World Orchestra Week 2024 (WOW!) is an annual August festival of international youth orchestras at Carnegie Hall.
World Orchestra Week 2024 (WOW!)
World Orchestra Week 2024 is a celebration of international youth orchestras; at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; from August 1-7, 2024.
This season includes artists from Afghanistan, America, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Great Britain, Hungary, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Ukraine, and Venezuela. 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇨🇳 🇨🇩 🇭🇺 🇰🇪 🇲🇿 🇳🇬 🇿🇦 🇺🇦 🇻🇪
American Youth Orchestra
Teddy Abrams conducts the National Youth Orchestra 2 (NYO2), Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra for younger teens, in symphonic dances from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” a Carnegie Hall commission World Premiere of “Kinsfolknem” by Jasmine Barnes, Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” Fantasy Overture, and the 1919 version of Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” suite; on the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at 7pm. From $15.50. carnegiehall.org 🇺🇸
Venezuelan Youth Orchestra
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the National Children’s Symphony of Venezuela in John Adams’ “Short Ride in a Fast Machine,” Antonio Estévez’ “Mediodía en el llano,” Four Dances from Ginastera’s “Estancia,” and Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 5;” in the Stern Auditorium/ Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Friday, August 2, 2024 at 7pm. From $21. carnegiehall.org 🇻🇪 ~ 🇦🇷
All of Latin America is talking about the Venezuelan elections. We wish the Venezuelans well.
African Youth Orchestra
The Africa United Youth Orchestra led by American conductor William Eddins, makes its North American debut with works by South African composers Michael Mosoeu Moerane, Mzilikazi Khumalo, and Bongani Ndodana-Breen, including arias sung by South African sopranos Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha and Goitsemang Lehobye, and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World” featuring members of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America; in the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Saturday, August 3, 2024, at 7pm. From $15.50. carnegiehall.org 🇿🇦 ~ 🇺🇸 🇨🇩 🇰🇪 🇲🇿 🇳🇬
This is the youth orchestra of the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, South Africa’s national orchestra.
Chinese Youth Orchestra
The Beijing Youth Orchestra conducted by Lü Jia with Pipa soloist Wu Man, plays selections from “Chinese sights and sounds” by Bao Yuankai, the New York Premiere of Pipa Concert No. 2 by Zhao Jiping, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5; in the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Sunday, August 4, 2024 at 4pm. carnegiehall.org 🇨🇳
The pipa is a pear-shaped Chinese lute that’s been played in China for around two thousand years. It has a bright sound almost like a banjo, but Chinese melodies give it a different feeling. Most New Yorkers are familiar with subway musicians playing the pipa, but here you can enjoy a pipa master. To familiarize ourselves, we looked up the pipa on YouTube. By chance, the first video was a performance by the soloist Wu Man. She is the world’s premier pipa virtuoso.
American Youth Orchestra
The National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, conducted by Marin Alsop with piano soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and musicians from the Polyphony Ensemble, plays Barber’s Symphony No. 1, Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade;” in the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Monday, August 5, 2024 at 7pm. From $15.50. carnegiehall.org 🇺🇸
European Union Youth Orchestra
The European Union Youth Orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer with English piano soloist Isata Kanneh-Mason and guests from the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, play Anna Clyne’s “Masquerade,” Dihnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Tune, Op. 25, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1; in the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Tuesday, August 6, 2024 at 7pm. From $15.50. carnegiehall.org 🇭🇺 🇺🇦 🇬🇧
Isata Kanneh-Mason is a star classical pianist in Europe.
Afghan Youth Orchestra
The Afghan Youth Orchestra, led by Portuguese conductor Tiago Moreira da Silva with members of the European Union Youth Orchestra, plays works by William Harvey, Sarahang, Awalmir, and Abdul Wahab Madadi, plus arrangements by the conductor of works by Nainawaz, Brahms, Kodály, and popular artist Sediq Shabab.; in the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Wednesday, August 7, 2024 at 7pm. From $15.50. carnegiehall.org 🇦🇫
This is important because of the cultural turmoil in Afghanistan, a country with a long and noble history, troubled by geopolitics, where music is currently banned. Performing at a high level requires an olympian’s mentality. We salute these young artists who are rising above their homeland’s turmoil.
World Orchestra Week
Carnegie Hall is leading the trend of young people making classical music. Classical music is dead! Long live Classical music!
Young New Yorkers are the heart of a classical music renaissance as they discover contemporary classical music, and as more artists of color interpret the European classics. A lot of classical music is inspired by regional folk culture, and artists from around the world bring a whole new set of cultural traditions into the classical canon. These non-European cultural frameworks offer infinite new possibilities to classical music, and in our postmodern world, the kids are much less restricted by the “rules” of the past. They are too busy creating the future.
Another driver of this trend is that Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel takes the baton of the New York Philharmonic in 2026. He’s Latin, so he doesn’t just make music, Dudamel builds communities. He is already having a big impact on the culture of New York City. Now is a good time to give your kids classical music lessons.
To become a master in the classical arts, you have to study with one. Some of these young artists are from the countryside, where they have nothing but culture and talent. Imagine being one of these young artists brought to New York City to perform with some of the world’s greatest artists on one of the world’s most famous stages. It’s a life-changing event that doesn’t just inspire these kids, it lifts their families and communities back home too. We are all enriched from it.
Tickets
These concerts sell out, so don’t delay.