The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera and the CSO Youth Orchestras will present their annual Side-By-Side Concert on Monday at 7:30 p.m. at the Tivoli Theatre. The concert will feature CSOYO soloists Sasha Hitachi-Kizziah and Melinda Jubea performing with the CSO, as well as a combined side-by-side orchestra with the CSOYO Symphony and CSO.
“Side-By-Side is one of my favorite events each season,” said Kayoko Dan, CSO music director. “CSO musicians will share the stage with the CSOYO Symphony musicians on two overtures by Berlioz and Dvorak, which are grand and exciting, and we will also showcase two CSOYO Concerto Competition winners, Sasha Hitachi-Kizziah and Melinda Jubea. As professional musicians, it’s always a great reminder to us of why we got into music in the first place. While CSOYO musicians will gain a lot by sitting next to CSO musicians and being coached throughout the process, CSO musicians will also gain perspective and energy from the youth. It's a wonderful opportunity for camaraderie and music making.”
Melinda Jubea will perform a violin solo on Mozart’s Concerto No. 3. The 14-year-old began playing violin six years ago and has been a member of the CSOYO for five years. She is also a member of the CSOYO String Chamber Ensemble and the Wildwood Strings ensemble directed by Johan Sentana.
Sasha Hitachi-Kizziah is a junior at the Chattanooga State Collegiate High School and has been a member of the CSOYO for six years. She was recently appointed to the Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America and will tour North America under the direction of Carlos Miguel Prieto in Summer 2020. She is also the winner of the Montgomery Symphony League’s prestigious Blount-Slawson Young Artists Competition for 2020, giving her the opportunity to perform with Montgomery Symphony at the Davis Theater on April 27.
Admission to the concert is $15 for adults and $7 for children and students. Tickets are available online at www.chattanoogasymphony.org and through the CSO box office at 267-8583.