AJ Schmidt loves playing the flute. He also loves traveling.
Last year, Schmidt, 18, of Murrysville, combined the two when he toured Portugal with the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra.
In a few weeks, Schmidt will be joined by two fellow Franklin Regional students as they pack their bags to tour Greece with the orchestra starting June 16.
“Portugal was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done,” Schmidt said. “I really loved seeing a different culture. It was the first time I’ve gotten to do that.”
He will be joined by violinists Ilana Aranovich and Wesley Kopanic.
“I’m excited to just experience the culture in Greece,” said Kopanic, 15, a freshman.
Aranovich, a 16-year-old junior, has traveled internationally before, but this will be her first time in Europe.
“I’m really interested to play in some of the venues they have in Greece, especially the outdoor venues,” she said.
The trio hasn’t received all the information yet about where they will perform.
“They did kind of hint at some type of amphitheater — definitely that we’d be playing outside,” Aranovich said.
“They also said we may be doing some kind of side-by-side performance with a Greek youth orchestra.”
The group will fly through Frankfurt, Germany, and Istanbul, Turkey, in transit to their destination. During 10 days in Greece, the PYSO will stop in Athens, Kavala, Volos and Thessaloniki, making time to take in the history and culture of the country.
“I’m really excited to just see this stuff I’ve heard about in history class in real life,” Schmidt said. “It’s almost like it’s not real until you see it.”
Before heading for Greece, the PYSO will perform its spring concert at 7:30 p.m. May 17 at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.
They will play Ottorino Respighi’s majestic “Pines of Rome” suite along with pieces from Beethoven, Leonard Bernstein and Rachmaninoff, which they will take overseas on the tour.
For more, see PYSO.org/tickets.