Freshman Jalen Powell Participates in Prestigious YPCO at Webster University

Freshman Jalen Powell plays the viola in the Young Peoples’ Concert Orchestra at Webster University. The orchestra consists of 50-60 talented young musicians from the St. Louis region.
Freshman Jalen Powell plays the viola in the Young Peoples’ Concert Orchestra at Webster University. The orchestra consists of 50-60 talented young musicians from the St. Louis region.

“The mission of YPCO [Young People’s Concert Orchestra] and the other orchestras and ensembles at the Community Music School is to give students the opportunity to enhance their musicianship and skills beyond individual performance and to support the education process in school music programs,” said Travis Herd, the Orchestra and Ensembles Representative at the Community Music School of Webster University.

Freshman Jalen Powell has been participating in YPCO at Webster since last September with 50-60 other talented young musicians in the area to continue gaining musical experience and knowledge.

“I joined YPCO because my private teacher suggested me for the program. I really love orchestra, and I would get more experience,” said Powell.

Powell has been involved with music since third grade when he learned violin, but he has moved on to the viola in recent years.

Powell’s private teacher, Anna Lackschewitz, thought he had “a lot of unrealized musical potential. He needed to be among very focused and high achieving music students in order to expect more of himself.”

Lackschewitz believes YPCO, one of the most demanding orchestras in St. Louis, will allow Powell to improve faster as a musician.

“YPCO is geared towards introducing students to playing in a concert orchestra setting, development of ensemble skills, accurate intonation, rhythm, and sight-reading, and allows students the opportunity to play a wide variety of music, ranging from Beethoven symphonies to music from Harry Potter to Rhapsody in Blue, and many others,” said Herd.

Powell participated in a YPCO concert on April 30, performing songs Dance of the Gypsy, Waltz for Jennie, and Nutcracker among others. He and the orchestra started rehearsing for the recent concert in January, once a week for two hours.

“[The orchestra] worked so hard so we want to show what we’ve accomplished,” said Powell.

The students in the orchestra are very committed to producing quality performances and work hard to improve technique. The participants also make friends in the process.

“When students take part in our orchestras, they’re meeting and forming friendships with other musicians in their age range who are just as passionate about music as they are,” said Herd.

Since admission to YPCO requires an audition, all students in the program have proved to be dedicated and very talented individuals. Powell explained that orchestra has a special place in his heart and he hopes to continue studying music at Webster. Lackschewitz hopes Powell will later join the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra.

by Madeline Fischer, staff writer