns supreme Wednesday 12 at Orchestra Hall.
