2018 Florence Youth Orchestra Festival in Piazza Signoria

All month:  FLORENCE YOUTH ORCHESTRA FESTIVAL.  Free admission

Youth orchestras from across the world will come to Florence and Tuscany, with countries such as the USA, Germany, Australia, South Korea, and the Netherlands represented.

The festival, which organizes 50 to 70 concerts every July, was founded in Florence in 1999 with the intention of fostering the international musical community in Tuscany. The main venue is Loggia dei Lanzi, located in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria, but concerts will also take place between the Tuscan and Umbria regions in cities such as San Gimignano, Prato, Montecatini Terme, Cascia, Perugia, and Cremona, among others.

The following is the schedule for this year’s concerts. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, see the website.

Wednesday, July 11 (8:30 pm)

Loggia dei Lanzi

Hamburg State Youth Orchestra & Hamburg State Youth Jazz Orchestra

Program: J. Brahms, R. Schumann, N. Klein

Conductor: Justus Tennie, Lars Seniuk

Wednesday, July 11 (9:15 pm)

Piazza Duomo, San Gimignano

Huntingtower String Orchestra

Program: A. Vivaldi, E. Grieg, J. Rutter, B. Britten, A. Salieri, P.I. Tchaikovsky, G. Holst, L. Anderson

Conductor: Lynley Bramble

Friday, July 13 (9:15 pm)

Piazza Duomo, San Gimignano

Hamburg State Youth Orchestra & Hamburg State Youth Jazz Orchestra

Program: J. Brahms, R. Schumann, N. Klein

Conductor: Justus Tennie, Lars Seniuk

Sunday, July 15 (8:30 pm)

Loggia dei Lanzi

Haydn Youth String Orchestra

Program: P. Locatelli, J.S. Bach, D. Shostakovich

Conductor: Yan-Ype Nota

Wednesday, July 18 (8:30 pm)

Loggia dei Lanzi

Jugendorchester der Musikschule Dortmund DOJO

Chamber Orchestra Juvenalia Espoo & Orchestra of Käpylä Helsinki

Program: A. Dvorak, H. Eller, J. Sibelius, N. Rimsky-Korsakov

Cello: Matthias Fiedler

Conductor: Achim Fiedler, Janne Hanhijärvi, Ahti Valtonen

Wednesday, July 18 (8:30 pm)

Chiesa di San Michele, Lucca

Haydn Youth String Orchestra

Program: P. Locatelli, J.S. Bach, D. Shostakovich

Conductor: Yan-Ype Nota

Saturday, July 21 (8:30 pm)

Loggia dei Lanzi

Jugend Symphony Orchestra Konstanz

Program: C. Debussy, G. Stein, F. Schubert, E. Presley

Conductor: Till Schwarz

Sunday, July 22 (9:15 pm)

Piazza Duomo, San Gimignano

Almere Youth Symphony Orchestra

Program: A. Luigini, C. Saint-Saëns, P. Mascagni, J. Brahms, A. Piazzolla, J. Kander, E. Morricone, H. Zimmer, A. Marquez

Violin: Joachim van Dijk

Trombone: Daen Welle

Conductor: Hans Welle

Monday, July 23 (9:15 pm)

Loggia dei Lanzi

YMCA Gwangju “Dream” Youth Orchestra

Program: F.V. Suppe, L.V. Beethoven, W.A. Mozart, C. Saint-Saëns, J. Hurwitz, Y. Ryo Between, C.S. Hwan

Trumpet: Kim Shin Hyeok

Conductor: Kang Jae Jin

 Wednesday, July 25 (8:30 pm)

Loggia dei Lanzi

Almere Youth Symphony Orchestra

Program: A. Luigini, C. Saint-Saëns, P. Mascagni, J. Brahms, A. Piazzolla, J. Kander, E. Morricone, H. Zimmer, A. Marquez

Violin: Joachim van Dijk

Trombone: Daen Welle

Conductor: Hans Welle

Tuesday, July 31 (8:30 pm)

Loggia dei Lanzi

Harmonieorkest Panta Rei Leuven

Program: E. Morricone, B. Picqueur, J. Fuik, N. Piovani, J. Van der Roost, V. Bellini, G. Verdi, G. Puccini, W.A. Mozart

Soprano: Emilie De Voght

Conductor: Jo Schelkens