Bassoonist Katelyn Nguyen of Portland has participated with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, rehearsing and performing at Carnegie Hall and on tour with other top young musicians.
“It was really amazing, a transformative experience,” said Nguyen, a recent Parkrose High School graduate who has once again been named to NYO-USA. “The level of focus there is like no other. When we performed, it was like magical. After we finished, you hear the audience clap so loudly, you know you performed really well.
“The music was really fun. We got to travel around North America, and went to Canada. That was really cool.”
Katie Liu of Beaverton, a senior-to-be at Westview High School, has been an accomplished violinist but she hasn’t been to NYO-USA — until this year. She has joined Nguyen in Washington, D.C. as they prepare for Aug. 1-7 World Orchestra Week, which includes the Carnegie Hall concert Aug. 5, and a tour of South America.
“It’s really incredible to be among all these amazing musicians,” Liu said, via phone from Washington, D.C. “We’re making music together and we’re really cohesive, we understand each other’s goal. I knew I’d meet a lot of incredible people.”
Portland has been represented in National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America in the past, and it’s always a special experience for the young musicians, said David Hattner, music director of Portland Youth Philharmonic. Both Nguyen and Liu are members of Portland Youth Philharmonic.
“It’s quite an honor to be selected to National Youth Orchestra,” he said. “As a young person, you look forward to touring and the concerts, but the real important thing is making connections with coaches, who come from the best orchestras in the world. There’s an incredible amount of knowledge and experience that they have access to.”
Famous conductor Marin Alsop will lead the orchestra at Carnegie Hall and on its tour to Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
The 103 musicians taking part in NYO-USA, ages 16 to 19, come from 34 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Nguyen was one of 15 returning musicians named to the orchestra. Oregon musicians have also been part of Carnegie Hall's NYO2 (including bassist Maggie Carter) and NYO Jazz in the past.
Intensive training for the musicians takes place for two weeks at Purchase College, State University of New York, where they’re working in rehearsals and master classes and sectionals, under the guidance of principal players from professional orchestras and under the direction of James Ross and assistant conductors Tamara Dworetz and Carlos Agreda.
The concert program for Carnegie Hall and the tour includes Barber’s “Symphony No. 1,” Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” (featuring piano soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet) and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade.”
The 103 musicians taking part in Carnegie Hall’s NYO-USA, ages 16 to 19, come from 34 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Nguyen was one of 15 returning musicians named to the orchestra.
Liu said the musicians move on to New York University in preparation for World Orchestra Week festivities.
Liu, 17, has been co-concertmaster with Portland Youth Philharmonic. She was excited to apply for NYO-USA, and calls it “probably the biggest” accomplishment of her young career. She’ll be principal second violin for the Carnegie Hall performance.
Said Hattner: “This was already her third year as one of our concertmasters, and that’s a good record. Very disciplined and hardworking, good leader admired by her colleagues, extraordinarily dedicated.”
At NYO-USA, “it’s a great opportunity for her to be surrounded by the best and most talented violinists in the country who are also her age, and find out what they know," he added.
Of the music NYO-USA will play, Liu said “definitely ‘Scheherazade’ is one of my favorite childhood pieces. You can just hear the story behind it. It’s really interesting to explore this piece with my colleagues and other musicians. I was also excited to learn Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ which (PYP) played for its 100-year anniversary.”
Whereas Liu has another year of high school, Nguyen, 17, will be moving on to college. Nguyen plans to pursue music as a career and attend Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
“This is my main interest,” she said.
She has been principal bassoonist for Portland Youth Philharmonic. She’s also an All Classical Radio 2024 ambassador.
“She’s very accomplished, disciplined, hardworking and responsible,” Hattner said.
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