LARC Reporting Incubator 🎙 “Culver City Orchestra and the Symphony's Youth Revival” by Cliff Beach & Tim Hall
Check out the latest story from the LARC Reporting Incubator
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LARC Story Release: Cliff Beach & Tim Hall on LA’s Ambitious Young Musicians
👋🏻 LARC Newsletter Editor Kendall Lowery here, bringing you the newest episode of our reporting incubator: “Culver City Orchestra and the Symphony's Youth Revival” by Cliff Beach & Tim Hall. As an ex-band geek, this episode brought me right back to the grit of woodshedding scales in a practice room, and the joy of coming together with an orchestra to make some music. Thanks to our supporting donor Buzzsprout for hosting the “LARC Presents” feed.
Culver City Orchestra and the Symphony's Youth Revival | Reported by Cliff Beach & Timothy Hall
Symphony performances aren't known for their youthfulness — but one group is trying to change that. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the Culver City Symphony Orchestra held it's annual Youth Competition, bringing together aspiring musicians from across the region for a unique chance to play with the esteemed group. LARC Reporting Fellows Cliff Beach & Timothy Hall sat in on the first post-pandemic competition to get to the bottom of why a group of teens spent their Saturday vying for a spot to perform with the symphony.
Though LA is billed as an image-first town, symphonies are a significant part of its identity. From the LA Phil's $1 Hollywood Bowl concert tickets to the studio musicians who score our movies, orchestral music is alive and well throughout SoCal. Last month, young musicians from all over SoCal (Long Beach to SGV to Orange County and beyond!) came to the Parness Youth Competition to get their foot in the door of Southern California's classical music ecosystem.
While some competitors stuck to concerto classics, others brought new compositions and nontraditional instruments to the forefront — like saxophonist Jayden Lee, a saxophonist and freshman at Oxford Academy. “It’s known as a jazzy instrument, but they haven't really explored the classical side of saxophone,” says Jayden. It can be hard for symphonies to break from what’s familiar: a 2019 study by the League of American Orchestras found that only 8% of works performed by major orchestras were composed by women or people of color. Listen to Cliff and Tim's episode to learn whether modernity or tradition won out in this year’s Parness Youth Competition.
Listen to Cliff & Tim’s story and the work of all our reporting fellows on the “LARC Presents” podcast. Catch the rest of the Culver City Symphony Orchestra's performance season at culvercitysymphony.org — their concerts are always free! And, if you want to add some panache to your Friday soundtrack, listen in past years’ competition winners on the CCSO's YouTube channel.
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