GO TO THIS: New World Symphony’s Side-by-Side Concert features NWS Fellows playing next to middle and high school students, the majority of whom are from South Florida. Saturday’s free concert will also have a few student musicians from national and international partnerships.  Â
WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND: There are very few opportunities to experience a free show with world-class musicians of all ages. Plus, NWS Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Michael Tilson Thomas, will conduct the concert. Â
The student performers went through a competitive audition process, including applications, online video submissions, a live audition, plus the waiting period for the final results. The NWS Fellows can relate, as they too go through a similar process for professional positions. Â
“The Fellows can see themselves a few years ago when they were in high school and thinking about going to music school, and vice versa,” said Cassidy Fitzpatrick, NWS’s Vice President for Musician Advancement. “The students in middle and high school are getting to work with professional-level musicians who are not that much older than they are.”
The setting gives the up-and-coming musicians a chance to ask the NWS Fellows about their personal and educational backgrounds, which helps forge a bond. Â
The program started in the early 2000s, when NWS would partner with one high school and invite its musicians to play on stage. Now the program has students from over 20 schools, which allows the students who may otherwise only see each other at competitions to perform together. Â Â
MOST SURPRISING FACT: This year’s performance will include five students from MedellĂn, Colombia’s Iberacademy. NWS partners with the academy and several times a year NWS Fellows will visit its students as part of an educational outreach. Twice a year, the students have the opportunity to visit NWS and this is one of those times.
HOW TO ATTEND: Tickets for Saturday’s event are free and extremely limited. You’ll need to RSVP in advance. If you miss out on a ticket, you can still experience the show through a live broadcast on NWS’s Facebook page.