Two Fayetteville-Manlius students are celebrating a major musical accomplishment. Mia Sakonju and Shreya Bhattacharya are members of the 2023-24 Hochstein Youth Symphony Orchestra, the highest-level youth orchestra in The Hochstein School’s four-tier youth orchestra program.
Students compete annually for a seat in the orchestra. Once accepted, they perform professional pieces in at least three concerts throughout the school year. This season, Mia and Shreya help make up an orchestra representing 29 school districts, plus homeschooled students. They come together every Saturday morning to practice.
The HYSO’s first concert of the year will be held on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. in Hochstein Performance Hall. The concert program includes the Overture to Verdi’s opera La Forza del Destino; Romance in Eb for strings by Gerald Finzi; the well-loved Mars and Jupiter movements from Holst’s The Planets; and Tchaikovsky’s fantasy for orchestra, Capriccio Italien.
Mia also won the HYSO Concerto Competition, which means she will perform Bruch mvmt 3 with the orchestra accompanying her during their May performance.
Since 2000, the HYSO has traveled to perform in cities in Spain, Portugal, Austria, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, and Ireland. This year’s orchestra will tour Italy, in spring of 2024.