Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Ensemble to perform wildfire-inspired piece

More than 300 musicians will fill the stage and the choir loft for the Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Ensembles Showcase concert. All youth ensembles, comprising six groups of young musicians from ages five to 23, of various skill levels, will perform together in concert on March 10, 2018, at Weill Hall, Green Music Center at 3 PM. The Santa Rosa Symphony (SRS) commissioned a work for the occasion, which will be played by the combined groups. The composer, SRS Principal Trumpet Douglas Morton, took his inspiration from the October wildfires and its effect on our community for Heroism.

Heroism is a tone poem which, according to Morton, represents the many aspects of the firestorm: calm but eerie, building tension, explosion and fire, call to the heroes, the battle, the overcoming, the peace and reflection. The stage will brim and overflow with musicians, the strings in the choir loft “conversing” with the sections on the stage. The premiere performance is sure to be monumental and moving.

The Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Ensembles include:

• Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Orchestra (SRSYO)
• Preparatory Orchestra
• Repertory Orchestra
• Young People’s Chamber Orchestra
• Simply Strings (El Sistema-based program at Sheppard Accelerated Elementary)
  String Orchestra Workshop

The Santa Rosa Symphony is recognized as having one of the most comprehensive music education programs in California, serving nearly 30,000 youth and adult students annually. The Symphony has a profound commitment to train musicians of the future and to foster a lifetime love of music through school and community engagement.

Musicians can work their way up the ranks to SRSYO. Several alumni have won positions in professional symphony orchestras, including the Santa Rosa Symphony.