New York Philharmonic Associate Principal Viola Rebecca Young. Photo by Chris Lee
“New York Philharmonic associate principal violist Rebecca Young knows that most of the people who watch her irreverent videos on TikTok are less than half her age,” writes A.Z. Madonna in Tuesday’s (2/2) Boston Globe. “Long before she was ‘mom’ to a massive horde of TikTok teens, she was mom to Emma, her 17-year-old daughter, who often drafted Young into appearing in videos on the platform. One went viral after commenters recognized Young…. ‘Some of the comments were asking me to play something,’ recounted Young. She responded with a lightning-speed ‘Orange Blossom Special,’ performed in yoga pants and a hoodie. Commenters clamored for more. … The same zany antics that got her voted class clown in high school served her well in hosting the Philharmonic’s interactive Very Young People’s Concerts—and now, in enlisting her Philharmonic pals to play along on TikTok…. During filming on the streets of New York with piccolo player Mindy Kaufman, a young passerby recognized Young, saying, ‘Oh my God, you’re Viola TikTok!’ ” … Young’s most recent videos include a 12-person rendition of whaling-song-turned-viral-hit ‘Wellerman’ and a performance of ‘Peter and the Wolf’ condensed into 60 seconds.”
