Philharmonia is an advanced orchestra in the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra organization. The typical Philharmonia student has had several years of private instruction and substantial ensemble experience and is highly skilled on his or her instrument.
Philharmonia prepares high-level musicians for possible entry into Youth Symphony with challenging full orchestra pieces. Past works performed include Brahms’s AcademicFestival Overture, Tchaikovsky’s Slavonic March in Bb Minor, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 35.
Sample of Philharmonia:
Conductor: Joseph Kempisty
Joseph Kempisty holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from The Ohio State University and a Master of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies degree from the University of Washington. He has taught elementary, middle, and high school orchestras in the Midwest as well as in the Bellevue School District, where he was also a school administrator for fourteen years. Learn more.
Winter Showcase Concert on Sunday, March 8th – Cancelled.
Monday, March 16th Rehearsal – Cancelled.
Please check the BYSO main page for rehearsal updates after March 16th.
Our regular Monday rehearsals are at Stevenson Elementary.
Stevenson Elementary School in Bellevue
14220 NE 8th St, Bellevue, WA 98007
There are NO music stands available, so be sure to bring your own!
Rehearsal is from 6:15-8:30pm
Please mark your calendars with our concert dates and times:
Philharmonia Concerts for 2019-20 Season
Winter Showcase Concert – Cancelled
Sunday, March 8th
Spring Masterworks Concert at Benaroya Hall
Saturday, May 16th
Benaroya Hall (Seattle Symphony’s performance hall) in downtown Seattle – 200 University St. Seattle WA 98101
Call time TBD (To Be Determined – may be around 12 noon for Philharmonia). Concert is from 2:00pm to approximately 4:30pm.
Includes Youth Symphony, Philharmonia, Sinfonia, Premiere Orchestra, Flute Orchestra, Flute Choir, and Percussion Ensemble
Performance Examples of our March 2020 Concert Repertoire
Copland’s Hoe-Down from his ballet “Rodeo” performed by the Seattle Symphony with American conductor Gerard Schwartz (audio only):
Copland’s Hoe-Down from his ballet “Rodeo” performed by the National Youth Orchestra of the USA with American conductor Michael Tilson Thomas (live performance video):
Performance Examples of our Fall Repertoire
Tchaikovsky’s Slavonic March, Op 31 (aka March Slav or Marche Slave) performed by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (New Zealand) with American conductor Xian Zhang:
Tchaikovsky’s Slavonic March, Op 31 (aka March Slav or Marche Slave) performed by the youth symphony Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Caracas (Venezuela) with César Iván Lara conducting:
Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algiers performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Sir Georg Solti conducting. While this is an old video (likely from the 1970s), the CSO demonstrates tremendous dynamic range and musical nuance:
Call for Repertoire Ideas…
If you have a piece in mind that you think Philharmonia should perform this season, please email the details to Mr. Kempisty at philharmonia@byso.org.
