Asian Youth Orchestra in Italy until 6 August

With the support of HKETO, Brussels, the Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO) will perform in Italy and Germany as part of its 2023 Summer Tour.

Comprising Asia's brightest young musicians, AYO is one of the finest youth orchestra round the world. It was founded by Richard Pontzious, with Yehudi Menuhin as its founding music director who conducted the inaugural concerts in August 1990.

Selected annually through a strict audition process, the 100-plus orchestra members represent mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. They are together for six weeks, including a three-week international concert tour with celebrated conductors and solo artists.

The AYO 2023 Rehearsal Camp will be held from 15 to 27 July in Bergamo, Italy, followed by a European and Asian concert tour from 28 July to 1 September.

The dates for the European Concert Tour from 28 July to 6 August 2023 are as follows:

Friday 28 July / Dobbiaco, Italy (Mahler Festival) / Program B
Sunday 30 July / Bergamo, Italy / Program B
Tuesday 1 August / Bergamo, Italy / Program A
Wednesday 2 August / Brescia, Italy / Program A
Friday 4 August / Berlin, Germany (Young Euro Classic) / Glinka, Elgar, Mahler
Sunday 6 August / Trier, Germany (Mosel Music Festival) / Program B

Program A

Richard Pontzious, Founder
Joseph Bastian, Principal Conductor
Alban Gerhardt, Cello Soloist

Rossini: William Tell Overture
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor OR
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4

Program B

Richard Pontzious, Founder
Joseph Bastian, Principal Conductor
Lydia Teuscher, Soprano

Glinka: Ruslan & Ludmilla Overture
Stravinsky: Firebird Suite (1919)
Mahler: Symphony No. 4

Photo shows the Asian Youth Orchestra at the Ravello Festival in Italy during its 2022 European Tour.