Season’s YPCs To Explore Legacy of the Series Through Wide-Ranging
Programming, Including World Premieres
The New York Philharmonic celebrates the 100th anniversary of its famed Young People’s
Concerts (YPCs) throughout the 2023–24 season. The Saturday afternoon series — for children
ages 6 to 12 and their families — inspires a lifelong love of music through interactive
performances of music ranging from timeless classics to World Premieres. This season’s four
YPCs highlight the series’ storied past, focus on timely themes, and look ahead to the future.
The following 2023–24 season Young People’s Concerts — all directed and designed by Doug
Fitch — take place in the Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall, and begin at 2:00 p.m.:
- Time Capsule, conducted and hosted by Thomas Wilkins and featuring a special guest
appearance by Jamie Bernstein, delves into the programs of past Young People’s
Concerts with works by Rossini, Elgar, Jessie Montgomery, and Leonard Bernstein, a
World Premiere by Bunmi Afariogun (age 11) — a participant in the New York
Philharmonic Very Young Composers Program (VYC) — as well as a selection from
Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, performed by Fiona Khuong-Huu (age 16) in her
NY Phil debut; November 18, 2023. - Fantasy and Imagination — conducted by Jerry Hou, hosted by NY Phil Teaching Artist
Justin Jay Hines, and featuring Materials for the Arts as creative partner — celebrates
music’s power to reinvigorate the imagination with a program that includes Musorgsky’s
Pictures at an Exhibition (in Ravel’s orchestration), plus new works by VYCs; January
20, 2024. - Composing Inclusion, conducted and hosted by Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser (in his NY
Phil debut), presents new works by composers commissioned through Composing
Inclusion — a collaboration among the NY Phil, American Composers Forum, and The
Juilliard School’s Preparatory Division — as well as selections from William Dawson’s
Negro Folk Symphony. In this concert the New York Philharmonic will be joined by
students from Juilliard’s Preparatory Division and Juilliard’s Pre-College Orchestra in a
side-by-side performance; April 20, 2024.
Young People’s Concerts at 100 / Page 2 - Celebration — conducted and hosted by Kwamé Ryan (NY Phil debut), and with cellist
Sheku Kanneh-Mason as soloist — caps off the season’s celebration of the YPCs’
centennial by exploring how composers throughout history have used madcap sounds and
humor to comment on important issues of their day; May 4, 2024.
Each Young People’s Concert is preceded by YPC Overtures — in which children can try out
orchestral instruments and families can listen to music by VYCs and engage in crafting and
interactive workshops in the Kenneth C. Griffin Sidewalk Studio, on the Leon and Norma Hess
Grand Promenade, and on Hearst Tier 1 — beginning at 1:00 p.m. on the day of the concert.
The NY Phil complements the performances with the following: - Young People’s Concerts for Schools, in which the NY Phil and educators guide
students from grades 3–12 on an exploration of Musorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition;
January 17–19, 2024. - NY Phil Young People’s Concerts @ 100: Inspiring Generations of Music Lovers, an
archival exhibit currently on display in the Bruno Walter Gallery in David Geffen Hall.
History of YPCs
While the New York Philharmonic presented “Family Matinees” as early as the 1890s, which
were renamed Young People’s Concerts in 1914, the Orchestra traces the true beginning to
January 26, 1924, when Ernest Schelling inaugurated an annual concert series that combined
Philharmonic performances with conversation and multimedia displays curated for children. The
series achieved national attention when Leonard Bernstein conducted the first televised YPC on
January 18, 1958, which reached more than 2.5 million households across the United States.
Over the decades the series has evolved to incorporate video elements, as well as actors and
often dancers, and today features works by participants in the New York Philharmonic Very
Young Composers Program, which empowers children to express themselves by creating their
own original works.
