Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor —

Performance cancellations have become common these days but when you are forced to cancel a major showcase for eager young musicians, the result is a lot of broken hearts. That’s what happened back in December when YOSA had to cancel its holiday showcase.

“We had plans to have all 400-plus musicians at the Tobin Center perform in smaller groups over two days, but the COVID-19 numbers kept getting worse,” said YOSA’s music director and conductor Troy Peters.  “We had to conclude that it would be more prudent not to gather everybody together for that. We ended up with a lot of disappointed kids and disappointed adults. All of us really wanted to perform.”

The original plan was to have the musicians on stage with no live audience but even under those circumstances, YOSA was advised that it would not be a wise thing to do.

This week, the young musicians will have the opportunity to shine in a different type of showcase – a virtual one. Named the YOSA Virtual Winter Showcase the video concert series starts today and continues through Jan. 31.

“Everybody recorded their parts in their homes, and then I spent hours and hours on my computer editing everything together into a combined performance,” said Peters, his tone implying the enormity of the task. And he is not the only one, he noted. “For musicians, the pandemic has been an opportunity to develop editing skills, both with video and with audio. That’s been definitely true for me. I am much more adept now at taking a bunch of recordings and editing them together to sound good.”

The showcase will feature all 400-plus performers in 14 groups, with two groups performing every day. The performances will be relatively short, explained Peters, because the editing process is so labor-intensive and time consuming.

This is YOSA’s first ever virtual showcase in its 70-year history. The organization traces its roots to the San Antonio Youth Symphony founded in 1949 by G. Lewis Doll, then music director of the San Antonio Independent School District. Additional groups were formed in the 1960s and 70s, eventually joining forces to become the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio – YOSA. Today it offers the most comprehensive music training and performance environment for young musicians in the city and county thanks to multiple performing ensembles and skill levels. In addition to Peters, conductors for the groups include prominent musicians and educators, such as Kenneth Freudigman, Andy Post, Kristin Hayes, Erik Cavazos, Kathleen Boyd, Martin Sanchez, Karen George, Riely Francis and resident conductor Eugene Dowdy.

YOSA also runs the Rising Star Fellows program that provides “intensive support” to gifted black, Hispanic and Native American musicians from the AlamoPROMISE Phase 1 High Schools in San Antonio, including weekly private lessons, participation in a summer program, and more.

During the upcoming virtual showcase, audiences will have a chance to hear a broad range of talents and skills, starting with the Prelude Strings to YOSA Philharmonic orchestras. All concerts start at 4 p.m.

“It’s not the same as being in the concert hall but, I think, we’ll have performances that everybody can be proud of,” said Peters, who also directs the UTSA Orchestra and is an accomplished composer. “This will be a nice keepsake for the musicians to have, something they can share with people all over the world. They also acquired new skills from this process, a process all musicians have been going through in the last year. Putting together virtual performances entails a different kind of playing for the musicians.”

He added that some of the performances are “absolutely fantastic” and “we also have some adorable, little kids. There’s a lot of good stuff.”

As for the future, no one can say for sure what will happen, but YOSA is hopeful that its planned May 23 concert will be with an in-person audience at the Tobin Center. Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic will be the guest soloist.
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To watch this week’s concerts go to https://www.yosa.org/watchlive