Near the entrance of Rio Norte Junior High School, one could hear a faint sound of music coming from one of the band rooms. Upon a closer look, Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra was rehearsing for its first concert of the season titled, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” scheduled Oct. 13 at the Canyon High School Performing Arts Center.  For the first time since the orchestra’s inception in 2021, not only is the orchestra expanding to four concerts in the season, but three high school students, who auditioned in July, will be performing with the orchestra in the concert.  Susy Christiansen, member of the SCSO board who handles marketing and outreach, and J.R. Hills, president of the board, reflected on the growth of the orchestra as they start their third season.  The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra rehearses at Rio Norte Junior High School for the first time with the three young soloists, in preparation for their concert, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra rehearses at Rio Norte Junior High School for the first time with the three young soloists, in preparation for their concert, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra rehearses at Rio Norte Junior High School for the first time with the three young soloists, in preparation for their concert, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal “When we first started, we were performing at the Santa Clarita United Methodist Church … we basically grew so much that we outgrew that space. Now we’re at Canyon High School — our audience is growing, our group is growing. That’s something that we’re really happy to see continue,” Christiansen said. “Another part of our mission is to help foster local talent.”  “We are definitely looking forward to showcasing the winners of our concerto competition. We have a lot this year that we’re offering for our audiences, [and] this is the first concert with the youth concerto winners. We will also have composers composing holiday music for our December concert,” Hills added.  Patrick Karamian, a senior at California State University, Northridge, and current orchestra intern and composer, will debut his piece, “Prelude for Percussion,” for the December “Holiday Celebration” concert.  “That’s definitely something I’m looking forward to for the season — the December concert, getting more music played by people here, not just me, but other composers that are in the orchestra, and just contributing to the orchestra and to the community, you know, the classical music scene,” Karamian said. “They’ve been very gracious in letting me have some of my pieces perform.”  The students selected are: Valencia High School senior Harry Christiansen, 17, West Ranch freshman Ian Lee, 14, and Pasadena High School senior Mallika Sheshadri, 17.  While they each practiced extensively for months on their own, their first time performing with the ensemble was on Tuesday.  Pianist Harry Christiansen, one of three student soloists, rehearses with the orchestra for the first time at Rio Norte Junior High School on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal “When I got the email saying, ‘You won, you made it,’ I was like, ‘This is crazy.’ It’s a one-time opportunity. Not many people have an orchestra at all, and even fewer of them play an instrument, and even fewer of those are able to play an instrument with the orchestra. Chances of that happening are minuscule,” Harry said. “The piece that I’m doing, the ‘Shostakovich Piano Concerto,’ is one of my favorite pieces ever, so playing it actually calms me down and makes it easier to concentrate when I’ve already started playing — which is nice, because that means the instrument that I’ve spent my entire life on makes it easier.”  Lee, a cello player who will be performing Elgar’s “Cello Concerto,” is excited to incorporate the dynamic sounds of the entire orchestra as he performs his solo.  “For the audition, they put us in this big auditorium with the pianist, and we just performed for four judges. I did not expect to win, but somehow I did. So that was pretty exciting for me,” Lee said. “This is my first time playing with the orchestra, and it’s going to be a really cool experience. I’m excited to have the orchestra in the background with my song, rather than just having the piano in the back.”  Under the direction of Brian Stone, members of the orchestra rehearse at Rio Norte Junior High School on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal Brian Stone, conductor for the orchestra, described what made the three soloists stand out, out of 16 total students.   “We had very good auditions. We’re looking for musical artistry, a high level of command of their instrument, control and command of their instrument, to be able to put it, put their instrument in the service of musical expression. And all three of the pieces we are doing are sophisticated concert music,” Stone said.   According to Stone, one is not to underestimate the talent that is to be found in Santa Clarita, especially within the younger generations.  “Santa Clarita has got talent. You can hear it in front of the orchestra with the soloists, and in the orchestra with orchestra members. And Santa Clarita has music culture, as well. If you’re worried about the traditions of music, worried about traditions of classical music that aren’t going to be carried on by succeeding generations, come to our concert and stop your worries,” Stone said. “The soloists are going to be jazzed up for that big, wonderful opportunity for them. They’re the future of classical music.”  For tickets ($20-$25), visit www.santaclaritasymphonyorchestra.org/concerts.  The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra rehearses at Rio Norte Junior High School for the first time with the three young soloists, in preparation for their concert, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra rehearses at Rio Norte Junior High School for the first time with the three young soloists, in preparation for their concert, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra rehearses at Rio Norte Junior High School for the first time with the three young soloists, in preparation for their concert, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra rehearses at Rio Norte Junior High School for the first time with the three young soloists, in preparation for their concert, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra rehearses at Rio Norte Junior High School for the first time with the three young soloists, in preparation for their concert, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra rehearses at Rio Norte Junior High School for the first time with the three young soloists, in preparation for their concert, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra rehearses at Rio Norte Junior High School for the first time with the three young soloists, in preparation for their concert, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra rehearses at Rio Norte Junior High School for the first time with the three young soloists, in preparation for their concert, “Young Stars and Old Masters,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The post Symphony orchestra welcomes three youth solosists for October concert  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.