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What’s Happening
PA Musician Wins YoungArts Award 2021
At the Philharmonic Association, we look forward to celebrating our musicians' successes. We are excited to announce a particularly impressive accomplishment made by one of our saxophonists in TYJE, Zebedee Jewell-Alibhai, who has been selected for the 2021 YoungArts Award! As the winner of this award, Zebedee is recognized by the National YoungArts Foundation as one of “659 of the most accomplished young visual, literary and performing artists from across the country.” Less than 10% of all the 15-18 year old artists who participate in YoungArt’s prestigious competition are selected as YoungArts winners at the completion of the blind adjudication process. As a YoungArts winner,
Save the Date: PA FUNd-Raiser!
This year, the Philharmonic Association’s annual fundraiser will look a little different than previous years. In order to design an event that is both fun AND safe, our organization had to get creative. Now, it’s YOUR turn!! As a musician in the PA, you are invited to submit a video of an unedited musical performance for this year’s FUNd-Raiser called PA’s Got Talent! Create and submit a video of a musical performance which will be posted to the PA Website and YouTube Channel. Once all the submissions are posted, your family, friends and the community at large can vote for
A Unique Year for the TYP Wind Quintet
Technology fatigue is something almost everyone is familiar with at this point. Many of the Philharmonic Association's young musicians and staff began the 2020-21 season exhausted with virtual rehearsals and ready to make creative adjustments in order to continue playing together. The Triangle Youth Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet, for instance, decided to organize in-person and socially distanced rehearsals for the semester and to come up with one-of-a-kind performance ideas that would allow the group to stay safe while sharing their music with an audience. This year our long-standing woodwind quintet consists of members Ryan Gibson (bassoon), Brennan Robbins (flute), Claire Siegel
United Strings of Color Spreads Holiday Cheer
Last weekend, our United Strings of Color Quartet (Kennedy Mitchell and CT Thomas, violins, Sterling Elliott, viola; Lexi Etienne, cello) had the chance to spread some holiday cheer at the North Carolina Museum of Art. On both Saturday, December 19th and Sunday, December 20th, the quartet put on two performances of their holiday program which included songs like "Silver Bells," "Hallelujah," and an arrangement of themes from The Polar Express. The quartet's music provided an atmosphere of festivity in the museum and lovely accompaniment for those admiring the museum's great variety of art exhibitions. Many museum-goers decided to pause and
Art Invitational Winners 2020
The Philharmonic Association is excited to officially announce the winners of our 2020 art invitational! Every year, we invite local high school students to submit artwork to be considered for our program cover. Students are asked to submit artwork inspired in some way by classical or jazz music. The art of the first place winner is featured on our fall and spring concert programs, and all winners are awarded cash prizes. This year, as always, we received a great number of beautiful submissions. After careful consideration, our panel of judges selected the following students as the winners of out 2020
Spotlight on Dr. Gregg Gelb
Members of the Philharmonic Association know Dr. Gregg Gelb as the conductor of our Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble. However, conducting TYJE is certainly not the only the only thing Dr. Gelb does. He is also a composer, arranger, teacher, and saxophonist. Although the pandemic has put a stop to some of his pursuits, Dr. Gelb has continued to contribute to the musical community in valuable ways. In fact, he recently presented at the virtual North Carolina Music Educators Association Conference. Dr. Gelb's presentation titled "Teaching the Big Band Music of Duke Ellington" was well-received by the North Carolina teachers who
Expanding the Horizons of Young Musicians
The mission of the Philharmonic Association is to educate the next generation in great classical and jazz music through ensemble performance, while encouraging appreciation, community participation, and support of these activities.

Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble
Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble
The Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble (TYJE) is now based in Raleigh under the direction of Dr. Gregg Gelb.
Ways You Can Contribute to Our Growth
Here’s What Our Reviewers Say

The best of the area’s young musicians, participants in the Triangle Youth Philharmonic and the Triangle Youth Symphony…

There are lots of reasons to support the youth orchestras of the Philharmonic Association. The most important is that they give first-rate performances. A close second is that the young musicians of TYP, TYS and TYO are the classical musicians of the future, the pros, semi-pros, and amateurs who will continue to maintain the classical tradition……they comprise the cream of the crop. This is not little league; they play hardball, and they play it well.

[TYP and TYS] do much more than train musicians. They teach a lifelong appreciation and love of music. One alum recently submitted a piece for the Philharmonic Association News entitled: “Music Keeps Me Sane.” Playing with TYP taught her commitment and about setting standards.

There’s hope for our collective musical future, thanks to the Triangle Youth Philharmonic and similar ensembles. The 250 or so young artists involved in the PA’s programs merit our attention and support. Their love of music and delight in the teamwork required to create it was evident in every measure.