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ORLANDO, FL - On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras (FSYO) students, families, and staff will embark on an experience of a lifetime for a Concert Tour around Italy. Travelers will spend 12 days exploring multiple Italian cities (Milan, Pavia, Cremona, Venice, Florence, Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto, Rome) with performances taking place in Pavia, Venice, Perugia, and Rome. This trip is an immersion into Italian food, music, and breathtaking landmarks like the famous Palazzo del Comune which is the home to many original Stradivarius instruments. Repertoire includes pieces by Italian and American composers such as Gershwin, Puccini, and Rossini, and FSYO is excited to debut its Tour Jazz Band on this tour as well!

Dr. Welsch, FSYO Music Director, shares how their travels will impact both FSYO students and the Italian Audiences: "These students are going to be able to experience music, culture, and art, and share the same through their musical program. We are preparing music that is distinctly cosmopolitan, slightly edgy. It is music one might expect a touring American youth orchestra to be playing, however, an Italian audience-goer might expect to hear the amazing cross pollination of musical styles present in the works of Weill, Gershwin, Shostakovich, and much more."

Additionally, Concerto for Clarinet, a work by American Clarinetist Artie Shaw, will feature one of FSYO’s 2022 Concerto Competition winners, Adian May. This piece, along with four others, highlights a collaboration between classical and jazz music that is a cornerstone of this tour program and FSYO’s ongoing efforts. May recently performed the piece with members from FSYO’s Alphonse Carlo Jazz Band and Symphonic Orchestra at the 66th Season Classical Finale in May 2023.

Come enjoy the tour concert program before FSYO leaves by attending the Tour Send Off Concert! Taking place at 6 PM on June 25, 2023 at Reiter Park of Longwood, this event is FREE to the public, and the students are eager to share their tour repertoire with the Central Florida Community.

ORLANDO, FL – Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras (FSYO), in partnership with the Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2), welcomes back the Composers in Residency program with an added component. The Composers in Residency program is a partnership between FSYO and CF2 that began in 2019, and this collaboration gave CF2 composers the opportunity to have their pieces premiered and performed. In its inaugural year, the selected composers created pieces centered around the theme “Pulse,” tasked with interpreting the word into their compositions. The idea was to reflect on the lives lost at the Orlando Pulse shooting, the musical term, or even human blood pumping through the heart.

During the first phase of this collaboration, CF2 composers directly worked with FSYO’s ensembles and conductors, but entering this season, CF2 and FSYO wanted to take the program to the next level by providing FSYO Students and Alumni interested in music composition the opportunity to work alongside and be mentored by the CF2 Composer in Residency. The idea is to have both the professional and student composer working on pieces simultaneously to be premiered side by side during the same concert, and over the course of a year, the mentor (Composer) and mentee (Student) would meet up to discuss their pieces, any challenges they were facing, etc. For this next phase, the pairings between CF2 composers and FSYO students were as followed:

Alphonse Carlo Jazz Band: Alex Burtzos and Victor Acuna
Prelude Orchestra: Brando Martin and Cole Spencer
Philharmonia Orchestra: Seunghee Lee and Isabelle Tseng
Symphonic Orchestra: Keith Lay and Alex Hynds

These eight compositions will be premiered over the course of the following 12 months beginning this Saturday at the Alphonse Carlo Jazz Band’s 66th Season Finale! The other six works will premiere during FSYO’s 67th Season (August 2023 to May 2024). Burtzos and Acuna are looking forward to sharing their pieces with the world and excited they are kicking off the premieres.

"Sin City is a raucous, fast-paced swing tune meant to evoke the glitz, glamor, and heady adrenaline of an idealized Vegas in its prime. The FSYO Alphonse Carlo Band is a fantastic ensemble full of extraordinary young musicians. It's been a tremendous pleasure to work with them throughout this process. Thanks to FSYO and the Central Florida Composers Forum for making this recurring collaboration a reality!"

-Alex Burtzos, FSYO 2022-2023 Composer in Residency

FSYO is extremely proud of its lasting collaboration with CF2 as it provides opportunities for student composers and local composers to connect and learn from each other.

