This past week, the South American premiere of Philip Glass’ 2001 Cello Concerto was done by Wendy Sutter with the Youth Orchestras of the Americas.  If you haven’t heard of the organization, I suggest you check it out.  It’s comprised of young musicians up to age 30, from all of the Americas: from Québec to Chile.  They are an international organization performing all over the place.

Last year, Sutter and Glass were approached by the founder and president of the YOA, Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg, who invited Glass to be composer-in-residence with the orchestra, invited Sutter to come and perform Glass’ neglected Cello Concerto, and for the work to be recorded with this orchestra.

It’s a remarkable institution.  Just check out this film The Legacy which follows the orchestra and all its tremendous personal stories and how they are all tied together, brought together by music.  As they put it “11 stories, 11 lives, saved by music.”

Anyway, from the  Reviews which I’m managed to wash through Google Translator, not only was the Glass residency a success, Sutter’s performance was as well, and at the end of the preview piece which was written in advance of the first concert, that the Cello Concerto was also being recorded by the YOA with Sutter and conducted by Dante Anzolini who we remember from his conducting debut of Satyagraha at the Metropolitan Opera.