COLUMBIA, Md. — Some of Howard County's top young musicians will get a chance to play alongside the alt-rock band Guster at Columbia's Merriweather Post Pavilion this spring.
It's part of a major rebrand for the county's High School Gifted and Talented Orchestra, which is now being called the Howard County Youth Orchestra. The orchestra is Howard County Public School System's premier high school performing ensemble.
For teens like Amber Sears, an orchestra member and a student at Reservoir High School, the May 21 show is a chance to perform in front of potentially thousands of people. Guster became popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and had hits including "Amsterdam," "Fa Fa," and "Satellite."
Amber performed with another Guster show, in Washington, D.C., in November. "That was a smaller venue at the Lincoln Theatre, and that for me was just really cool being able to look out into the audience and seeing the faces of people who are smiling having fun and singing along, because you don't get that at orchestra concerts," she said.
Merriweather will be even bigger. Amber noted:
"I've been to a lot of concerts myself, but I've never been up on the stage at one of them."
Orchestra conductor Colin O'Bryan, who's been involved with the orchestra for about 10 years and whose brother was even a street rep for Guster in college, said the orchestra's new name helps change a moniker that was ""just a little clunky." Orchestra leaders also hope to focus more on adding to experiences that the students already get in school, which they hope mean more events like this Guster show.
O'Bryan said "these kids are really leaning into this program."
"This music is fun. This music is really, really fun to play, so giving these kids an opportunity to really enjoy the performance part of it in front of a really receptive audience, that's going to be great."
The performance is made possible through a partnership between Howard County Public School System with Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission, as well as the Columbia Festival of the Arts.
Tickets go on sale March 17 and can be bought on Ticketmaster.com .
