The Las Vegas Youth Philharmonic took part in the 2011 American Celebration of Music in the People’s Republic of China. Director Charles A. Jackson had this to say about the experience:
I recently had the distinct pleasure of conducting the Las Vegas Youth Orchestra Philharmonic on their trip to China. I want to say this from the onset: EVERYONE OF YOU IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Because of your hard work and dedication, 58 teenagers had a life changing trip to China. Everything you did to pave the way, from booking hotels and airline tickets, to arranging ground transportation, to expediting visas, to procuring instruments, to setting up day trips, to typing up endless reams of correspondence, to worrying about all the small details that make a trip a success, has had a lifelong impact on my students. I have never seen a group of teenagers in such awe of a culture, so proud of performances, and so thankful for this opportunity, AND IT WAS YOU, ALL OF YOU, WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE. At every step of the way, not one thing went wrong. Every hotel was perfect, every venue was perfect, the instruments you arranged for us to use were perfect, the tour guides were perfect, the bus drivers were perfect, the meals were perfect. By ensuring that you did your job to the highest degree, you gave 58 teenagers the opportunity of a lifetime. As one young lady said to me, not a little emotionally, as we were leaving Beijing: “Jackson, I don’t want to go home.” Your hard work can be summed up in that one statement. You made the experience so wonderful the kids didn’t miss being home. Think about teenagers and what they have here and you will see why that is a wonderfully profound statement. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity afforded to my kids for those ten days. Everything you did, and will continue to do, has profoundly changed 58 teenagers’ lives. Please continue to be amazing so the next group will have the same, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Trust me when I say that you made a difference in 58 lives!!!!!!
Charles A. Jackson, Music Director Las Vegas Youth Philharmonic Las Vegas, Nevada