The Irvine Young Concert Artists, formerly the Irvine Young Artists, was formed in September 2005 by violinists Albert Wu and Mischa Lakirovich as a training orchestra dedicated to the artistic, personal, and professional development of outstanding instrumentalists. Based in Irvine, California at Woodbridge High School, IYCA features many opportunities in its detailed educational programs to provide the finest professional training for its members. An oasis for musical education and expression, the IYCA, through a wide range of performance and instructional activities, seeks to develop in its members the full complement of skills and qualifications required of twenty-first century first class musicians. It encourages young kids to dream and to fulfill those dreams, even if the dreams will be secondary as they embark on a different career in college. The relationships formed through music are life-long and deeply meaningful.
The Irvine Young Concert Artists (IYCA), now in its 3rd Season, is recognized locally for its outstanding contributions to the local community and national charities. IYCA seeks to make a cultural impact and social contribution to the community of Irvine by offering virtually all its concerts free of charge and performing for the causes of many nonprofit charities. IYCA’s forty plus concerts a year fosters, nurtures, and developes in its members an artistic excellence through music. It is the educational goal for IYCA to continue producing artists capable and willing to give their talents in music to enrich the lives of others in Irvine.
In 2007, IYCA began to be recognized internationally for its artistic programming, virtuosic soloists (all drawn from within the orchestra), and impeccable ensemble. Often playing conductorless for its charity concerts throughout Orange County, the IYCA made its debut CD recording in December 2005 for Soul Surfer Records. The debut album, recorded conductorless for each work, featured works by Vivaldi and Corelli and has received critical acclaim worldwide from conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, Myung Wha Chung, and Claudio Abbado to classical artists such as the Concertmasters from the Los Angeles, Berlin, and Vienna Philharmonics (Toru Yasunaga and Werner Hink), Peter Schmidl of the Vienna Philharmonic, and members of the Cleveland, and Juilliard String Quartets. The debut recording featured founding members Albert Wu and Mischa Lakirovich in collaboration, rotating both as violin soloists and principle players in the orchestra. The recording features the two playing and recording side-by-side with their students and other teachers, one of IYCA’s key teaching principles that music should be “passed on,” like jazz, from teacher to student. The IYCA debut recording has been aired on KUCI radio and led to its invitation in 2006 to perform nationally on Fox TV
In addition to its debut recording, IYCA has appeared on both radio and television -- IYCA has performed on KUCI 88.9FM, Japanese television, KTLA news, Fox television, and producers from MTV. One of the biggest highlights occurred in December 2006 when IYCA appeared on Fox Television for the 2005 Christmas Special, aired for over 160 million people in the United States.
When violinists Albert Wu and Mischa Lakirovich formed IYCA in 2005, they sought to form a youth orchestra in Irvine which would rival the finest youth orchestras in the U.S. Founded in 2005, the mission of the IYCA is to provide the finest orchestral training to young musicians at the pre-professional level and to enrich the cultural life of the community by presenting music at the highest level of artistic achievement. In every way, IYCA uses the power of music to promote cross-cultural understanding and reaffirm its commitment to humanity. Since 2005, IYCA has performed and been invited for countless charities and community events -- some local, some national. These charities include the Daniel Pearl Foundation, Team Kids, Colin Powell’s America’s Promise Foundation in Washington D.C., the Relay for Life (American Cancer Society), the Trauma Intervention Program (TIP) Heroes With Heart Awards, Western Youth Services, the Irvine Prevention Coalition, the Irvine Fun Fair, Sandy Segestrom’s Festival of Children, the OC Natural History Museum Annual Fundraiser, and the OC United Way. To date, IYCA has helped raise over $4000 for Hurricane Katrina victims in 2005 as well as thousands for victims and firefighters of the Orange County fires in September 2007. It is our belief that music has not only the power to educate, enlighten, and enrich lives but also to aid those in need.
Since its inaugural concerts on Sept of 2005, the Irvine Young Concert Artists has always sought to be different than the youth orchestras in Orange County. IYCA’s musical and artistic approach towards performing offers its musicians an in-depth exposure to traditional and modern repertoire, with the active involvement of leading guest conductors, soloists and guest artist coaches from within the orchestra itself. Every member in the orchestra is given the opportunity to perform as soloist in as many as forty concerts a year, more than any traditional youth orchestras. Every concert features a minimum of six soloists. In the past three years, the IYCA has performed for and at the Irvine and Mission Viejo City Councils, the Richard Nixon Library, and the Festival of Children at South Coast Plaza. It has performed and been invited to perform for many noteworthy national political and celebrity figures such as Senator John Edwards, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Lou Correa, Senator Art Torres, Senator Joe Dunn, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, California Attorney General Jerry Brown, State Assemblyman Jose Solorio, Tony Mendoza, Lt. Governor John Garamendi, Mayor Beth Krom of Irvine, and the Mayors of Huntington Beach, Laguna, La Hara, Fullerton, Santa and Anaheim. Through its charity concerts, IYCA has performed for former President Bill Clinton White House Advisor, Senator Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Chief Campaign Manager, as well as TV personality Arianna Huffington, actresses Dame Judi Dench and Beth Broderick.
