FSYO says Farewell to John Dupuis

FSYO101313-0359Today, we announce the departure of one of our long-time conductors and FSYO Alumni. We wish Mr. Dupuis nothing but the best. He has played a large role in growing the Philharmonia Orchestra and his leadership has been invaluable. Mr. Dupuis will finish the remainder of the 2013-2014 season, assist us with auditions for 2014-2015 and return to FSYO in future seasons as a guest conductor.

"I appreciate everything that FSYO has given me, both as a student and as a conductor. I hold this establishment in high regard, and believe it provides an outstanding place for young musicians to develop. I've had 7 great years with FSYO and am very thankful to all who have helped me along the way. As a student in FSYO, I was afforded many musical performance opportunities that I would not have found elsewhere. As a conductor, I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to conduct both the Philharmonia and Symphonic Orchestras, and will always remember these great experiences as I continue my music education career. I would like to thank Andrew Lane, Donna McCue, Heide Waldron, all of my students/parents, and everyone else who has believed in my abilities and trusted me with the great task of teaching our community's musicians. I always have and always will believe that FSYO is one of the best places for Central Florida's musicians to flourish." - Best wishes to all members of the FSYO family, John Dupuis Conductor Philharmonia Orchestra

"John Dupuis talent has brought something very special to FSYO and the Philharmonia Orchestra. John has a clear understanding of how to inspire young musicians. Under his leadership, he developed the orchestra into an ensemble capable of performing major orchestra repertoire. He will be missed but his contribution to FSYO will not be forgotten." - Andrew Lane, FSYO Music Director and Symphonic Orchestra Conductor

"In his tenure with FSYO, John Dupuis has distinguished himself as a student musician, composer, teacher and conductor. We are proud of the role FSYO played in his music education as a high school student, and grateful for his contributions as a member of our staff for the last seven years. We wish him well in this new chapter of his life. John is a valued member of the FSYO family, and we look forward to a continued relationship with him." - Donna McCue, FSYO Board President

FSYO Announces Matthew Davis, Incoming Philharmonia Conductor for 2014-2015 Season

 

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We are thrilled to announce that Matthew Davis will take over for John Dupuis as the Philharmonia Conductor for our upcoming 2014-2015 season. Mr. Davis is the current FSYO Prelude Orchestra Conductor. 

More Information on Mr. Davis: 

Matthew Davis is currently Director of Strings at the Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in Lakeland, Florida. In addition to conducting the Harrison Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Davis also teaches music theory, music composition, and chamber music. Under his direction, the Harrison Symphony Orchestra was selected to perform at the 2007 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago and the 2010 Festival des Anches in La Croix Valmer, France. Currently, Mr. Davis is on the faculty of the Florida State University Summer Music Camps, where he co-conducts the Symphony String, Guarneri and Chamber orchestras. An active All-County clinician, Mr. Davis has conducted middle school and high school honors orchestras in Tampa, Fort Myers, and Naples, Florida as well as San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Davis holds a Master of Music Education from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Music in cello performance from Indiana University.

Mr. Davis was recently awarded a Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship to travel to the Netherlands to study Baroque cello at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He has also been named Harrison School for the Arts Teacher of the Year for 2011-12. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Director of Orchestras at Denton High School in Denton, Texas, during which time his orchestra was named first runner-up in the Texas Honor Orchestra Competition. In 2004, Mr. Davis was presented with the Marjorie Keller Young Teacher Award by the Texas chapter of the American String Teachers Association.

As a cellist, Mr. Davis has studied with Lubomir Georgiev, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Helga Winold, Nathaniel Rosen, and Richard Aaron and served as the assistant principal cello of the Tallahassee Symphony. He performed on tour with the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra in the United States, Russia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, and in chamber music programs at the Encore School for Strings, the Quartet Program, and the Chautauqua Institute. Mr. Davis is a member of the American String Teachers Association and the Florida Music Educators Association. He currently serves as the All-State Music Committee Chair and District 12 Chair for the Florida Orchestra Association.

