About
Portland Youth Philharmonic presents performances such as the Spring Chamber Music Concert, the Firebird Finale Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (PYP), the Camerata Spring Concert, and Children’s Concerts. The program also includes activities such as Family Field Trips, the PPI Piano Competition, a Peer Mentor Program, Conductor Visits, Double Bass Classes, and Master Classes. PYP offers School Music Enrichment Programs that provide no-cost bass classes and middle school coaching for youth from the community, supported by conductor visits to school ensembles around the region.
Portland Youth Philharmonic was founded in 1924 and is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States. It celebrated 100 years in the 2023–2024 season and marks 102 years with its 102nd birthday on February 14. The structure and standards established in the 1920s became a prototype for youth orchestras across the country, and PYP has created a digital museum with HistoryIT and a Friends of PYP network for alumni, families, and audience members. The organization has presented international tours to Europe and Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Taiwan, and an East Coast tour that included Carnegie Hall, and it has participated in events such as the Oregon Symphony’s Waterfront Concert and Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival.
The leadership history includes Mary V. Dodge, who conducted the Irvington School Orchestra and established the Portland Junior Symphony, followed by musical directors Jacques Gershkovitch, Jacob Avshalomov, Huw Edwards, Mei-Ann Chen, and David Hattner, who is the fifth musical director. David Hattner holds a Bachelor of Music degree with honors from Northwestern University, studied clarinet with Robert Marcellus, and attended the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen three times, studying with David Zinman and Murry Sidlin. At the time she was selected as musical director, Mei-Ann Chen was a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan and had completed a double master’s degree in violin performance and orchestral conducting from the New England Conservatory, and she later won the International Malko Competition for Young Conductors in Copenhagen, Denmark, becoming the first woman to win since the competition began in 1965.
PYP states that it is committed to being a welcoming and safe community for young musicians and their families of all cultures, races, religions, genders, sexual orientations, and circumstances. The program has received multiple ASCAP Awards for “Adventuresome Programming of Contemporary Music” and for “Adventurous Programming and Commitment to Contemporary Music.” Its Peer Mentor Program is nationally acclaimed, and PYP presented what it describes as the world’s first interactive Children’s Concert broadcast via satellite across Oregon.
Reviews have noted the orchestra’s performances, including a description in The Oregonian that “The Portland Youth Philharmonic roared like a Maserati on Saturday in its first concert under music director David Hattner. The route was challenging, the execution distinguished and the ride delightful.” The Chicago Tribune cited PYP’s programming and execution as “brilliant in all departments.”
Last updated April 14, 2026.
Portland Youth Philharmonic was founded in 1924 and is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States. It celebrated 100 years in the 2023–2024 season and marks 102 years with its 102nd birthday on February 14. The structure and standards established in the 1920s became a prototype for youth orchestras across the country, and PYP has created a digital museum with HistoryIT and a Friends of PYP network for alumni, families, and audience members. The organization has presented international tours to Europe and Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Taiwan, and an East Coast tour that included Carnegie Hall, and it has participated in events such as the Oregon Symphony’s Waterfront Concert and Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival.
The leadership history includes Mary V. Dodge, who conducted the Irvington School Orchestra and established the Portland Junior Symphony, followed by musical directors Jacques Gershkovitch, Jacob Avshalomov, Huw Edwards, Mei-Ann Chen, and David Hattner, who is the fifth musical director. David Hattner holds a Bachelor of Music degree with honors from Northwestern University, studied clarinet with Robert Marcellus, and attended the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen three times, studying with David Zinman and Murry Sidlin. At the time she was selected as musical director, Mei-Ann Chen was a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan and had completed a double master’s degree in violin performance and orchestral conducting from the New England Conservatory, and she later won the International Malko Competition for Young Conductors in Copenhagen, Denmark, becoming the first woman to win since the competition began in 1965.
PYP states that it is committed to being a welcoming and safe community for young musicians and their families of all cultures, races, religions, genders, sexual orientations, and circumstances. The program has received multiple ASCAP Awards for “Adventuresome Programming of Contemporary Music” and for “Adventurous Programming and Commitment to Contemporary Music.” Its Peer Mentor Program is nationally acclaimed, and PYP presented what it describes as the world’s first interactive Children’s Concert broadcast via satellite across Oregon.
Reviews have noted the orchestra’s performances, including a description in The Oregonian that “The Portland Youth Philharmonic roared like a Maserati on Saturday in its first concert under music director David Hattner. The route was challenging, the execution distinguished and the ride delightful.” The Chicago Tribune cited PYP’s programming and execution as “brilliant in all departments.”
Last updated April 14, 2026.
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