Youth Orchestra is a unique and adaptive experience for area young musicians to grow their talents outside of the typical educational environment. We invest in our students by developing their musical techniques, repertoire, team working ability, and leadership skills. Students in our programs will experience a large range of music from classical composers, modern-day composures, cult classics, ja
zz and improvisation, and even rock n’ roll classics played on electric string instruments! During the school year, we offer three orchestra or ensemble groups that cater to playing ability rather than the age or school year. At registration, students will fill out a skill sheet to help us place them in the correct group rather than an audition. Young musicians with 1-3 years of experience with a comfortable ability to read music may find their best fit in our red orchestra where the emphasis is placed on solidifying the basics in the art of orchestral playing in addition to paying attention to notes, counting, dynamics, bowings, and other musical special effects. Those with 4-10 years of experience are usually placed into the green orchestra where the emphasis is placed teaching a section how to play as one, focusing on the emotions in music through work on bowings and dynamics, honing listening skills, and working as a team. Musical selections in the green orchestra involve complex rhythms, more independent string parts, and various genres to boost their playing ability. Finally, for our advanced high school students, INRUSH is our audition-only level in which challenging music and high-profile performance opportunities develop professional-level playing abilities. Students accepted into this level must be extremely comfortable reading music, possessing higher sight-reading & intonation skills, mastering more complex counting, using vibrato, and at ease with shifting. These students obtain a 100+ song repertoire (60–90-minute set) including holiday and wedding classics, rock n’ roll and pop classics, and senior solos, performing in venues such as the Sellersville Theatre, King of Prussia mall, Pennridge Arts and Music Festival, Peddler’s Village, the Mercer Museum, SEPTA Jefferson Station, MusikFest, and Disneyworld Resort. If these opportunities excite you or your student, please contact us at [email protected] for more information!
