The San Bernardino Symphony Youth Orchestra (SBSYO) will perform their spring concert on Sunday May 18 at 3 p.m. at the historic San Bernardino Valley College Auditorium.
The repertoire will include Aaron Copeland’s Hoedown, highlights from “Wicked”, “An American in Paris”, and “How to Train Your Dragon”, Jeffrey Bishop’s Aethelinda, Jay Ungar’s Ashokan Farewell, and a new vibrant and heartfelt orchestral piece inspired by Dvorak’s Romani Melodies called Short Emotional Sketches by the Youth Orchestra’s newly-named Composer-In-Residence Adam Arroyo.
Arroyo is a classically trained violist and composer, currently studying at California State University, San Bernardino under SBSO Board Member Dr. Kevin Zhang. He has composed for the CSUSB Symphony Orchestra and New Music Ensemble, and performed at the prestigious Seoul Arts Center in South Korea. As a multi-instrumentalist (viola, clarinet, jazz bass), he brings a wide-ranging ear to his compositions, blending influences from classical, jazz, metal, and more. Arroyo’s vision for educational music is “to challenge young students with new techniques and ensemble skills that make music enjoyable with replayability.”
This will be the second concert for the SBSYO which was established as an expansion of the Symphony’s Youth Wind ensemble which began in 2021. In response to public demand, the full youth orchestra was established in the late summer of 2024 and performed their inaugural concert to a packed house this past December.
Shared SBSYO Conductor Dr. Lucy Lewis, “As we are preparing to bring the first year of our San Bernardino Symphony Youth Orchestra to a close, we are reflecting on how proud we are of all of our students and how hard they have worked this year to grow, both as musicians, and also human beings. Our concert on Sunday, May 18 will be a wonderful celebration of their achievements, and we hope to see many of you there!”
Tickets and Location Details
Thanks to the generosity of many, San Bernardino Symphony Youth Orchestra tickets are always just $10, with children under 12 attending for free. Seating is unassigned general admission. All concert tickets may be purchased online or by calling the Symphony office at (909) 381-5388 Monday through Friday between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Venue box office sales are also planned prior to concert performances, but the availability of seats can never be guaranteed, so securing seats early is always highly suggested.
The historic San Bernardino Valley College Auditorium is located at 701 S. Mt. Vernon Avenue in San Bernardino. Free parking is available adjacent to the venue for all concert performances. Doors open one hour prior to concert time.