In Saturday’s (5/25) Delaware County Daily Times (Pennsylvania), Lois Puglionesi writes, “It’s the dream of all aspiring young composers—to have their work performed by a world-class orchestra like the New York Philharmonic. Last Thursday, Aiyana Braun of Ardmore lived that dream. The 16-year-old Haverford High School sophomore had the thrill of hearing the Philharmonic play one of her original compositions at a School Day Concert for students in grades 6-12, held in Avery Fisher Hall, with Case Scaglione conducting. About 2,500-3,000 people attended. With her image projected on a 60-foot screen above the stage, Aiyana held an engraved score and followed along as the orchestra played. … Among the Philharmonic’s many educational programs, School Day Concerts are designed to introduce children from New York City schools to the symphony orchestra and important symphonic works. However, the Philharmonic has also been successful with having kids composing music who are the same age as those in the audience, said Jon Deak, the Philharmonic’s young composer advocate and founder/director of the Very Young Composers program. … Aiyana submitted three scores to Deak for review and participated in an interview before being selected to compose a short piece for Thursday’s concert, along with Jack Gulielmetti, 17, a student at the Calhoun School, and Tengku Irfan, 14, who attends Professional Children’s School.”
Posted May 28, 2013
