[ Mozart's "Marriage Of Figaro ♪♪ ♪♪ >> Hello and a warm welcome to "Youth Music of the World."

Throughout the series we're saluting young American musicians and showcasing their performances at some of Europe's most iconic venues.

In this program, we're visiting Rome and the Church of Santa Maria in Portico Campitelli Here's the Nebraska Youth Orchestra with Rossini's "Overture to La Cenerentola."

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] The Nebraska Youth Orchestra, and more from them later on.

Also performing in this beautiful venue, the Woodward Academy Concert Band.

Their leader is Kenny Beard.

>> We prepared a variety of pieces.

Ones that stick out in my mind are "Just a Closer Walk with Thee," which is basically a Dixieland jazz piece, which we did for entertainment purposes.

But it's also a great, you know, it has a good message.

We did the Ukrainian Bell Carol, which is so familiar that we knew people would love it.

And so we enjoy performing that one.

And then "Still, still still," which adds to the variety of our program because it's a ballad, it's very sweet and it's very gentle and very enjoyable.

Beautiful sonorities.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Applause ] >> Performing in the venue in the church was...

It was really an interesting experience.

I've never performed in -- I've never performed in a church.

I thought the acoustics were really cool.

It made the sound of the band so full and so loud, but not an obnoxious loud.

It was a very smooth sound.

>> I'm pretty sure my favorite piece of music has to be "Just a Closer Walk with Thee," mainly because of the jazz portion in the start of it.

I think that throughout all the pieces and throughout all the pieces I've played, period in band, I've never really played a piece that jazzy other than when I'm in a jazz band, of course, but to be in Italy and to play, like, and to just hear all this saxophone pieces and like the flute solo, it really was like -- it really was enjoyable.

It was.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> All: Whoo!

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] >> So the Santa Maria in Portico in Campitelli is an amazing venue.

It is intimate, but the acoustic-- the acoustical environment is crazy good.

I mean, it's just really fine.

We were sort of worried because we had a smaller group that we would not be able to fill up a humongous cathedral, and this church was perfect for our group because it -- the acoustics were wonderful.

Our group didn't create so much sound energy that it, you know, blew out people's ears.

It was very warm, very, very nice.

And we enjoyed performing there.

>> Santa Maria in Portico in Campitelli really is a historic church.

Martina Moroni spoke with the priest there.

>> Interpreter: The construction of the Basilica of Sant'Andrea della Valle began in the 1500s.

It was completed around 1650.

The Duchess of Amalfi, a benefactor of the faith and order, donated this land and also financed the church's construction.

The entire Amalfi Coast held deep devotion to Saint Andrew, and she requested the church to be dedicated to him, entrusting the project to the Theatines.

The church was built on the side of the original church of San Sebastiano, as tradition holds that the body of Saint Sebastian was found here.

When entering Sant'Andrea, it's important to remember that this is first and foremost a church, not merely a work of art.

The spirituality here is profound, and the art itself represents more than its physical beauty.

It reflects the divine.

Whether it's the famous Barberini Chapel, the frescoes by Domenichino, Lanfranco, or Mattia Preti, every piece speaks to the presence of God.

Visitors, including American students, should be aware that they are in a sacred space where God communicates to the art and beauty around them.

Above all, one can feel the presence of God in this place.

>> Another group of young American musicians who were enjoying their trip to Rome were Charlottesville High School and their wind ensemble.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Charlottesville High School.

Jason Hackworth is their music director.

>> The piece definitely has its challenges.

Um, it's probably not the most difficult thing we'll play with our ensembles.

Our -- The band that I teach really enjoys being challenged and me putting really hard music in front of them.

Um, and so while "Into the Joy of Spring" has its challenges, we also knew that we were going to be without instruments for about two weeks before we got a chance to play it.

And we didn't want to overreach.

And so I wanted to give them something they would be really successful with and sound great on.

Um, and I think they did a great job with it.

>> Performing in Rome is a special moment for the students.

>> I mean, the church we played it in was -- it was so much more incredible than I could have possibly imagined.

The whole time before we went, there were people telling us, "It's better than you can imagine."

I was like, "There's no way."

And then we got there and it's just stunning visuals everywhere.

And the acoustics, I think they're the best acoustics I'm ever going to hear in my life.

I think the audience was...

It was kind of very surprising.

I'd never been somewhere and playing, and then people just walked in and they just listened to us, and it was so awesome not just to play for our parents, but to also play for a bunch of other people and be able to share this love of music with other people.

>> Let's hear again from the Nebraska Youth Orchestra.

This is "Ave verum corpus" by Mozart.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Applause ] Thanks to the students from the Nebraska Youth Orchestra, the Woodward Academy Concert Band, and the Charlottesville High School Wind Ensemble.

Join us next time for another edition of "Youth Music of the World," with more American students playing in iconic European venues.

Thank you for joining us.

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