Resilience, Defiance, and Joy: Classical Connections with Troy Peters

May 5

Barry Brake interviewed the YOSA Philharmonic's conductor, Troy Peters, and gave listeners of KPAC’s Classical Connections deeper insight into the upcoming Zachry Series 3: Resilience concert.

Barry: Tell us everything we need to know about Resilience.

Troy: We’re gearing up for the season end in concert and it’s built around music of resilience, and I guess I would say defiance. The theme grew up because we have a beautiful new piece by Kenji Bunch, who is an incredible composer. He wrote this piece called Invincible Summer that celebrates the spirit of teenagers coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the hardship that teens faced and all of their resilience in the face of that. It’s a joyful, invigorating piece that was written specifically for the musicians of the YOSA philharmonic, and it’s just absolutely thrilling. I wanted to surround that with other music that was about resilience and energy and defying the odds. Including William Tell overture, which is very much about Swiss nationalism, and defying outside leadership, and all those kinds of things.

Barry: All this stuff is so attractive to teenagers––you get to rebel for the good!

Troy: Right, it plays to the strength of the orchestra which is all about energy. These kids can play! This is one of the Strongest YOSA Philharmonic groups that I’ve ever had in 14 years here, and so we’re doing Sibelius Symphony No. 2 which is a big, dramatic, thrilling piece. They’re playing the heck out of it!

And we also have an amazing student soloist Helen Lan, who is a flutist, and she’s playing the Chaminade flute concertino which is a lovely, lovely piece. It’s going to be an evening on Sunday of just memorable, lovable, exciting stuff. I think really a reflection of the spirit of these remarkable young musicians.

The Zachry Series 3: Resilience concert is at 7pm on Sunday, May 7 at the Tobin Center. Get Tickets Here.

This interview has been transcribed and condensed for clarity from KPAC 88.3's Classical Connections with Barry Brake. Learn more about Classical Connections HERE.

Listen to the full 15 minute segment featuring YOSA music in the video below.