The Peconic Youth Orchestra (PYO) will present its annual holiday concert at the Southampton Cultural Center’s Levitas Center for the Arts on Sunday, December 20, at 3 p.m.
Originally founded in 1999 by Michael Tortorice, who created a string orchestra so that his daughters and their musical friends could play together outside of the traditional school setting, the group has grown from a handful of students into a symphonic ensemble comprised of students from all areas of eastern Suffolk. Two critically acclaimed groups, the PYO and the Prelude String Ensemble, have performed to enthusiastic full houses for many years.
In the groups’ 10-year history, the students have presented such works as Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker,” Dvorak’s “New World Symphony,” Corelli’s “Christmas Concerto,” Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf,” and Handel’s “Messiah,”s as well as more contemporary works such as John Williams’s “Star Wars,” and Hans Zimmer’s “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
PYO is comprised of older students under the direction of conductor Ken Vignona; the Prelude String Ensemble, conducted by Corrina Bollerman, welcomes younger musicians early in their orchestral development.
This year’s performance will feature different works, among them the overture to “The Barber of Seville” by Rossini, “Rodeo” by Aaron Copeland and “Sleepers Wake.” For some of the pieces, the orchestra will be joined by members of the Long Island Opera who have volunteered to share their musical experience with the youth orchestra.
All are welcome to this free concert and the reception immediately following. Donations to the orchestra are always greatly appreciated.
or (631) 287-4377
The Southampton Cultural Center’s Levitas Center for the Arts is located at 25 Pond Lane in Southampton. For more information, call 287-4377, visit www.southamptonculturalcenter.org, or e-mail reservations@southamptonculturalcenter.org.
on Dec 15, 2009