LEWISTON — The Youth Orchestra of Lewiston-Auburn will perform its first public concert, featuring “A Tribute to America” program, on Sunday, Nov. 20, at Pathway Vineyard Auditorium.

Rehearsals began on Sept. 12, the day after the country marked the decade anniversary of the Twin Trade Towers terrorist attack. Sunday’s concert falls the weekend between the remembrance of Veterans’ Day and the celebration of Thanksgiving. With these significant dates in mind, YOLA’s musical director and conductor, Linda Vaillancourt, selected four pieces that celebrate American composers and the American spirit for the group’s inaugural performance.

“It seemed to make sense to use America as a theme for the concert,” Vaillancourt said. “I also hoped this would be a good educational experience for the students as we have had some incredible composers in this country such as Aaron Copland.”

Sunday’s concert will open with “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which signals the beginning of countless events and evokes unspoken patriotism. While Francis Scott Key often receives credit for our national anthem from his poem referring to the War of 1812, it was British composer and organist John Stafford Smith who wrote the music in 1775.

The audience will also hear familiar tunes in the orchestra’s performance of Copland’s “Old American Songs,” which consists of several parts written around 1950 while Copland was studying in Rome as a Fulbright Scholar.

For the serious fan of American classical music, the program includes Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings.” Barber wrote his first musical piece at age 7 and received the coveted Joseph H. Bearns Prize from Columbia University at age 18, the youngest age eligible. This particular piece remains his most popular composition.

The concert will finish with Antonin Dvorak’s “String Quartet in F Major,” more commonly referred to as the “American” quartet. Although Dvorak was Czech and not American, he was deeply influenced by American music while living in New York in the late 1800s. This was about the same time he composed his famous “New World Symphony.”

“It was challenging to pick a program for a group I had never met or worked with,” Vaillancourt said. “I had to take a guess at the difficulty level, but we’ve had a great first semester. We have started with a group of 10 students plus a couple of adults who have donated their time to help the students and fill in parts.”

What started as a what-if idea in the summer has been realized in YOLA. The youth string players, ranging in age from 12 to 16 and in experience from 3 years to 7 years, rehearse every Monday evening at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Some knew each other from their respective schools while others met for the first time.

They are Sophie Wallace of Auburn; Ryan Spooner of Sabattus; Samuel Brenner of Livermore; Megan D’Alessandro, Matthew Marchus and Emily Schulz of Lewiston; and Jon Tuttle, Darby Tuttle and Bradley Sperl of Minot.

The Sperl family has continued a family tradition by joining YOLA, bringing three generations to the ensemble. Sperl’s mother, Katy Sperl, and grandmother, Donna Berry, play viola and cello in the orchestra.

“When I started to play violin and was good enough to join an adult orchestra, my mom and I played together in the Sound Symphony on Long Island, N.Y.,” said Katy, who now plays viola. “We continued playing together off and on through my high school years and later played together in AVCO (the former Androscoggin Valley Community Orchestra). In support of YOLA, I am joining Bradley this year and continuing the tradition of playing music with my child.”

Anyone interested in joining YOLA as a student, adult musician or benefactor should send inquiries to [email protected].

Go and do

WHAT: “A Tribute to America” concert

WHO: Youth Orchestra of Lewiston-Auburn

WHEN: 4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 20

WHERE: Pathway Vineyard Auditorium, 9 Foss Road, Lewiston

ADMISSION: Free, with donations welcome at the door