Portland Youth Philharmonic

May 17 | 2 pm | $8 advance / $10 day of show 

Join us for an afternoon where classical music and the sounds of Persia combine when the Portland Youth Philharmonic returns to the Walters this spring. Presenting a performance from their Sound Garden series and featuring its chamber orchestra, Camerata PYP, the program will showcase newly composed works by Farhad Poupel, Kamyar Mohaher, and Bobak Salehi for traditional Persian instruments and orchestra. 

Guest artists include Hossein and Bobak Salehi from Beaverton's ArtMax Academy and Iranian santoor player Mahtab Nadalian. Nadalian graduated from the College of Fine Arts at University of Tehran. She had her high school studies at Tehran Music Conservatory, where she studied with maestro Arfa' Atraee. Mahtab has performed in many music festivals such as Iranian Women's Music Festival, Tehran Youth Music Festival and Fajr International Music Festival, to name a few. She currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA.

The program also includes Symphony for String Orchestra by Polina Nazaykinskaya, a new work by Dinah Bianchi, a contemplative piece that explores solitude through haunting melodies, and Eric Simonson’s Short Variations for String Orchestra.

The concert opens with the highly anticipated performance by the Concerto Competition Runner-up, Haruka Sakiyama, French horn, showcasing one of PYP’s emerging talents.

More about Portland Youth Philharmonic

It is the mission of the Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) to prepare young people for success through musical excellence. Over the years, thousands of young musicians have played in one or more of PYP’s ensembles. Some have gone on to professional careers in orchestras across the country, including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the National Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, as well as Juilliard and American String Quartets.  

Camerata PYP performs in more intimate settings around the region and features an engaging mixture of traditional and modern programming, including commissions of new music and collaborations with other professional music organizations. These musicians are not only outstanding players whose technical level is highly advanced and shows strong musicality and musicianship, but they also are individuals demonstrating the discipline necessary to learn, explore, and perform challenging repertoire in addition to their existing commitments.