Sunday’s concert ‘a new beginning’ for the Sussex County Youth Orchestras

The Sussex County Youth Orchestras will present an outdoor concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 13, at the Sussex County Community College Pavilion on the Connor Green in Newton.

Three orchestras representing the different age groups and levels of expertise will play music of every genre, from the “Little Brown Jug” sound of big band music, the rock music of Bruno Mars, the symphonic sound of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony #2, and the patriotic music of John Phillip Sousa’s “The Stars & Stripes Forever.”

The program is under the musical direction of Dawn Tedesco with the assistance of John Sepe, Preparatory Orchestra conductor, and Gerald Tedesco, conductor of the Youth Orchestra.

Kathrin Schumacher, a senior at Kittatinny Regional High School, will perform the first movement of the Stamitz Flute Concerto with orchestral accompaniment. James Colarusso, a senior at High Point Regional High School, will perform with James Lobb, a senior at Kittatinny Regional, Vivaldi’s Concerto for two piccolo trumpets, with the youth orchestra accompanying.

The orchestra was founded in 1987 and has been touring and performing concerts ever since. “We’ve traveled to Europe nine times and to China once,” said Dawn Tedesco, director of the Sussex County Youth Orchestras. “Not rehearsing or performing for over one year, was devastating. This concerts marks a new beginning, and everyone worked very hard to make it happen.”

Sunday’s outdoor concert represents three months of intense preparation to safely perform together for the community during the Covid-19 pandemic. One hundred children and adult mentors rehearsed with facemasks on to keep from spreading the virus. Now many of the restrictions have been lifted, and the student musicians are thrilled to be able to perform this concert in the county seat.

The concert is free and open to the public, with donations gratefully accepted. For more information visit scyo.org.

Funding for this concert has been made possible in part with funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as administered by the Sussex County Arts and Heritage Council.