FSYO to host 2013-2014 Season Finale

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For Immediate Release

April 15, 2014

The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra Presents its 57th Season Finale Concert

The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra would like to celebrate another outstanding season with a thoughtfully crafted collection of classical music masterpieces. The FSYO's 57th Season Finale will take place on Sunday, May 4, 2014, at the historic Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre in Downtown Orlando. All four of the organization's award winning youth orchestras will be performing and will feature soloist and Concerto Competition finalist, Tyler Pacheco, 17 (viola), performing the 1st Movement of the Walton Viola Concerto. Forty graduating seniors will also be recognized for their unbreakable dedication to FSYO and to furthering their classical music development.

The FSYO strives to recognize our students' talents and give them opportunities to showcase that talent in the best venues. About soloing on stage at the Bob Carr, Tyler says, "I think it is everyone's dream to play as a soloist with an orchestra, there is nothing like it. I have wanted to play with an orchestra since I can remember, and to be given the opportunity on such a grand stage, with the Symphonic Orchestra at the Bob Carr center, it truly feels like a dream come true."

The Viola Concerto by William Walton was the piece that brought Walton to the forefront of British Classical Music. This piece has proven to be technically challenging for even the most accomplished violists, but Tyler feels that "getting the composer's wishes across to the audience is more challenging than any sixteenth note run". We hope that you will join us as Tyler tackles this piece, backed by his peers of FSYO's Symphonic Orchestra.

FSYO will also host a silent auction to take place during the event, featuring items from some of Central Florida's best restaurant, retail and entertainment venues. Proceeds will serve to support and enhance the opportunities FSYO can offer to nurture the talents of young musicians throughout Central Florida.

The concert will begin at 4 p.m. at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, 401 W Livingston St, Downtown Orlando on Sunday, May 4, 2014. Tickets range from $8.00 to $16.00 and can be purchased via www.fsyo.org. As usual, all teachers receive free admission to this and all FSYO concerts.

About the Soloist: Award winning violist, Tyler Pacheco, 17, is a senior at Lake Highland Preparatory School. Tyler has played the viola since age 9. This is Tyler's fourth year as a member of the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra, this year holding the principal violist position.

About FSYO: The FSYO, currently in its 57th Concert Season, comprises three full orchestras, one string training orchestra and various chamber groups, made up of more than 250 students from eight Central Florida counties, including Orange, Osceola, Lee, Seminole, Brevard, Lake, Highlands and Volusia. Programs are sponsored in part by the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs; the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Darden Restaurant Foundation; Universal Orlando Foundation; TD Bank; and United Arts of Central Florida. We thank these groups for their generous support. The FSYO is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For more information, please visit www.fsyo.org.

Sing-Song, String-Along Wrap-Up

This season marked the start of something wonderful and new for FSYO: the launch of the new beginning violin program, Sing-Song, String-Along. Graciously funded by TD Bank, Sing-Song, String-Along is a music education program focused on nurturing the musical, social, and cognitive development of primary-age children, through the study of the violin in a small-group setting.

For 15 weeks, 12 young, budding musicians and their parents met, learned, laughed and grew as the program's first-ever class. Lessons combined music engagement, ear training, and fine motor skill development as students learned beginning violin. One of the best parts of the program was the student-parent interaction. Students and parents learned to hold the instrument and bow comfortably, correct bow placement and how to recognize and produce a beautiful tone on their instrument. Parents were asked to actively participate in each class in order to continue empowering their little learners at home, which they did, and it proved to play a significant role in the success of the program.

In order to wrap-up the program and show off what they learned, the students of Sing-Song, String-Along presented an open house, on Sunday, February 16th at the College Park Baptist Church. The event was filled with family, friends and a beautiful rendition of "Chicken on a Fence Post". We are so proud of our students and would like to congratulate them on a job well done. We look forward to watching their development and to the future success of the program!

