Portland Youth Philharmonic

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The Portland Youth Philharmonic Association is an organization of several youth orchestras based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony, it is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States.

The Portland Youth Philharmonic Organization consists of four ensembles; the Young String Ensemble, the Portland Youth Conservatory Orchestra, the Portland youth Philharmonic, and the Portland Youth Wind Ensemble. The Portland youth Philharmonic orchestra is very celebrated and is often considered one of the finest youth orchestras in the nation and throughout the world. Membership in PYP is highly competitive, due in part to the number of musicians who move to Portland from various parts of the United States to audition. The majority of the organizations musicians come from a geographic region spanning as far north as Seattle, Washington and as far south as Salem, Oregon.

Mei Ann Chen is the current director of The Portland Youth Philharmonic. Ms. Chen is a graduate of the New England Conservatory, and is the first person in the conservatories history to double major in both violin performance and conducting. While at NEC, she was awarded two of the conservatories most prestigious awards, and is also the first person in history to receive both. More recently, she has won the Nicolai Malko International conducting Competition for young conductors, prevailing over a pool of approximately 210 participants. As a result, she has gained international recognition which has led to her engagements with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and several European orchestras.