As cofounder and artistic director of the Asian Youth Orchestra, Richard Pontzious says one of his greatest delights is providing talented youngsters with an experience that might become the most significant musical memory of their lives.
Founded by Pontzious and Yehudi Menuhin in 1987, the AYO each year since 1990 has taken more than 100 young people between the ages of 15 and 25 on an intensive six-week musical journey, including a three-week rehearsal camp at the AYO headquarters in Hong Kong and a three-week tour of Asian (and sometimes European) countries. This year they will visit four: Japan, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.
As a music teacher/conductor working in Japan, China and Taiwan, Pontzious says he saw many talented Asian students go West to study and then take positions with orchestras in Europe and the United States. He says he decided to establish the AYO to foster a sense of pride for what can be achieved by Asian musicians in Asia, and therefore help stem the drain of talent.