Nonprofit provides valuable experience for youth

SOPHIA FISCHER/Acorn Newspapers PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT—Vivian Rotenstein, 15, rehearses for the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic concert, Fri., May 29 at the Camarillo Methodist Church and Sun., May 31 at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. This is Vivian's third time performing with the orchestra. She'll be joined by six other Conejo Valley youth soloists. Vivian will play Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1. They may be young, but when the music students step onstage to join the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic in concert, they play their instruments like the professionals they are surrounded by.

About 150 students have participated since the Philharmonic was formed in 2000. It was started by Thousand Oaks piano teacher Edward Francis, who wanted to provide young musicians the opportunity to perform with a professional orchestra.

Tom Osborn from Pepperdine University agreed to conduct, and the first concert was held at Newbury Park High School in front of a full audience.

Many former students who've played with the orchestra now have careers in music education, conducting and composition. Cellist Andrew Janss is a member of a string quartet at Lincoln Center in New York. Pianist Sean Chen is a sophomore at the Juilliard School in New York.

The orchestra features 45 professional freelance musicians from Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Fifty students from Woodland Hills to Camarillo audition annually for 21 performing spots for piano, harp, oboe, bassoon, flute, cello, violin, trumpet and horn.

"The first concert I attended, I was astonished by the amount of talent," said Michaela Rotenstein of Oak Park, whose daughter, Vivian, has played with the group. "To listen to such young kids play at an (advanced) artistic level . . . takes your breath away."

Each concert includes seven concertos featuring a different soloist. Concerts are held at the Camarillo Methodist Church and the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

The May concert will be Vivian Rotenstein's third Philharmonic appearance. She has studied piano with Francis since 2004. Now 15, the Oak Park High School freshman practices at least 30 minutes on weekdays and two to four hours on the weekends.

"It's such an honor to be up there with professional musicians, so rewarding," Vivian said. "It helps you progress as a musician."

She values the friendships she has developed with other student musicians who, like her, are nervous before the performance.

"The other kids are so supportive; it helps," said Vivian, who plans to study music in college. "When I'm stressed, when I'm even happy, piano is such a release. I can take all my emotions and put them on the piano."

'Mesmerizing'

While attending her first T.O. Philharmonic concert in August, Klara Bergman said she became mesmerized. The Westlake Village resident joined the orchestra's board of directors.

"Can you imagine what it must feel like to be standing on that stage at that young age and play with a live orchestra to a live audience?" Bergman said. "There is no other professional orchestra that caters to young people. It's truly a life-changing experience."

The experience is equally meaningful for the musicians, said Emmy-winning conductor Richard Rintoul, who leads the orchestra.

"Their pay scale is low and yet they do concert after concert with great enthusiasm," Rintoul said. "It's not a matter of making money or for self-aggrandizement but for the love of music.

"Having the combination of youth and all this love in the room really elevates these concerts (above) what you could ever capture in a living room playing a CD," said Rintoul, whose credits include conductor and teacher at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and founding conductor of the Colburn School of Arts orchestra in Los Angeles.

'A great cause'

The first concert nine years ago was a success. School district officials were supportive, and subsequent concerts alternated between Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks high schools.

Today, the 14-member board includes music professionals such as Michael Glenn Williams, who graduated from Newbury Park High with Francis. A composer and pianist, Williams wrote a piano concerto for a young instrumentalist performing with the orchestra.

"Edward (Francis) is very inspirational as a musician. When he formed this organization I started going to concerts right away," Williams said. "It's a great cause."

But a void was left when conductor Osborn died suddenly in 2006. After a two-year search, six conductors were chosen to audition from a pool of 29 applicants. Rintoul won the job.

Francis said each concert costs about $25,000 to put on. Every student is asked to donate $500 per program. Board members and others make donations, and silent auctions and dinner/concert events provide additional funding. The Alliance for the Arts gives the Philharmonic a $10,000 annual grant.

Although the organization sells tickets to their concerts, the prices have been kept low—from $5 to $10 for students and seniors, and $15 to $35 for adults.

"It can cost less to come to one of our concerts than to go to a movie," Francis said. "Even in this challenged time we do beautiful things in our lives."

For tickets and information, visit www.tophil.org or call (805) 376-2485