The IYCA music program is available to select talented young musicians from all of Orange County. Students ages 7 to 13 compose the IYJA, the “junior” orchestra, while students ages 13-18 belong to the “older” IYCA orchestra. Combined, the more than one hundred diverse musicians, ranging in age from 7 to 18, are among some of the most talented musicicans chosen in annual auditions. Students hail from as far as Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, Placentia, Corona del Mar, and Dana Hills. Former and present members of IYJA and IYCA have served as Concertmasters, Assistant Concertmaster and Principles of their school orchestras as well as the All Southern, All State, All National, and the Orchestra America Festival Orchestras. They have performed with artists such as violinist Pinchas Zukerman and world-renowned conductor Larry Livingston.
The 2008-2009 marked a new era, as conductor Dean Anderson began his tenure as Chief Music Director of IYCA. The season also marked the move from Atria Senior Living to the Pacific Church of Irvine, where IYCA still rehearses every week. In its first two seasons, cofounder and violinist Mischa Lakirovich served as its first music director, making Irvine Presbyterian Church its home. In 2007-2008, IYCA was led by conductors Josh Roach and Cosima Luther, with guest conductors Peter Fournier of University High School, Joslynn Blasdel of Woodbridge High School, and Henry Miller of Sierra Vista Middle School.
The musicians in the Irvine Young Concert Artists are truly artists and cultural ambassadors of the first rank. In July 2008, IYCA embarked on its first international tour, taking them to Korea and China. In China, IYCA performed in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Beijing, and Qinghuangdao by special invitation for the 2008 Beijng Olympic Games Celebration. Two concerts were televised – one in Shanghai, the other in Xian. Performing to capacity crowds, IYCA captured the attention of its audiences as it featured as many as twenty exceptional soloists over two weeks! Conductors Cosima Luther, Josh Roach, and Peter Fournier led IYCA in this three-week tour, and in every performance, the three Maestros not only conducted brilliantly but also performed as members of the orchestra – Ms. Luther on violin, Mr. Roach on trumpet, and Mr. Fournier on trombone. IYCA is an orchestra focused on showcasing all its musicians and offering them unique performance opportunities. It will continue this tradition in years to come.
In Korea, IYCA performed in two concerts – the first at the Yong-In Women’s Hall and the second concert taking place at the Nowon Culture and Arts Center alongside the Nowon-gu Philharmonic Orchestra. Both concerts were sold out, and a friendship between IYCA, myself, the Nowon Youth Orchestra, and Maestro Young Kyu Song was born. In 2008, IYCA is pleased to have begun a musical conversation with Korea and China and hopes to develop a long-lasting friendship in the years to come. This was my dream and a dream which I pushed for because I knew how important these concerts would mean to the young musicians. You can view clips of IYCA’s live performances from this historic tour on our website.
In 2008-2009, IYCA will continue to perform for numerous local charities, political figures, television, and multiple concerts at Disneyland and at Catalina Island. IYCA will perform for parents, for charity events, for live TV, and for fun events as well. In Oct 2008, IYCA was invited to perform in a pre-recital reception outside of Segestrom Hall for pianist Lang Lang. Invitations to Korea and Taiwan for the summer of 2009 have also now been formally extended, with performances and invitations at venues in Taiwan such as National Hsinchu Senior High School, Affiliated High School of the National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei National University of the Arts, Nan-Men Music Conservatory, The Chinese Culture University Department of Music (Taipei City), Wach Conservatory of Music and Chung-Chang Primary School in Taipei. In Korea, invitations for IYCA include the Seoul Arts Center, Seoul Yeh High School, Jung Bal High School, Daewon Foreign Language High School, Korean Minjok Leadership Academy, the Korean National University of Arts, Seoul National University, and Yonsei University. What an honor!
It is the goal of IYCA to be a touring orchestra every summer so that every tour becomes a memorable experience. IYCA is more than a youth orchestra; it is an orchestra of young artists eager to perform, to travel, and to be involved in the community. While most youth orchestras prepare for 3 or 4 concerts a year, we prepare for 20-30 concerts and international tours in some of the most renowned halls in Asia and Europe. Each season is always special for IYCA. Not just internationally, but often locally. Here are some highlights.
In 2010, IYCA was invited to participate in an eight-hour recording at Capitol Records in Hollywood. Led by Maestro Dean Anderson, IYCA recorded film scores by composer Kostas Christides for a Stan Lee DVD documentary. The students were honored to work in the legendary studio alongside professional studio players, USC, Yale, Indiana, Juilliard graduates, and top studio executives, record producers, and filmmakers.
In April 2011, in light of the horrific March 11, 2010 Tohoku earthquake in Japan, IYCA launched a massive benefit concert campaign which was covered in the OC Register, Korea Daily, Chinese LA Daily, World Journal, Taiwan Daily, Sing Tao Daily, Epoch Times, Pacific Times, Thousand Wind TV, NHKWorld, KBS, and MBC. Joined by the ‘Japan Relief Choir,’ the marathon concert brought musicians from all ages together on stage at the Irvine Barclay and funds raised would be sent to the children, schools, and orphanages in Miyagi (Japan). In August 2011, after concerts in Hong Kong with the Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra under Dean Anderson, IYCA will visit Japan to see first-hand how the donations were used to help the earthquake victims in Miyagi. IYCA understands a benefit concert does not end with applause. The students understand compassion but more importantly, their role as goodwill ambassadors and humanitarians on a global level.
We welcome you to join and share your music with us!
IYCA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN # 26-2028743).