Come hear Sin City and Cavalcade this Saturday, May 6, 2023, at Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts! Tickets can be purchased at the door or online by visiting: https://bluebambooartcenter.com/event/4708681/635865820/alphonse-carlo-jazz-band-5-6-23. The concert begins at 11 AM, so don’t be late!

ORLANDO, FL – Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras is now accepting applications for their upcoming 67th Concert Season beginning in August 2023. FSYO is calling for young, high spirited Central Florida musicians to embark on a journey of musical education, inspiration, and development.

FSYO is distinguished as one of the nation’s top youth orchestras. Their focus on providing students with a complete educational experience during rehearsals, and in a variety of live performance opportunities, throughout the year contributes to the students’ and program’s success. A majority of their alumni have continued onto college, many pursuing music at prestigious schools such as the Juilliard School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, New England Conservatory, among others.

FSYO auditions are for standard orchestral instruments and jazz instruments, and all students, both new and returning members, must complete an audition. Membership is available for all seven of FSYO’s award winning ensembles. Please take into consideration that each ensemble has a limited number of spots, and an audition does not guarantee placement in FSYO. Acceptance and placement is completely merit-based, and those who audition are subjected to meet specific criteria to be considered.

Auditions require that students prepare the specific excerpt listed for the ensemble for which they are auditioning, as well as a one-minute solo of their choice and scales and arpeggios as listed. All auditions are approximately 3 to 5 minutes long except percussion auditions which are approximately 10 minutes. While it is unlikely, please note that audition judges may ask any candidate to sight read. Applications for the 2023-2024 season are due by April 3, 2023. Additional audition information can be found at www.fsyo.org/auditions.

ORLANDO, FL - Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras (FSYO) is excited to host a new initiative in the Central Florida Arts Community called The FSYO Invitational. This Inaugural Invitational will be hosted from Thursday, February 23, 2023 through Saturday, February 25, 2023, and the series culminateswith the Spring Classics Concert (sponsored in part by Ernst & Young) taking place at Lyman High School on Sunday, February 26, 2023 at 3 PM.

The FSYO Invitational comes to fruition from an idea the FSYO Music Director, Dr. James Welsch, developed that would bring nationally and internationally acclaimed musicians to Central Florida for the sole purpose of working with the next generation of professional musicians. These Guest Artists will lead clinics not only for FSYO student musicians but also the surrounding school music programs completely free of charge. Invited ensembles will rotate between strings, winds, and brass each year, and a jazz clinician will be added into the mix next season. For the Inaugural Invitational, FSYO is proud to be bringing the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Faculty Brass Ensemble to Central Florida whose lead trumpet, Dr. Joseph Cooper, is an Alumnus of FSYO himself.

“I am so excited FSYO is establishing our very first Invitational. Within this yearly program, FSYO invites an exceptional group of professional musicians to the central Florida area to work with our FSYO students, school music programs, and other arts community partners and extend their knowledge and expertise with our community. As we continue to build out this festival in the future, we are excited to expand FSYO’s reach into the community and invite all musical students to learn from masters of their craft.”

-Dr. James Welsch, Music Director

This year’s guest ensemble, Oklahoma State University Faculty Brass Ensemble, is composed of the following members: Dr. Joseph Cooper (trumpet), Professor Lanette López Compton (horn), Professor Paul Compton (trombone), and Dr. Ryan Robinson (tuba). During the Spring Classics Concert, Dr. Aaron Witek, the trumpet professor from Stetson University, will make a Guest Appearance with the OSU Ensemble for their performance of Nancy Galbraith’s Concerto for Brass Quintet and Orchestra. Within the ensemble’s four day residency, they will visit Lake Howell High School, Winter Park High School, and Lyman High School to clinic with the band students at each of those schools, and on Saturday, they will clinic and rehearse with FSYO students in preparation for Sunday’s concert.

FSYO’s Spring Classics Concert, sponsored in part by Ernst & Young, concludes the Invitational where the visiting artists will perform the Galbraith. In addition to the OSU Brass Ensemble with Dr. Aaron Witek performance, this concert will showcase all four classical FSYO ensembles and Andrea Ignatic, one of FSYO’s 66th Season Concerto Competition Winners. Andrea will perform the second movement of Henryk Wieniawski’s Concerto for Violin No. 2.

