The Tucson Symphony Orchestra on Friday night capped two weeks of special concerts for Tucson area school children.

 By Conductor George Hanson's estimates, more than 20,000 children from elementary to high school saw the TSO in special concerts throughout the past two weeks.

  The series culminated Friday night with a concert featuring some of the orchestra's young artist competition winners and participants of the orchestra's Young Composers Project.

  If you've never seen this concert over the years, you have denied yourself one of the most pleasurable events of the TSO's season, a chance to see extraordinarily talented young musicians fearlessly tackle challenging repertoire before an audience of family, friends, peers and die-hard symphony fans. The cost of admission: Free.

 The evening included two new works — "Viaggio" (Journey) by Miles Exploratory Learning Center eighth-grader Ben Nead and "Kingdom of the Sacred Temple" by Desert View High School freshman Alexander Garcia — and solo turns by four musicians: cellist Sara Page, a University High sophomore; 11-year-old violinist Carissa Powe; University of Arizona alto saxopone major Jonathan Wintringham; and Arizona State University piano major Ilia Ulianitsky.

 To say that these musicians were top-notch is not giving them nearly enough credit. They were fabulous, each possessing a confidence and grace that comes from somewhere beyond experience. Each took on challenging repertoire:

 • Page elicited a singular, muscular voice from her cello on David Popper's Hungarian Rhapsody. She was confident, graceful and fully at one with the music, producing a clarion tone that never fell victim to the Music Hall's dry acoustics. Throughout her one-movement performance her cello rang out above the orchestra.  
•  There is one word to describe Ulianitsky, who performed Beethoven's invigorating Fifth Piano Concerto in E-flat Major: exhilerating. His fingers danced over the keyboards with precision and power, producing a fluid, taut tone. In him, you could imagine a future concert pianist whose name will grace world-renown marquees.
• Powe was the youngest person on the stage, and Hanson introduced her by saying that she had always dreamed of playing the TSO's Celebrate the Future concert. She performed Jean Batiste Accolay's  tutorial Concerto No. 1 in A minor with a poise that quietly, but strongly insisted that Powe deserved to be on that stage. Dressed in a pink gown, she stood out among the black-clad pros, but once she started playing, you couldn't help but feel she was only a few years away from being worthy of sitting among them. Powe was alternately controlled and carefree, summoning a warm, rich tone from her violin.
• Wintringham's bio in the concert program lists a slew of awards, kudos and professional appearances; he made his pro debut when he was 17. Moments into Tomasi's Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, it's easy to understand the accolades: this UA standout has the chops. He delivers a lovely sound that is graceful and exciting. You couldn't help but lean forward in your seat and give this guy your full attention throughout his performance.

  Check out Friday's The Arts section for more about the Young Composers Project. The TSO will hold reading sessions at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Tucson Symphony Center to run through the new compositions by the project's dozen or more participants.

Become a #ThisIsTucson member! Your contribution helps our team bring you stories that keep you connected to the community. Become a member today.