Kisa Uradomo, who graduated from King Kekaulike High last week, is going on a whirlwind musical adventure before starting college in the fall.
The violinist from Kula was selected to play in the prestigious National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), the only student from Hawaii selected for the 114-member orchestra, and only the second musician from Hawaii ever selected. The program belongs to the education arm of Carnegie Hall.
NYO-USA will perform nine concerts in the U.S. and abroad from July 10-26, visiting many of China’s greatest concerts halls in several different regions of the country, including the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.
"I honestly didn't think I was going to get in since I'm from such a small little island and competing against people who don't have to take (web video) lessons, and have teachers with them all the time and going to camps even before middle school," Uradomo told the
Maui News.
Uradomo said she was challenged in finding teachers who could help her grow, and she relied on "a lot of self-directed learning" via Skype and trips to Oahu and the Mainland.
The NYO-USA players will arrive in New York in late June to begin an intensive two-week training residency on the campus of Purchase College, State University of New York, working with principal players from some of the country’s finest professional orchestras. James Ross, director of orchestral activities at the University of Maryland, returns this summer to lead the NYO-USA faculty for a third year. The faculty will oversee rehearsals during the orchestra’s residency in Purchase and will conduct master classes, chamber music readings, and other seminars on essential music skills, all leading up to the launch of the China tour.
The 2015 tour will kick off at the Performing Arts Center in Purchase, NY (July 10), followed by Carnegie Hall in New York City (July 11), a performance to be heard by music lovers worldwide via the Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series, created in partnership with WQXR and distributed nationally by WFMT Radio Network. The tour then moves to China:
| July 10 | Purchase, NY | Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, State University of New York |
| July 11 | New York, NY | Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage |
| July 15 | Beijing | National Centre for the Performing Arts |
| July 17 | Shanghai | Shanghai Oriental Art Center |
| July 19 | Suzhou | Suzhou Cultural and Arts Centre |
| July 21 | Xi’an | Xi’an Concert Hall |
| July 23 | Shenzhen | Shenzhen Concert Hall |
| July 24 | Guangzhou | Xinghai Concert Hall |
| July 26 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong Cultural Centre |
Uradomo will attend Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in the fall on a partial scholarship. She hopes to return home to Maui after school to teach violin.
About NYO-USA
Each summer, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute brings together the finest young musicians from across the country (ages 16-19) to form the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. Following a comprehensive audition process and a two-week training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York, with faculty made up of principal players from top professional orchestras, these remarkable teenagers embark on a tour to some of the great music capitals of the world, serving as America’s dynamic music ambassadors.
