Montgomery County Youth Orchestras perform first concert at Albert Einstein High School

The Montgomery County Youth Orchestras (MCYO) gave their first concert at Albert Einstein High School on Sunday, December 9.

MCYO is an organization that was founded by Chester Petranek to help further the musicianship of children all around Montgomery County. There are three full symphonic orchestras, including both winds and percussion, and one string ensemble for younger children.

The concert was opened with a cameo appearance of the String Ensemble, conducted by Ruth Albright. This was followed by the performances of Preparatory and Junior Orchestras, conducted by Scott Herman and David Levin. The concert was closed with the Senior orchestra, conducted by Olivia Gutoff, and led by concertmaster senior Blazer Rahul Satija.

The senior orchestra portion of the concert was opened with the patriotic theme of "Stars and Stripes" in remembrance of the attack on September 11.

"I thought [the concert] was very energetic and that we got a good response," said Satija.

Satija succeeded Blair junior Lisa Kim as concertmaster from last year to secure his first concertmaster seat in the Senior orchestra. He is in his sixth year at MCYO and has been playing violin for thirteen and a half years. Kim is currently seated third in the orchestra, after Satija and James Hubert Blake High School sophomore Christopher Sanchez.

Satija believes that the rest of the season will go well. "I think that we started the year a bit sloppy, [but] as the year goes, the better we'll be."