About Delaware County Youth Orchestra
AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN
Founded in 1973, the Delaware County Youth Orchestra is a highly selective ensemble of nearly 100 talented young musicians through senior year of high school. Now in its 38th season, this full-fledged symphony orchestra is dedicated to providing young people of exceptional ability with an opportunity to learn and perform major works from the standard symphonic repertoire. Although the orchestra’s home base is in Delaware County, members come from throughout the tri-county area as well as from Philadelphia, New Jersey, and the state of Delaware. The discipline involved in acquiring the musical skill necessary to participate in this group is both rewarding and exhilarating. The increase in the number of students auditioning for the orchestra over the past decade has resulted in greater selectivity in admissions, and in turn has resulted in performances of higher and higher caliber. In 1989, a new intermediate orchestra—the Delaware Valley Young Musicians’ Orchestra—was founded for players not quite ready for the Delaware County Youth Orchestra. The Young Musicians' Orchestra rehearses weekly and gives two concerts during the academic year.
FOUR CONCERTS A YEAR
The Delaware County Youth Orchestra presents four concerts a year in locations throughout the Delaware Valley, free of charge whenever possible. It has also performed at the Rose Tree Summer Festival and participated in the Festival of Youth Orchestras in the United States and Canada. The DCYO welcomes the opportunity to perform in communities where efforts are being made by school, college, or civic organizations to stimulate interest in serious music among young people. The Delaware County Youth Orchestra is incorporated under the Non-Profit Law of Pennsylvania. Financial support comes from individuals, corporations, and foundations; among these are the Donald P. Jones, the Elsie Lee Garthwaite, the Presser, and the Strine Foundations, and the Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Memorial Fund. All contributions are tax deductible.
DISTINGUISHED CONDUCTORS
In its formative years, the podium was shared by James Freeman, Eugene Narmour, Richard Wernick, and Jerome Wigler. Dr. Narmour was musical director from 1975 to 1980. He was succeeded by Rosalind Erwin, who conducted the orchestra for the next seven years. Richard Vanstone, who was also conductor of the West Chester University Orchestra, was conductor and music director from 1987 to 2002. J. Karla Lemon was conductor and music director during the 2002-2003 season. Thomas Hong, who also conducted the Haverford/Bryn Mawr College Orchestra, conducted the orchestra from 2003 to 2005. The students have also enjoyed the privilege of working under such notable guest conductors as Robert Page and William Smith.
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Brad Smith was named Music Director and Conductor of the Delaware County Youth Orchestra at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season. Dr. Smith is also Music Director and Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Audio Nexus ensemble at the University of Pennsylvania. Originally trained as a trumpeter in the state of Texas, Smith holds degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and Stephen F. Austin State University. His primary teachers were Kevin Noe, Jerry Junkin, and Kevin Sedatole.
Dr. Smith recently served as guest clinician on the faculty of the American Festival for the Arts and is active as a clinician and adjudicator in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Texas. He has conducted a program featuring the music of Samuel Barber for the award-winning arts program “The Front Row” on Houston PBS affiliate KUHF. Smith has written on the topic of programming philosophies and has a strong interest in the promotion of living composers. He maintains professional memberships in the College Orchestra Directors Association, League of American Orchestras, College Music Society, and the Conductors Guild. He and his wife Becki have two daughters, Emily and Heather.
VISITING ARTISTS PROGRAM: “BEYOND THE NOTES”
The spring of 2009 marked the beginning of a new annual program for DCYO – its distinguished visiting artists program. On March 17, 2009, at the invitation of music director Brad Smith, award-winning composer Jennifer Higdon visited a DCYO rehearsal to help the students rehearse her composition blue cathedral, which the orchestra had programmed for its May concerts. During this session Ms. Higdon provided invaluable feedback about the piece, including its compositional history and the specific techniques required to perform it successfully. She also talked at some length about the career path that led to her success as a composer and fielded many questions in general about life as a musician. Her insights proved to be invaluable to the students in terms of interpretation and perspective.
At the suggestion of Dr. Smith, the DCYO Board of Directors agreed to establish an annual guest program, which would consist of an evening where a noted performer, composer, or music educator – or a panel of several of these distinguished musicians – would discuss specific works the students were performing that semester and also discuss music as a career. The program would be funded in its initial years by a grant received at the end of the 2008-2009 season from an anonymous donor. Dr. Smith suggested that this program be called “Beyond the Notes,” an exploration of the implications that extend beyond simply mastering the notes on the page.
CAMP TOCKWOGH
Each September, the DCYO travels to Camp Tockwogh on the Chesapeake Bay for a weekend of intense rehearsal time, as well as fun and relaxation. The Camp Tockwogh retreat helps to consolidate the orchestra as a group by bringing together new and returning students.
PROFILE OF DCYO MEMBERSHIP
The Delaware County Youth Orchestra is a highly selective, full-size symphony orchestra of talented students through senior year of high school. DCYO students come from a wider geographic area than the name implies: during the 2008-2009 season, 49% came from Delaware County, 25% from Chester County, 22% from Montgomery County, and 4% from other areas in the Greater Philadelphia area. In 2008-2009, approximately 90% of the members were high school students, the majority of whom were juniors and seniors. Exceptionally advanced middle school students made up about 10% of the orchestra's membership. Approximately 75% of the students attended public schools, 12% attended private schools, and 13% were schooled at home. During 2008-2009, 50% of the students were male and 50% were female.
DCYO members tend to be high achievers, both musically and academically. Over the past few years DCYO students have been accepted at such prestigious music schools as the Cleveland Institute, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Eastman School of Music, the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Northwestern University, Oberlin Conservatory, and Peabody Conservatory. In recent years, a third to a half of our graduating seniors have gone on to major in music. Other recent graduates are attending such highly selective schools as Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, and Penn.
DELAWARE VALLEY YOUNG MUSICIANS' ORCHESTRA
For information about the Delaware Valley Young Musicians’ Orchestra, please click here.