YMMC March Concert – Migration

by Lyn Bronson
March 1, 2020

Soloist Lance Yang Bauer & Conductor Danko Druško

YMMC’s Winter Concert yesterday for a capacity audience at Sunset Center was a delight that just kept getting better as the afternoon progressed. Danko Druško, making his second appearance as Music Director and Conductor, was very much in command as he led the young musicians through ambitious repertoire performed by the YMMC Youth and Honors Orchestras. The Youth Orchestra bravely tackled challenging works by Verdi, Wagner and Sibelius, and managed to blow us away with a fun piece, Chamambo, by Manuel Artés. This piece, with YOSAL students joining the Youth Orchestra, charmed us with its Latino rhythms and infectious percussion effects.

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Archived in these categories: 20th Century, Competition, Concerto, Orchestral

YMMC Winter Concert at Sunset Center

by Lyn Bronson
March 4, 2019

Soloist Amadeus Soria & Conductor Farkhad Khudyev

The last two weeks have been challenging for Youth Music Monterey County orchestras, for this was a time during which rehearsals were inconvenienced by a series of violent storms bringing widespread power outages, downed trees and impassable roads. Somehow the young musicians participating in YOSAL and YMMC got it all together in time to present a Winter Concert that was as refreshing as it was inspiring.

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Archived in these categories: Classical Era, Competition, Orchestral, Youth Music Monterey

Kevin Lee Sun — Winner of the 2018 Carmel Music Society Piano Competition

by Lyn Bronson
January 14, 2019

2018 Carmel Music Society Biennial Piano Competition winner Kevin Lee Sun appeared in recital yesterday afternoon at Sunset Center. It was, in retrospect, an oddly chosen program. The works on the first half, consisting of a Prelude & Fugue from Bach’s WTC II, the Fantasia nach J.S. Bach by Busoni and Schubert’s “Wanderer Fantasy,” were totally involving and demonstrated Sun’s ability to paint with a stunningly beautiful palette of colors while demonstrating a seemingly effortless total keyboard mastery. At the end of the first half, spontaneous bravos erupted from members of the audience, and he received a thunderous standing ovation.

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Archived in these categories: 20th Century, Carmel Music Society, Competition, Piano, Romantic Era

Youth Music Monterey — Mother’s Musical Souvenir

by Lyn Bronson
May 14, 2018

YMMC Competition Winner Courtney McDonald

Youth Music Monterey County attracted a huge audience at Sunset Center on Sunday afternoon. YMMC President Dorothy Micheletti gave a warm welcome to the talented young performers, their families who support them, and to their hardworking teachers who inspire them. She also gave thanks to all the donors whose financial generosity makes it possible to present concerts in a very professional venue like Sunset Center, rather than in a school auditorium on squeaky chairs or, heavens forbid, a gymnasium — where some youth orchestras with leaner budgets might end up performing. Thanks were also given to Hidden Valley Music Seminars, whose Director, Peter Meckel, continues to provide much needed rehearsal facilities. Since this concert not only represented the end of YMMC’s 2017-2018 season, but also the 30th anniversary of the founding of YMMC, the audience was invited to a birthday celebration following the concert with lavish goodies and birthday cake in the lobby and on the patio outside. Read full story →

Archived in these categories: 20th Century, Competition, Concerto, Orchestral, Romantic Era, Youth Music Monterey

Farkhad Khudyev– A Winner at the 8th International Sir Georg Solti Conducting Competition

by Lyn Bronson
February 20, 2017

Farkhad in Europe

Kudos to Farkhad Khudyev, Music Director of Youth Music Monterey and Associate Conductor of Hidden Valley Opera. He recently returned from Frankfurt, Germany, where he participated in the 8th International Sir Georg Solti Conducting Competition, one of the most prestigious competitions in the world for conductors. Competing against 300 conductors from 58 countries, Khudyev won Third Prize and an opportunity to conduct the prestigious Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra.

A reviewer from the Frankfurter Neue Presse stated: “Farkhad Khudyev kam uns romantisch mit der „Oberon“-Ouvertüre Carl Maria von Webers: grazil, sehr empfindsam, die hellen Bläser fast zauberisch. Aber mit einem Schlag zieht Khudyev Tempo und Lautstärke an, gelangt zu ausgesprochen lustvollem Dirigieren, bringt den Orchesterapparat in Schwung.

[Translation: “Farkhad Khudyev came to us romantically with the “Oberon” Overture by Carl Maria von Weber:  graceful, very sensitive, with almost magical bright winds. But in just one gesture, Khudyev draws on tempo and volume, leads to a very pleasurable conducting and brings the orchestral apparatus into full swing.”]

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Archived in these categories: Competition, Hidden Valley Music Seminars, Orchestral, Youth Music Monterey