LA Youth Orchestra Interprets Brahms 1st Symphony

Los Angeles Youth Orchestra's Symphony Orchestra plays Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68 at the Fall Concert on November 20, 2017 at the Ambassador Auditorium.

Here is a video of the LA Youth Orchestra performing the complete Brahms 1st Symphony just two weeks ago at Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena. The orchestra's focus and determination to interpret the musical ideas of the symphony behind the notes helped bring me to a deeper understanding of Brahms. The students in this upper orchestra are in middle school and high school. We have only a few adults joining them on instruments we were missing (bassoon, contrabassoon, principal horn, extra viola and bass). Of course there are blemishes of intonation, balance, and ensemble, but tell me if you agree there is an energy, probing, and sense of care missing in many professional performances.