Youth Chamber Orchestra concert Designed for the Philadelphia region’s most talented young students, ages 7 to 17, Music Prep’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians was founded in 1986 with 25 string players in the Youth Chamber Orchestra (YCO) under Maestro Luis Biava’s direction. Over the years the Center for Gifted Young Musicians (CGYM) has developed to embrace the training of more than 100 gifted young instrumentalists annually, in a program that includes 3 chamber orchestras, 17 small chamber ensembles, coached or led by members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, leading Philadelphia professionals, and members of the award-winning Jasper String Quartet, in-residence for CGYM. The Center showcases all these talented students each year in a winter concert series and in the spring through the “Festival of Young Musicians,” a multiple-concert series. The Youth Chamber Orchestra, directed by Aaron Picht since 2013, is Philadelphia’s premier string ensemble program for youth. Many YCO alumni currently enjoy successful professional careers as soloists or as members of major symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles. The YCO has traveled and performed in Puerto Rico and Reykjavik, Iceland as well as throughout the Philadelphia region. Twenty members of the YCO (ages 13-19) will perform chamber music and orchestra concerts in Iceland on June 14th-20th 2025. The YCO enjoys an ongoing orchestra exchange with Tónskóli Sigursveins D.Kristinssonar now visiting Iceland for the fifth time. The mission of this program is to celebrate the unifying power of music and friendship among youth and all people.