Young Palisadian Musicians Prepare for ‘Live in the Backyard’ Virtual Concert

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world as we knew it, the future was often looked at with uncertainty—and as time went on, the longing for normalcy only grew stronger.

A handful of young Palisadian musicians were able to hold onto a piece of their normal with the help of the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, culminating with an upcoming virtual concert and competition, “Live in the Backyard.”

Executive Director Laura Swanson shared that LAYO was determined to keep the music going for its students since the closure of its rehearsal space in March. With that determination, they moved rehearsals outdoors.

“With so much uncertainty, LAYO offers students something positive to look forward to each week: the opportunity to play music with friends, motivation to practice their instruments and, perhaps most of all, the knowledge that we will get through this together,” Swanson said to the Palisadian-Post. 

LAYO divided its 108 students into 32 different chamber ensembles. Since August, the ensembles have participated in outdoor, socially distanced, masked rehearsals on Sunday afternoons in 12 different backyards across LA—four in Pacific Palisades. To provide instruction, LAYO assigned 12 professional coaches to these groups.

Palisadian Shane Masterson, who has played the violin for approximately seven years and been a member of LAYO for two years, said he enjoyed the backyard sessions. He worked with other students and was assigned a quartet; they would get together every Sunday for an hour and a half.

“It’s actually quite nice, this is my first experience really playing in a quartet, and I feel like it’s a lot more personal than playing in an orchestra,” Masterson said to the Post. “It’s a smaller group, it’s a smaller sound, so it’s very different from what we would do normally, but I still feel like it’s important and a lot of fun and a great experience.”

Palisadian sisters Leena and Layla Adeli, who also play the violin with LAYO, shared that they were grateful for the opportunity to still build relationships during these times.

“It let all of us meet new people that we typically wouldn’t have met, that we wouldn’t have become really good friends with,” Layla said. “It gave us the chance to connect before we go back to rehearsals when COVID is over, so it’ll be nice to have new friends to see.”

Leena said she was grateful for the social and collaborative space music creates.

“It’s fun playing by myself to focus on technique and solos,” Leena said, “but playing with other people adds more excitement, you get to talk about parts of the music, cooperate, make the music all fit together.”

The young musicians all said they would host rehearsals in their own backyards, all in preparation for LAYO’s upcoming virtual concert on Sunday, December 13, which is the culmination of their fall semester.

The virtual concert will feature a final recording from each ensemble for viewers to enjoy from home, as well as the premiere of LAYO’s newest virtual orchestral piece, Bach’s “Wachet Auf.”

“I’m really excited to see how it turns out, I’m sure it will be amazing,” Leena said to the Post.

The virtual concert begins at 12:30 p.m., and an awards ceremony will be presented at 4 p.m.

To tune in to the virtual concert, visit facebook.com/losangelesyouthorchestra.