FSYO Power2Give Project Fully Funded

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To close out 2013, the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra launched its first Power2Give campaign in hopes of raising the funds needed to replace the organization's old, worn conductor's podium. Well, we did it! - or should we say YOU did it! Thanks to the help of some generous supporters and an anonymous donor who agreed to match some funds, the FSYO will be purchasing a new, sturdy conductor's podium and road case that will serve us for years to come. We hope to debut the podium at the Finale Concert in May and will post updates, as the time gets closer.

For those unfamiliar with the site, power2give.org is similar to crowd funding websites, such as kickstarter.com and indiegogo.com, but is geared toward assisting in the fundraising of non-profit arts organizations. If you wanted to donate to this project but didn't get the chance, don't fret; we are always working on something and could always use your help! Future donations can be made here and be on the look out for our future power2give campaigns!

FSYO to host The Children Helping Children Concert


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For Immediate Release

February 25, 2014

Spring into Music with the FSYO Annual Children Helping Children Concert

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra, in partnership with The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, presents their annual Children Helping Children Concert on Sunday, March 9, 2014. FSYO's pre-professional Symphonic Orchestra, with special soloists and Concerto Competition Finalists: Rebecca Edge and John Horzen, will perform in hopes of introducing young concertgoers to classical music while increasing awareness, raising funds and collecting donations for Second Harvest Food Bank. An ongoing partnership, all proceeds of this event will go to The Second Harvest Food Bank as they fight to end hunger and feed hope.

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Students from FSYO's Symphonic Orchestra celebrate a successful community partnership in 2013!

Families all over Central Florida are struggling to get by and, far too often, hard decisions must be made that leave little to no money for food. According to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, over 150 thousand children are struggling with hunger in our area every day. The Second Harvest Food Bank pools and allocates donations to over 500 nonprofit community partners such as shelters, soup kitchens and pantries, who then distribute items to those in need. With help from donations, $1 can turn into up to $9 in food, and can make real difference. With your help, fewer Central Florida children will go to bed hungry.

The concert will begin at 3:00 p.m. at the College Park Baptist Church, located at 1914 Edgewater Drive, Orlando, FL 32804. Admission can be obtained traditionally by purchasing tickets via www.fsyo.org or by bringing 5-10 canned goods per person to donate to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. As usual, all teachers receive free admission to this and all FSYO concerts.

About The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Food: Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is a non-profit organization with a vision of a hunger-free Central Florida. They work to realize this vision by providing access to food and other grocery products in order to meet the need of nutritious food in our community. The organization mobilizes leaders and communities by bringing visibility to the invisible problem of hunger and poverty throughout the six Central Florida countries in which the agency works: Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia. The goal of the organization is to provide availability and access to food and other grocery products in order to close the gap between need for food and availability by having programs such as Grocery Alliance, Community Kitchen, Hi-Five Kids Pack Program and Kids Café, among others. For more information please visit http://www.foodbankcentralflorida.org

About FSYO: The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra aims to educate and inspire Central Florida's top young musicians via programs committed to strengthening musical talents and developing appreciation of the arts through classical music. The FSYO, in its 57th Concert Season, comprises three full orchestras, one string training orchestra and various chamber groups, made up of more than 250 students from eight Central Florida counties, including Orange, Osceola, Lee, Seminole, Brevard, Lake, Highlands and Volusia. Programs are sponsored in part by the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs; the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Darden Restaurant Foundation; Universal Orlando Foundation; and United Arts of Central Florida. We thank these groups for their generous support. The FSYO is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For more information, please visit www.fsyo.org.

Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras | (407) 999-7800 | info@fsyo.org

Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras is sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts. FSYO is also funded in part by United Arts of Central Florida, your local agency for the arts. 

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Thank you to our 2023-2024 Scholarship sponsor, Kiwanis Club of Orlando Foundation.

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Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras is a proud member of the League of American Orchestras and the Edyth Bush Institute.

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