Young People’s Philharmonic Holiday Concert at Lehigh University’s Zoellner Arts Center

I love music and listen to everything from classical to country to Coltrane. Music and photography have so much in common. A well composed photograph has its own visual rhythm and must fit perfectly within a frame . . . a visual musical measure.

Two days ago I photographed the very talented musicians of one of my favorite non-profit groups, the Young People’s Philharmonic (YPP) of the Lehigh Valley. These high school students play the classics just as God and Composer intended: no arrangements or adaptations. Unadulterated Classics!

Jerry and Nancy Bidlack have been conducting youth orchestras for decades. They give children the opportunity to participate in an orchestra. . . the original ‘surround sound’ experience! Nancy conducts the Junior String Philharmonic for middle schoolers and Jerry conducts YPP for high schoolers. My college-aged daughter was a cellist in the orchestra for four years and this past summer interned with a very cool musical group called the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) in Brooklyn.

Here are some senior photos of two YPP cellists I had taken earlier this year.