YAO & GSO Stand Shoulder-to-Shoulder

Images by Bill Kendig

Greenville County Youth Orchestra's "Young Artist Orchestra" teamed up with members of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra for their annual "Shoulder-to-Shoulder" concert on January 29th. Lead by Fine Arts Center faculty member and YAO Music Director Dr. Gary Auguste Robinson, the concert was staged at the Peace Center for the Performing Arts' Dorothy Gunter Theater.

"Shoulder-to-Shoulder" combined the Young Artist Orchestra with twenty members of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, who were engaged and organized by the GSO's Education Coordinator, Dr. Braxton Bellew. The combined ensemble joined for two rehearsals and then the Thursday night concert, which featured a compelling performance of Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 8 in G, Opus 88 and Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Opus 16. Turning out a commanding and expressive performance, YAO Principal Violist Lydia Minnick served as piano soloist for the Grieg.

Shoulder-to-Shoulder has changed over its many years, but its intent has remained constant. It began as a single concert that combined students and professionals and then, for a number of years, became a project in which selected students participated in each GSO masterworks concert. Still later, equal numbers of student and professional musicians were paired for a special January concert. Currently, however, the Young Artist Orchestra has been given the responsibility of carrying its own concert while a team of pros is brought in to model the music and to mentor the students. The role of the professionals, however, has always been to educate, encourage, and inspire, which was carried out ably by Dr. Bellew's exceptional recruits.