Even at the apex of my traveling days, this would have challenged or even defeated me:
Tuesday, 2:40 p.m. — Depart San Francisco via Lufthansa #455
Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. — Arrive in Frankfurt
12:45 p.m. — Depart Frankfurt via Lufthansa #184
1:55 p.m. — Arrive in Berlin, transfer by motorcoach to Leipzig
6 p.m. — Dinner at Hotel Penta Leipzig
Thursday, 7 a.m. — American buffet breakfast; board motorcoach
8:30 a.m. — Section coaching
1 p.m. — Guided tour of Leipzig
5 p.m. — Arrive at Peterskirche for setup and rehearsal
7 p.m. — Change into concert attire
7:30 p.m. — Shared performance with the Napa Valley Youth Symphony as part of the American Celebration of Music in Germany
The next day, Prague, with a concert on Saturday. Sunday in Vienna, and a concert in the Musikverein on Tuesday. Wednesday, a flight to Zurich on Swissair, connect to San Francisco, and arrive at 4 p.m. — eight days after leaving.
Yes, it was a tough schedule, June 21–29, especially for the 96 students (and their 41 adult escorts) representing the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra, comprised of musicians between the age of 12 and 20. For the well-traveled YPSO, this was the first tour since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We planned this tour in 2020 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven, had to cancel last minute, optimistically rescheduled for 2021, and then optimistically rescheduled for 2022,” YPSO Board President Yvonne Brouard, a pediatrician/epidemiologist and the organization’s “house doctor,” especially in the era of COVID, tells SF Classical Voice.
“We weren’t really sure it was going to happen until the last moment, and everyone needed to purchase cancellation insurance because of the risk. We were extraordinarily lucky that things had just begun opening up when the trip began, and our COVID vaccination, though fully complete for all members, was not actually checked at the airport, which made entry smoother.
“We were then really fortunate also that the reentry requirement for testing was removed before we were due to come home. Miraculously, nobody caught COVID during the trip. Multiple people did get it on the way home on the plane, but, most fortunately, nobody was severely ill with it.”
Music Director David Ramadanoff led YPSO in a program of Antonín Dvořák’s Carnival Overture, Jeremy Cavaterra’s Rhapsody on a Windy Night, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade in Leipzig; Dvořák, Cavaterra, and two movements of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 in Prague; and the same program but with only the fourth movement of the Shostakovich in Vienna, where three other youth orchestras shared the concert.
Brouard calls the tour “a hugely important time for social bonding and musical engagement. For these kids, having this dream tour come true after two years of full or partial lockdown and no vacations anywhere — this was the experience of a lifetime and an enormous victory over the isolation of COVID.”
Board Vice President Satoko Stroud adds: “Traveling under COVID restrictions was tremendous additional work for us. We arranged the COVID test for everyone at our hotel in Vienna for the U.S. reentry. Our staff was ready, in case anyone tested positive, to stay behind with that person in Vienna. Luckily, right before we left for the tour, the U.S. lifted the COVID test requirement for air travelers. It was almost a miracle that no one got sick during the tour, and [everyone] made it back home safely, thanks to our wonderful group of chaperones.”
One of their number, Miya Hayes, parent of percussionist Clay Melish, 16, says:
“It was amazing to witness the connections students were making with the historical and political contexts of the works they were performing and how real friendships formed. This was my son’s first year with YPSO, so before the tour he didn’t know many kids by name. By day two, I hardly saw him but knew he was having a blast exploring with his new crew.
“To hear them perform in Rudolfinum and the Musikverein was just incredible. These are the very spaces the music was written for. And, yes, several of us very proud parents/chaperones had tears in our eyes (more than once).”
Among the young musicians, clarinetist Athena Zapantis, 17, speaks of “the most culturally enriching experience of my life. My favorite performance was in the sonically and visually stunning Musikverein. Just hours before performing there, my bass clarinet fell down a flight of marble stairs. Luckily, Sebastian Zamarripa, the bass trombone player, and I got it fixed to play an exciting and passionate concert, complete with some last-minute panic to make it possible.”
The tour was “an unforgettable experience that furthered my appreciation for music and will forever remain one of my lifelong highlights,” says flutist Jazlyn Xiao, 14. “When we encountered many unexpected conflicts, we never failed to be flexible and work through issues, just as we do in performance. This tour also taught me that YPSO has always been not just an orchestra but a community.”
“From visiting Beethoven’s grave to performing in the Musikverein, I really could not have asked for a better tour,” recalls violinist Philip Mun, 17. “One of the most memorable moments was when we were in a restaurant in Vienna and the violinist performing there passed around his violin to members of our orchestra. I got to play a tune, too, and one of my friends even tipped me.”
Violinist Noa Marvit thanks “Yvonne [Brouard] and Nadia [Liu, orchestra manager], who put together this tour for 120-plus people practically by themselves and made it look easy. And not just ‘people,’ actually teenagers!
“All the drama and lack of executive function and instruments and foreign languages and moving from place to place and dietary restrictions and ... I don’t know how they did it, but they always somehow seemed calm and happy and made the rest of us feel that way, too.”
With the tour just days behind, YPSO is back at work, starting rehearsals Monday, Aug. 22, preparing for the first of the 86th season’s four concerts, scheduled for Oct. 29 in Berkeley’s First Church. The program: Dvořák’s Scherzo capriccioso, Op.66; Aaron Copland’s Billy the Kid Suite; and Manuel de Falla’s Suites Nos. 1 and 2 from The Three-Cornered Hat.
So far, 93 musicians have signed up, and YPSO is still accepting auditions for trumpet, horn, bassoon, trombone, bass trombone, cello, and viola.
