Gramophone.co.uk: An Album of Unity: The New York Youth Symphony's Music Director introduces his ensemble's new recording

New York Youth Symphony

GRAMOPHONE

Michael Repper, Music Director, New York Youth Symphony

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

The New York Youth Symphony, like other orchestras, had its entire slate of concerts canceled in the spring of 2020. It was clear that we wouldn’t return to the stage at any point that year. Performing live was impossible, but we were still determined to create a special way for our orchestra to make music. The thought was that if the audience couldn’t come to us, we might be able to bring the music to them. So I suggested making an album - and in November 2020 that’s what we did!

The result is the album we just released on AVIE Records, featuring works by Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, and Valerie Coleman. This is the story of how these works were chosen and how the New York Youth Symphony recorded a studio album at a time when gathering a full orchestra together was impossible.

Our cancelled concert in May 2020 would have included the Carnegie Hall premiere of Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement. The Concerto is an incredible piece which we had been excited to perform, so I immediately chose it for the album. Michelle Cann, one of the world’s great experts in Price’s piano music, joins us for the recording, and she is sensational! This is also the first studio recording of Price’s 1934 original orchestration, which was only published in 2020. A highlight is the gorgeous, lyrical duo for piano and oboe in the middle section (the 'Adagio'). Kara Poling, the Principal Oboist on the album, is someone to watch.

Michelle Cann in the studio with NYYS 
(Photo Credit: Fred Soffa)

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But while we were doing our best making creative projects from afar, unity was what we were missing. I wanted the album to cultivate this sense of unity for our orchestra and our listeners. Valerie Coleman’s Umoja: Anthem of Unity immediately came to mind.

Umoja (Swahili for 'unity') is a piece that has undergone several transformations. You may already know, for example, the wind quintet arrangement as played by the Imani Winds. Our album features the debut recording of the exciting full-orchestra arrangement that the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin premiered in 2019. 

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In choosing the repertoire for the album, it was important that the music be challenging and rewarding for the orchestra. I also wanted to highlight music that confronts systemic injustice. Price’s Ethiopia’s Shadow in America and Jessie Montgomery’s Soul Force both do this.