More than 100 students, family members, and friends of the Hochstein Youth Symphony Orchestra (HYSO) are set to depart Rochester this coming Saturday, March 30, for a weeklong tour to Italy, with performances in Rome and Cremona during spring break, March 30–April 7, 2024. The trip also includes visits to historic and cultural sites in Vatican City, Florence, Pisa, and Milan.
Chris Lopez of Good Day Rochester stopped by Hochstein on Friday morning to talk with HYSO Director Casey Springstead, HYSO Manager Ruth Gates, and HYSO members Joanna Frank, Gillian Vit, Gabe Kulick, and Ella Belculfine about the upcoming tour. Use this link to watch a video of the various interviews all morning long at Hochstein - or watch in the viewer below.
You can also follow along on the 2024 HYSO Tour adventure through a special Facebook event page which will have photos and updates posted by Casey and tour participants. Click here to join the event (mark yourself as “Going”), so you receive updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/7395867840498852.
Hochstein works with Music Celebrations International (MCI) to create an exciting and educational tour for students and the family members who choose to join them. MCI coordinates not only the three performances in scenic venues – and arranges for things like music stands, a conductor’s podium, and percussion instruments and string basses in each venue – but also sets up guided tours of architectural treasures and historic sites and takes care of travel arrangements.
One of the HYSO’s performances will be part of the host theater’s “Beyond the Desks” project with an audience comprised mostly of elementary and middle school-age children. These concerts are part of the American Celebration of Music in Italy.
Casey Springstead has selected works that are not only educationally beneficial, but also those that feature influences from the host country. The HYSO’s concert program includes the overtures to Verdi’s La Forza del Destino and Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Finzi’s Romance in Eb for strings, Holst’s The Planets, Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien, and music from John Williams’ score for the movie E.T.
The HYSO made its first performance tour in spring 2001 and has continued to travel every other year to various European cities, including representing the state of New York in 2014 at the “American Celebration of Music,” with performances commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion and the Liberation of France.
There is still time to apply for the HYSO’s 2024-25 school year. The application deadline for HYSO auditions is April 15, 2024. For more information, visit https://hochstein.org/Ensembles/Orchestras/Orchestra-Audition-Info.