Event information
The Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (CPYO) presents a Youth Day concert of light classics, film music, and world music at the Baxter Concert Hall, conducted by Liam Burden and presented by Aviva Pelham. The programme draws from a broad range of repertoire, including Leroy Anderson’s “Bugler’s Holiday,” film music from Frozen, The Lion King, and Pirates of the Caribbean, and world music arrangements including Lord of the Dance, Miriam Makeba, and “Jerusalema.”
The CPYO is the flagship youth orchestra of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), one of South Africa’s leading professional orchestras with roots dating to 1914. The CPYO draws 70 young musicians from across the city and surrounding communities, with CPO musicians teaching youth from Gugulethu, Langa, Khayelitsha, Atlantis, Mamre, and Nyanga through the orchestra’s outreach programmes.
Conductor Liam Burden was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the CPYO in June 2024. He holds an MMus cum laude from Stellenbosch University, has conducted the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gauteng Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Stellenbosch University Symphony Orchestra, and was a finalist in the Len van Zyl Conductors’ Competition.