CollegeFairposters

ORLANDO, FL (August 11, 2022) – On Thursday, September 29, 2022, from 7:00 - 9:00 pm, Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras, in collaboration with Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and Florida State University College of Music, will host the 3rd Annual Florida Music College Fair at the Orlando Science Center located at 777 East Princeton Street Orlando, FL 32803.

Students will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from over 50 of the nation's top music and performing arts institutions to jump start their college search. Representatives will be available to discuss Admissions, Auditions, Financial Aid, Student Life, and so much more.

All Central Florida music students (band, orchestra, and choir) are encouraged to attend this FREE event. FSYO Executive Director, Abigail Goodin, notes, “We are excited to collaborate with Frost School of Music and FSU’s College of Music again to bring this college fair back to Central Florida. Students of all ages interested in continuing their music education in college are welcome to attend as it is never too early to begin your college search process. Figuring out admission and scholarship requirements will make the application process less confusing!”

Admission to the college fair is free, however, students are encouraged to register for the event by clicking on the below link. For more information please contact FSYO at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

REGISTER FOR THE 3RD ANNUAL FMCF

List of Colleges in Attendance:

Bard College Conservatory of Music
Berklee College of Music
Boston Conservatory at Berklee
Carnegie Mellon University School of Music
Chicago College of Performing Arts
Cleveland Institute of Music
Cornish College of the Arts
DePaul University School of Music
The Eastman School of Music
Florida Southern College
Florida State University College of Music
Frost School of Music at the University of Miami
The Hartt School, University of Hartford
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
Interlochen Center for the Arts
Jacksonville University
The Juilliard School
Lawrence University
Loyola University New Orleans
Manhattan School of Music
Michigan State University College of Music
Nazareth College
New England Conservatory of Music, Boston
New World School of the Arts
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Peabody Conservatory
Rice University-Shepherd School of Music
Rider University and Westminster Choir College
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
SMU Meadows School of the Arts
St. Thomas University
Stetson University School of Music
Syracuse University Setnor School of Music
Temple University Boyer College of Music and Dance
The New School
University of Central Florida School of Performing Arts
University of Denver Lamont School of Music
University of Florida School of Music
University of Georgia - Hugh Hodgson School of Music
University of Houston - Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland School of Music
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
University of North Texas College of Music
University of South Carolina School of Music
University of the Arts
University of Toronto - Faculty of Music
USC Thornton School of Music
Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music
Webster University - College of Fine Arts
The Wertheim FIU School of Music

ORLANDO, FL - Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras (FSYO) is excited to add a new ensemble to their program offerings: Percussion Ensemble. This brand new ensemble will be led by the passionate and dynamic Mr. Paul Yorke, and the ensemble will be composed of percussion students from across Central Florida between the ages of 10 and 20.

“Whether you are a classical or jazz musician, FSYO meets you where you are and places you in an ensemble that challenges you to grow as a musician and a leader. As FSYO grows and expands its reach to include a place for every growing musician, one of the most significant needs has been what we can do to improve the programming we offer to percussionists in our region.”
-Dr. James O. Welsch, Music Director

Members of this ensemble will explore a diverse range of mallet and non-mallet instruments including marimba, vibraphone, timpani, and a host of drums from around the world while performing repertoire that focuses on developing technique and musicianship. The repertoire is unique to a percussion ensemble and includes works by living composers, commissioned works, world percussion music, and transcriptions of masterpieces.

Percussion Ensemble students will also serve as percussionists in the classical orchestras and will receive the broadest percussion education possible. These percussionists will have the opportunity to perform a multitude of musical styles, learn music from across the broadest spectrum of musical history, and create something new in their community.

FSYO is excited to be providing a new experience for Central Florida’s young percussionists. With this additional program, percussionists will receive just as much performance time as any other instrument, and they will no longer need to quietly wait in the back of the ensemble. It is time for percussionists to make some noise and be heard!

For more information about the Percussion Ensemble, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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FSYO, Frost School of Music, & FSU College of Music Host 3rd Annual Florida Music College Fair

Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras Introduces A New Ensemble: Percussion Ensemble