Portland Youth Philharmonic visits

SYMPHONIC MUSIC: Vivian Chang plays with the Portland Youth Philharmonic at a recent concert. - PETE STONE photo

The concert will be at McKenzie Theatre, Loso Hall on the Eastern Oregon University campus beginning at 7:30 p.m.

“PYP is delighted to return to La Grande,” says Executive Director Diane Syrcle. “We appreciate the generosity of the Grande Ronde Symphony Association and their commitment to 60 years of great symphonic music and music education.

“Eastern Oregon is the perfect setting for the evening's program and we are honored to present David Hattner, our new music director, in his Oregon debut.”

Hattner, only the fifth conductor and music director in PYP’s 85-year history (and the first American-born), has programmed a highly caffeinated evening dubbed “Triple Americano” to include Barber’s poetic Music for a Scene from Shelley; Henry Cowell’s Ancient Desert Drone; Copland’s popular Billy the Kid; and Dvorák’s zesty Symphony No. 6.

Tickets are $5 for adults are and free for students.

This event was made possible by the Grande Ronde Symphony Association and the Oregon Cultural Trust.

Founded in 1924, in Portland, the Portland Youth Philharmonic Association tries to maintain the finest possible youth orchestras in order to inspire and educate young people through performing symphonic music and to provide a cultural asset for the community.

For more information, call PYP at 503-223-5939 or go to portlandyouthphil.org .

The Portland Youth Philharmonic Association supports two full symphony orchestras, a wind ensemble and one string orchestra for younger musicians.

Each group is made up of outstanding young musicians chosen by open auditions each spring and early fall who are seated solely according to ability.

They range in age from 7 to 22 and represent more than 70 schools.

Membership demands their commitment to an intensive schedule of rehearsals and the performance of a repertoire that closely parallels that of major professional orchestras.

Hattner, PYP’s newly appointed conductor and music director, received a bachelor of music degree with honors from Northwestern University.

Three times — in 2003, 2005 and 2006 — he has participated in the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen, where he studied with David Zinman and Murry Sidlin.

Recent conducting appearances include the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Sospeso, International Contemporary Ensemble, Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra and the Massapequa Philharmonic Orchestra, the International Contemporary Ensemble and multi-media work with silent film in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In addition to his conducting pursuits, he is a professional clarinetist, including principal clarinet positions with Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Cascade Music Festival Orchestra, New Jersey Opera Theater and Key West Symphony Orchestra.