EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestra (EPSYO) will kick off its 19th season next weekend.
The concert will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 at the Abraham Chavez Theatre. It will showcase all four EPSYO performing ensembles, under the direction of conductors Nathan Black, Jose Rios, Rodrigo Maldonado, and Jennifer Martinez.
Nathan Black/EPSO
Jennifer Martinez/EPSO
The concerts will open with a performance by students from Tocando Music Project. They will be joined by Bowie High School’s Mariachi Orgullo to perform “Cerca del Mar,” “El Rey,” and “De Colores.”
Tocando is a free after-school program of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra that provides music learning and performing opportunities to elementary through high-school students in El Paso’s El Segundo Barrio.
The El Paso Youth String Philharmonic (YSP) is a strings-only ensemble designed for musicians with limited orchestral experience. Under the direction of Rodrigo Maldonado, the ensemble will perform two pieces by contemporary composers: “Medieval Kings” by Soon Hee Newbold and “The Lost Tomb” by Sean O’Loughlin. They will also perform “The Great Gate of Kiev” by Mussorgsky.
The El Paso Youth String Ensemble (YSE), led by Jennifer Martinez, will perform Mozart’s “Finding Figaro,” Sibelius’s “Finlandia,” and Rossini’s “William Tell Overture.” Martinez will be honored at this concert, as it marks her farewell performance with YSE. She has been a member of the EPSYO faculty since 2017, initially serving as the viola sectional coach. In 2021, she took on the role of conductor for YSE. Notably, Martinez was also a student in the program from 2010 to 2013.
Conductor Jose Rios will lead the El Paso Youth Symphony (YS) to close out the first half of the program in Schubert’s “Symphony No. 8, 1st movement” and “The Moldau” by Smetana.
The second half of the program will feature EPSYO’s advanced orchestra, the El Paso Youth Orchestra (YO), conducted by Nathan Black, in Dvořák’s “Carnival Overture.”
Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at epso.org or by calling the EPSO office (915) 532-3776. Prices are $23 and $13 for children 4-12 years old, plus fees.
For further information, contact EPSO at (915) 532-3776 or email rosemary@epso.org.
The El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestra (EPSYO) is a program of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra that involves over 300 young musicians from the greater El Paso region. For 19 consecutive years, 100% of high-school seniors in EPSYO have gone on to attend universities across the nation. Learn more by clicking here.
The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is presented with the support of the Museums and Cultural Affairs, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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