Young string musicians perform at Allentown's Miller Symphony Hall

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — When Diane Wittry raised her baton inside Miller Symphony Hall Sunday afternoon, as she has done countless times in that space, a few things were different than usual.

• More than two dozen string musicians performed in Allentown Sunday for the Young Musicians String Festival
• Performers ranged in age from fourth graders to high schoolers
• The ensemble was conducted by Diane Wittry, music director for the Allentown Symphony Orchestra

First, rather than Allentown's full symphony orchestra, almost all of the performers were string players, backed up by a percussion section and a pianist. Second, most of them were in middle school or younger.

“It’s different, but at the same time, music is music,” Wittry said.

The Allentown Symphony Association’s Young Musicians String Festival included 28 performers, ranging in age from fourth to twelfth grades. Auditions were optional, and only used for chair placement.

Interested participants only needed to have a few years’ experience; as long as they can “play the notes,” as Wittry put it, they were welcome to join.

“We want to be as inclusive as possible, and really not look at having to exclude anyone based on abilities,” said Al Jacobsen, executive director of the Allentown Symphony Association.

The performers were guided by “coaches,” some of them members of Allentown’s orchestra and others teaching artists with El Sistema Lehigh Valley, an intensive music education program the Symphony Association oversees.

“I try to open their eyes to the fact that all professional musicians come with the notes learned. So we don't talk about notes so much, we talk about music,” Wittry said. “We’re teaching them that even what's on the page is not enough. It's listening and adjusting in the moment to the group.”

The program included instantly recognizable John Williams melodies from the Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones films. The ensemble also performed excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony and Samuel Coleridge Taylor’s Overture to "The Song of Hiawatha."

The selections mirrored music the Allentown orchestra will be playing in upcoming concerts, in order to give the young performers a sense of how professionals approach and perform the same music they had previously grappled with themselves.

“Without this, they would not have their eyes opened to this level of performance,” Wittry said. “That's why the next step of this is to get them to come to either a concert or rehearsal and hear the Allentown Symphony.”

“I feel very proud,” said Criseida Acuna, who watched her son, eighth-grader David Gomez-Acuna, from Holy Family School in Nazareth, perform on violin with the ensemble. “He was super excited, and he ran with it. He practiced more than I asked. He just practiced and practiced and practiced, because this program will help you become a better musician.”

David said he wanted to join the group to improve as a musician, especially when it comes to performing as part of an ensemble.

“At first it was kind of intimidating, but then it got better because they were all around the same level I was at,” he said. “I hope to one day be better than I am now, to keep it moving.”

“It's really nice for me. I'm so proud of him. I mean, I can't believe that's him when he's playing,” said Liany Diven, who was in the audience Sunday to support her son, seventh-grader Brian Diven who attends Orefield Middle School. “You see him watch ESPN, play flag football, and you're like, ‘Okay, he's a regular middle schooler.’ And then you see him really dwell into these pieces.”

“I saw [the string ensemble] as a good opportunity to enhance my skills, and play with other people and get a good sense of community,” Brian, a violinist, said. “We have people from all over the area joining in on this one amazing moment. It was really nice for everyone to get together.”

“I just love my instrument. I love music. I think music gives life to the soul.”