Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra
Encyclopedia
Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra, otherwise known as CYMO, is an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 with its origin in Claremont, California
Claremont, California
Claremont is a small affluent college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of the 2010 census is 34,926. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its...

. It comprises 90+ young musicians ages 12 and up. It includes all the classic string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...

s, most of the wind instrument
Wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of...

s, and many percussion instruments. It was created and started by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel
Samuel
Samuel is a leader of ancient Israel in the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. He is also known as a prophet and is mentioned in the Qur'an....

 of Claremont. Mrs. Samuel is usually in charge of helping the members. Mr. Samuel, the conductor, is very well liked and respected by the members of both orchestras. One of CYMO's most noted concerts was on May 15, 2005, when CYMO played at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 to an almost completely filled hall.

Activities

The orchestra rehearses on most Monday nights during the school year at Claremont High School
Claremont High School (Claremont, California)
Claremont High School is a public secondary school situated in Claremont, California, USA. Part of the Claremont Unified School District, it is a California Distinguished School, a two-time national Blue Ribbon School of Excellence , and recently a nationally recognized International Baccalaureate...

. This year, however, the rehearsals have been moved to Sunday nights after the Intermezzo Orchestra rehearsals. They present 2 concerts annually at Bridges Hall of Music, commonly known as "Little Bridges," on the campus of Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...

. In addition, they have an annual Children's Concert in the same location. They often perform concerts in other locations as well. They have played in Gardiner Spring Auditorium in Ontario, CA, the Hollywood Bowl, and Disney Hall, as mentioned above, among other places. They have gone on four concert tours, three to Europe in 1997, 2000, and 2007, and one to Florida in 2002 for the National Youth Orchestra Festival.

An important annual tradition is the Weekend Retreat. Every year, close to the beginning of Spring, the orchestra goes to a camp (usually Pilgrim Pines Camp in Yucaipa) in the mountains for three days. Numerous rehearsals and other musical activities are held, among other things. It is generally agreed to be an enjoyable experience by many members.

There is an annual concerto competition, the winner/s of which perform with the orchestra in the final concert of the season at Bridges Hall of Music.

The repertoire is primarily classical. CYMO has played numerous symphonies, concertos, and other pieces. In their January 2007 concert, for example, they played La Gazza Ladra Overture by Rossini, Night on Bald Mountain by Modeste Mussorgsky, Weber's Clarinet Concerto No. 2, and Dvořák's New World Symphony. In the last concert of the previous season, they performed Roman Carnival Overture by Berlioz, The Moldau by Bedrich Smetana, a movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2, a movement of Wieniawsky's Violin Concerto #2, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.

Membership

Members are chosen by audition before each season. They are expected to attend all rehearsals if possible and show up to them on time, which almost everyone does. Practicing music at home is also expected. Each member receives a folder for music and a sweatshirt. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel also manage the Intermezzo Orchestra, a smaller full orchestra that comprises an age group younger on average than the CYMO. The majority of the members of CYMO are former Intermezzo members, but some simply audition for the big orchestra their first year and are accepted. Intermezzo also present concerts at Bridges Hall of Music, rehearses at Claremont High School, and attends the Weekend Retreat. Some say that this orchestra is the best of its class in all of California, if not all of the United States.
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