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PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO) returns to the Kimmel Center’s Marian Anderson Hall on Sunday, March 1, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. for a powerful afternoon of orchestral masterworks, featuring acclaimed violist Dillon Scott (PYO ’22) as soloist under the baton of Music Director Louis Scaglione.
Bartók’s Viola Concerto, a landmark work for the instrument, will be brought to life by Scott, a PYO alumnus and current student at the Curtis Institute of Music. The program concludes with Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, a crowd-pleasing work closely associated with the composer’s long relationship with Philadelphia and its orchestras.
Scott, a Lansdale, Pa. native and former PMAY student, credits his time with PYO as a formative chapter in his artistic journey.
“Returning to perform with the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra is incredibly meaningful to me,” said Scott. “I have such great memories of my years playing in PYO, and I am incredibly excited and honored to be back again to perform Bartók’s Viola Concerto. I hope my time here shows current PYO students what’s possible when you’re supported by a community that believes in you and encourages them to imagine their own futures as artists and leaders. In all, this return is a very special time for me, and I cannot wait to get started.”
Scott joined the Curtis Institute of Music in 2022, where he studies viola with Roberto Díaz and Edward Gazouleas as the Mark E. Rubenstein Fellow. He has been recognized nationally for his artistry, including earning Third Prize in the 2023 Sphinx Competition Senior Division.
This concert highlights the organization’s lasting impact, bringing alumni back to the stage while inspiring today’s students through world-class repertoire and performance opportunities.
Concert Details
Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Sunday, March 1, 2026
3:00 p.m.
Tickets start at $40
Program
Bartók: Viola Concerto
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2
Learn More
Tickets for the PYO Opening Concert on Sunday, March 1 at 3 p.m. are available through the Kimmel Center Box Office online here or at www.pyomusic.org.
YouTube and Instagram: @PYOMusic | Facebook and LinkedIn: @PYO Music Institute
Listen now to Philadelphia Youth Orchestra’s Soundcheck from Kimmel Center’s Marian Anderson Hall on YouTube.
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PYO Music Institute Mission Statement:
The PYO Music Institute uses extraordinary music education through the pursuit of music excellence to inspire a strong sense of character, discipline, commitment, and community for our diverse student population.
The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute is the tri-state region’s premier youth orchestra organization for gifted, young, classical musicians, and one of the oldest and most highly regarded youth orchestra organizations in the United States. For 86 years, the PYO Music Institute has been providing exceptional musical experiences to young instrumentalists, while thrilling audiences in the Greater Philadelphia region and across the globe.
The organization now has eleven programs: Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO), Bravo Brass, Prysm Strings – Main Line, Tune Up Philly – Orchestral Pathways Program, Young Musicians Debut Orchestra (YMDO), Pizzicato Players, Philadelphia Youth Jazz Orchestra (PYJO), Philadelphia Youth Symphonic Band (PYSB), Prysm Strings – New Jersey, and Philadelphia Youth Concert Band (PYCB). Across its eleven ensembles, PYOMI meets students where they are in their musical journey, from first orchestral experiences to advanced pre-professional training, offering mentorship and growth at every step. Ranging from age 5 to 22, the musicians of the PYO Music Institute come from a 70-mile radius of Philadelphia, encompassing nearly 20 counties within Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Former PYOMI musicians currently hold chairs in most of the top 20 professional orchestras in the United States, with 10 PYO alumni currently serving in The Philadelphia Orchestra.
