Building a community where music education and performance are valued and shared, serving more than 150 of Southcentral Alaska’s youth through two ensemble programs.
Anchorage Youth Symphony
Serving high school and college age youth musicians with music education and performance in a professional symphony setting and offering access to a future in professional music while building the skills that bring success in any career field they choose.
Symphony School
Serving musicians, grades 4-12, through skill-based training ensembles, preparing them for future musical success in the Anchorage Youth Symphony and other community ensembles by raising their level of musical skill.
Artistic Staff
Music Director
David Platt
Board of Directors
President: Anne Connors
Vice President: Dale Cope
Secretary: Bill Klemm
Treasurer: Mitch Martineau*
Denise Brown-Chythlook
Tricia Elliott
Jodi Rhoades
Danika Watson*
Erin Whitney Witmer*
Pierre Derycz, ex officio
AYO alum*
David Platt
AYO Music Director
David Platt
Mr. Platt joins the AYO team as Music Director, beginning his tenure in the 2026-27 Season! Mr. Platt brings a multifaceted background to AYO. An experienced violinist and music educator, he holds advanced degrees from Butler University and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and will soon earn a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. He recently concluded a three-year Conducting Fellowship with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and has served as cover conductor with the Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Firelands (Ohio), Austin, and Charleston Symphony Orchestras. Mr. Platt has also held positions with the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony and Baldwin Wallace Youth Orchestras, and served as a visiting clinician with the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and the Akron Youth Symphony.
Mr. Platt has appeared internationally in performances spanning symphonic, operatic, ballet, and contemporary music genres. Recent highlights include working with the Myrtus Festival Orquesta (Spain), Orchestra Simfonică a Filarmonicii Pitești (Romania), and the Allegra Festival Orchestra (Bulgaria). Platt made his operatic debut conducting performances of La Traviata with the Kyrgyz National Opera & Ballet Theater in 2019, and has since worked on productions of Hӓnsel und Gretel, Eugene Onegin, H.M.S. Pinafore, Alcina, and Die Zauberflöte. He has been privileged to study under master conductors and pedagogues Nicolás Pasquet, Johannes Schlaefli, David Ebron, Thomas Wilkins, Arthur Fagen, and Carl Topilow, among others.
Pierre Derycz
Pierre is a cellist and composer with a passion for promoting novel concert experiences that reach new audiences. An experienced concert presenter, he worked with the YMF Debut Chamber Orchestra in Los Angeles to produce the world-premiere performance of YEETHOVEN, a program comparing the pioneering artistry of western classical and hip-hop artists, which garnered international media coverage and overflow attendance. As a performer, he has worked with the Los Angeles Opera and Los Angeles Virtuosi orchestras, and is a co-founder of the cross-genre cello ensemble Splntrd Wood and electro-acoustic band String Fever.
Previously, Pierre worked on the development team at UCLA, where he contributed to the stewardship of transformational philanthropy to benefit the university. He concurrently received an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management, with a concentration in nonprofit and social impact enterprises. Pierre currently serves as Executive Director of the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival in Anchorage, Alaska, and recently founded his own venture, Foogmasta Studios, which creates custom covers and arrangements for classical ensembles seeking to diversify their repertoire. Pierre has also left his mark on the scores of several big-picture films; look carefully and you may spot his credit in titles such as Thor: Love and Thunder, Lightyear, Spider-man: Far From Home, and Coco.
Pierre Derycz
Executive Director