LA Philharmonic assists Samo Symphony

Jones PitskerStaff WriterTwice a month, mentors from the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (LA Phil) file into classroom M101, prepared to instruct the members of our Symphony Orchestra in the art of creating music. These musicians, many of whom regularly play with the LA Phil, are part of the Youth Orchestra Mentorship Program (YOMP).“The LA Philharmonic mentorship program is great for orchestra students because it gives them the opportunity to work with some of the premier musicians in the LA area,” sophomore Finn Bordal, a violinist in Symphony Orchestra, said.YOMP is a program that will extend over two years. It is a merge between the Youth Orchestra Partners Program and the Secondary School Partners Program. The mentors YOMP provides are LA Phil teaching artists and orchestra musicians, many of whom have been playing their instruments for most of their lives.Samo’s Symphony Orchestra is currently in its fifth year partnering with the LA Phil, and has joined YOMP along with many other Southern Californian schools this year. According to Samo Orchestra Director Joni Swenson, YOMP has many perks for Samo students.“Students get free tickets to LA Phil concerts at Disney Hall and [LA Phil] has their teaching artists come in to work with our students,” Swenson said.According to YOMP Young Musicians’ Programs Manager Selina Traylor, it is an honor for Samo’s Symphony to be accepted into YOMP, because it is a selective program.“The orchestras selected for YOMP are those that display a great willingness and ability to work with our teaching artist staff. They are chosen by application and by recordings submitted. In YOMP, we serve a total of 16 orchestras,” Traylor said.In addition to the mentors, conductors of orchestras participating in YOMP receive professional development workshops.However, some string instrument players are hoping to receive more attention from the available help.“The idea is solid, but the execution could be more perfect,” sophomore and cellist Taylor Safrit said. “Most of the mentors who have come in are wind and brass players, and so the strings haven't gotten the amount of attention we need.”However, Safrit still agrees that the opportunity to work with and have access to LA Phil members is a unique one.“I think that it has the potential the be great, and I think it’s a good opportunity for us to be able to attend rehearsals and interact with the LA Phil,” Safrit said.While the mentoring program might be slightly geared towards wind and brass players, whose smaller section sizes are less forgiving of mistakes, all students are able to attend rehearsals that the LA Phil offers to students in YOMP.Assistant Orchestra Director Jason Aiello added that Symphony is invited to an LA Phil rehearsal on Feb. 12. Symphony will watch LA Phil Director Gustavo Dudamel conduct, a great learning opportunity for students who will get to see how a professional orchestra functions.“We’re also invited to a special presentation, ‘Symphony for Schools,’ and [the LA Phil] is actually playing the same piece Symphony is playing,” Swenson said.Both Swenson and Aiello are looking forward to seeing what their fifth partnership with the LA Phil and first partnership with YOMP will bring, and are sure that the mentoring will make the players in the orchestra all the better. The LA Phil is also looking forward to its renewed partnership with Samo.“The LA Phil is passionate about supporting youth orchestras in the Los Angeles area, and we look forward to working with Santa Monica High School,” Traylor said.jpitsker@thesamohi.com