The Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy is a registered non-profit organization and is governed by a Board of Directors. From its modest beginnings as a small string orchestra in 1982, under the tutelage of founder and Music Director John Gomez, the Academy has developed into several well-established ensembles, including five string groups: Beginner Strings, Primary Strings, Junior Strings, Intermediat
e Strings and Senior Strings as well as Junior Brass, Beginner Bassoon, French Horn and Harp ensembles. The Intermediate
and Senior Wind ensembles specialize in Chamber Music and there are Beginner Bassoon and French Horn ensembles. In support of all of these ensembles the Academy offers classes in pre-school music experience and a range of music theory instruction. Finally, there are two full symphonic orchestras known as the Ottawa Youth Concert Orchestra and the Ottawa Youth Symphony Orchestra. The original purpose in founding the Academy was to fulfil a need in the community for the training of young string players in ensemble playing. What has evolved not only fully meets this need but also provides the same opportunities to woodwind, brass and percussion students. The enrolment in the Academy is now about 350 and includes some of the best young musicians in the area. The Academy also offers a summer camp program. For all these musicians, aged between 3 and 21 years, the Academy adds the discipline, excitement, and satisfaction of working in ensembles to the solo study of their instruments. To effectively support such an ambitious program, the Academy has established a full teaching structure providing instruction on the playing of strings, percussion, woodwinds, and brass instruments in an ensemble. Our conductors and coaches are themselves all participants in the musical life of our city, and many are also regular performers at the National Arts Centre. The students of the OYOA regularly perform in the Kiwanis Music Festival and MusicFest, as part of their regular ensembles and also in smaller ensembles, as well as individually. In the past years, our students have represented the National Capital Region provincially and nationally as a result of winning their class in the local festival. In addition to a well-supported season of concerts featuring the Symphony and Concert Orchestras (formerly OYO and OJYO), the OYOA sponsors two free family concerts each year at which all the ensembles perform. The general public is welcome to attend these free concerts to hear the amazing music talent at large in our area and for potential students to identify if they would enjoy the challenges and achievements coming from membership in the OYOA.
