Portland Youth Philharmonic Wins 2022 Schnitzer Wonder Award

The organization will receive a $10,000 prize.

Portland Youth Philharmonic (LinkedIn)

The Oregon Symphony has announced that the 2022 Schnitzer Wonder Award has been given to the Portland Youth Philharmonic.

“We are thrilled and grateful to be recognized as this year’s Schnitzer Wonder Award recipient,” said PYP’s musical director, David Hattner, in a press release. “Over the last 97 years, we’ve built a community that makes excellent music education available to all young people, and this award will help us continue that work as we near our centennial anniversary.”

The Schnitzer Award was created in 2015 by Jordan Schnitzer in honor of his parents Arlene and Harold Schnitzer. It is granted to organizations that nurture the work of young and student musicians. Winners receive a $10,000 prize.

“It is an honor to present the 2022 Schnitzer Wonder Award to the Portland Youth Philharmonic, in recognition of the organization’s achievements as our region’s prestigious ensemble for young musicians,” Scott Showalter, president of the Oregon Symphony, added. “David Hattner and his students show the potential of our community’s talented youth when they are provided access and opportunity by virtue of scholarships and exceptional training.”

PYP was founded in 1924. Its ranks have included thousands of musicians, and they have played with renowned musical organizations like the New York Philharmonic and the Juilliard and American String Quartets.

Upcoming PYP concerts include Russian Winter: Tchaikovsky & Prokofiev, at which 17-year-old Michael Gu, PYP’s 2021 Piano Concert Competition winner, will perform.

PYP is also collaborating with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and the New Jersey Symphony to create the Youth Orchestra Commissioning Initiative, which is intended to highlight the work of composers of color and female-identifying composers.

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