Since the program’s inception the NY Phil has presented over 600 YPCs in New York City and
around the world. In Manhattan alone, more than 1.4 million people have attended the Young
People’s Concerts. Other past conductors of YPCs have included Leopold Stokowski, Aaron
Copland, Tania León, Bobby McFerrin, and Helen Quach, as well as former Music Directors
Zubin Mehta, Kurt Masur, and Alan Gilbert. In addition to featuring prominent guests, such as
George Gershwin, Burl Ives, LeVar Burton, and Yo-Yo Ma, the series has also been a launching
pad for up-and-coming artists, such as André Watts (who appeared on a YPC at age 16), Gil
Shaham (age 14), Sarah Chang (age 9), Michael Rabin (age 15), and future NY Phil violinists
Marilyn Dubow (age 11) and Hae-Young Ham (age 17).
Biographies
Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Jamie Bernstein, Doug Fitch, Justin Jay Hines, Jerry Hou, Sheku
Kanneh-Mason, Fiona Khuong-Huu, Kwamé Ryan, Thomas Wilkins, New York Philharmonic
Young People’s Concerts at 100 / Page 3
Tickets
Tickets to New York Philharmonic performances may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by
calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday; and noon to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the Welcome Center
at David Geffen Hall. The Welcome Center opens at 10:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and
at noon on Sunday. On performance evenings, the Welcome Center closes one-half hour after
performance time; other evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m.
Event Listing
YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERT: TIME CAPSULE
Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center
Saturday, November 18, 2023, 2:00 p.m.
YPC Overtures at 1:00 p.m.
Thomas Wilkins, conductor / host
Jamie Bernstein, special guest
Doug Fitch, director / designer
Fiona Khuong-Huu, violin Young People’s Concert: Time Capsule The YPCs’ centennial is marked with an exploration of past programs led by beloved conductors, including Leonard Bernstein, who popularized the series. ROSSINI Finale from William Tell Overture Fe. MENDELSSOHN Selection from the Violin Concerto ELGAR Selections from The Wand of Youth Suite No. 1 Bunmi AFARIOGUN Feel Jazz, Be Jazz, With Layers (Very Young Composer–World Premiere) Jessie MONTGOMERY Selection from Records from a Vanishing City CHARLAP / LEIGH I Won’t Grow Up, from Peter Pan BERNSTEIN Overture to Candide Young People’s Concerts at 100 / Page 4 YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERT: FANTASY AND IMAGINATION Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center Saturday, January 20, 2024, 2:00 p.m. YPC Overtures at 1:00 p.m. Jerry Hou, conductor Justin Jay Hines, host Doug Fitch, director / designer Materials for the Arts, creative partner Young People’s Concert: Fantasy and Imagination A celebration of the Young People’s Concerts’ centennial that explores how music, art, stories, and movement can elevate the importance of fantasy and imagination. MUSORGSKY / Orch. Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition Very Young Composers New works (World Premieres) YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERT: COMPOSING INCLUSION Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center Saturday, April 20, 2024, 2:00 p.m. YPC Overtures at 1:00 p.m. Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, conductor / host
Doug Fitch, director / designer
The Juilliard School Pre-College Orchestra
The Juilliard School Preparatory Division
American Composers Forum
Young People’s Concert: Composing Inclusion
Featuring students from the Juilliard Preparatory Division, a celebration of the creativity of
young musicians with newly commissioned works for professional and youth orchestras. Created
in partnership with the Juilliard Preparatory Division and American Composers Forum.
Andrés SOTO New work (World Premiere,
New York Philharmonic Co-Commission
with The Juilliard School Preparatory
Division and American Composers Forum)
Nicolás Lell BENAVIDES New work (World Premiere,
New York Philharmonic Co-Commission
with The Juilliard School Preparatory
Division and American Composers Forum)
William DAWSON Selections from Negro Folk Symphony
Young People’s Concerts at 100 / Page 5
YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERT: CELEBRATION
Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center
Saturday, May 4, 2024, 2:00 p.m.
YPC Overtures at 1:00 p.m.
Young People’s Concert: Celebration
The concert marks the centennial of the YPCs with music by composers who have used madcap
sounds, humor, and surprises to comment on important issues of their day.
Kwamé Ryan*, conductor / host
Doug Fitch, director / designer
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello
*New York Philharmonic debut
ALL PROGRAMS SUBJECT TO CHANGE