The Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 41th season with a free annual Winter Concert on Tuesday, December 4th at 7:00pm in Pasadena High School’s auditorium (2925 E Sierra Madre Blvd, Pasadena). The performance features the three educational ensembles of the Pasadena Symphony Association: the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra, String Orchestra, and Wind Ensemble.

The concert is a culmination of weekly rehearsals for the 160 students involved in the ensembles. Under the direction of Music Director Jack Taylor and Conductors Pin Chen and Gary Yearick, the students have developed their skills by playing alongside a variety of dedicated peers from over 40 schools throughout Los Angeles the and San Gabriel Valley.

The students have also benefited from direct exposure to the professional conductors who work with the Pasadena Symphony. Mei-Ann Chen, director of the Chicago Sinfonietta and Memphis Symphony, Edwin Outwater, Music Director of Ontario’s Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and Grant Cooper, director of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, have all spent rehearsals with the students exposing them to professional rehearsal and performance techniques.

Auditions for the ensembles of the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra are held each year in May, and are open to students entering grades 6 through 9. The ensembles perform multiple concerts throughout the year and travel for retreats and performance tours.

Entrance to the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Winter Concert on Tuesday, December 4 at 7:00pm is free. For details and more information, visit www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org or call 626.793.7172.