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TD Charitable Foundation Supports Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra with Donation

February 15, 2013 – Orlando, Fl – The TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, recently donated a total of $10,000 to Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra as part of the bank's commitment to giving back to the community.

Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra, is a local youth orchestra program whose members develop discipline, teamwork, and leadership skills through music education and performance. The funds from the TD Charitable Foundation will contribute to special music programs such as the Sing Song, String- Along, which connects music education with literacy in the Central Florida community.

"On behalf of Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra I am honored to play a role in furthering music education in Central Florida. I believe Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra is the platform for world-class musicians to develop their skills." – Heide Evans Waldron, Executive Director, Florida Symphony Youth Orcehstra

The FSYO, in its 56th Concert Season, comprises three full orchestras and one string training orchestra made up of more than 250 students from eight Central Florida counties. The FSYO is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For more information, please visit www.fsyo.org.

A staunch commitment to active involvement in the local community is a vital element of the TD Bank philosophy. TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank® and the TD Charitable Foundation provide support to affordable housing, financial literacy and education, and environmental initiatives, many of which focus on improving the welfare of children and families.

About the TD Charitable Foundation

The TD Charitable Foundation is the charitable giving arm of TD Bank N.A., which operates as TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, and is one of the 10 largest commercial banking organizations in the United States. The Foundation's mission is to serve the individuals, families and businesses in all the communities where TD Bank operates, having made $99.3 million in charitable donations since its inception in 2002. The Foundation's areas of focus are affordable housing, financial literacy and education, and the environment. More information on the TD Charitable Foundation, including an online grant application, is available at www.TDBank.com.

Our back to back holiday concerts circulate the news desks!

We're proud as ever to see our talented students in the spotlight - Did you catch any of the following great reads?

The Grove Inaugural Concert Maitland.Winter Park Observer

Read on for more!

An incredible weekend for the FSYO! Read on for pictures of our back to back holiday concerts:

Saturday, December 8: WKMG Local 6 Presenting the FSYO Holiday Concert, Benefiting the Salvation Army's Angel Tree Network. A huge crowd showed up at Downtown Orlando's Lake Eola Walt Disney Amphitheatre for an afternoon of free live music, hosted by WKMG-TV morning news anchors Matt and Bridgett.

Sunday, December 9: The inaugural opening of The Grove at Mead Botanical Garden. Friends of the construction project gathered before the concert to celebrate at a special reception, then the crowds showed to enjoy the festive sounds of the FSYO, including a world premiere piece by FSYO conductor and composer John Dupuis.

WKMG Local 6 Holiday Concert, featuring the FSYO

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Ms. Sarah Morrison leads the Overture Strings Orchestra.

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The Slaby family talked on stage about their 4 children, all in FSYO.

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Santa Claus joined us to conduct the Philarhmonia and Symphonic Orchestras in Sleighride.

The Inaugural Opening of The Grove at Mead Botanical Garden

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Winter Park Mayor Kenneth Bradley leads the "ribbon" cutting

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Mrs. Elizabeth Hicklin leads the Prelude Orchestra

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FSYO Staffer Shaina Anderson reads to FSYO students on stage

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Click here for more pictures of WKMG Local 6 Holiday Concert. Click here for more pictures of the Inaugural Concert at The Grove at Mead Botanical Garden. Press requests should be made to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Congratulations to all Concerto Competition Finalists! For an audience of almost 200, these advanced FSYO students competed on Sunday, November 11, 2012 for the chance to perform their concerto with FSYO's Symphonic Orchestra.

All 8 Finalists. Read more about them here.

Maestro Andrew Lane announces the winners.

Congratulations to our 4 winners, Emily, Amber, Hannah and Andrew!

Come listen to their solos with full orchestra!

Details and tickets to the below concerts can be found here:

Emily will be playing Concerto for Trumpet and Strings in E flat Major, J. B. G. Neruda at Celebration Foundation Concert in Celebration, FL on January 27, 2013

Hannah will be playing Concerto in C Major, D. Kabalevsky, Opus 48, Mvmt. 3 at the Children Helping Children Concert on March 17, 2013.

Amber will be playing Concerto in A Major, W.A. Mozart, K. 414, Opus at the Children Helping Children Concert on March 17, 2013.

Andrew will be playing Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Samuel Barber, Opus. 14, Mvmt. 1 at the 56th Season Finale Concert at Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre on May 5, 2013.

The Grove at Mead Botanical Garden, an open air performance pavilion, celebrates completion of phase 1 of the project with Holiday Inaugural Concert, featuring the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra.

2012-13 FSYO Concert Poster Mead Garden ORLANDO, FL – (Nov. 20, 2012) – Winter Park’s Mead Botanical Garden will soon be home to one of the region’s most unique multi-purpose public performance venues. On December 9, the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra (FSYO) plans to hold the inaugural performance at The Grove, with a holiday program featuring FSYO’s award winning youth orchestras, and a world premier of “A Holiday Opening,” a new work by composer John Dupuis. This concert is sponsored in part by Chepenik Financial.

Tickets range from $10 to $20, and can be purchased at www.fsyo.org, or at the door on December 9.

The Grove at Mead Botanical Garden, an open air pavilion designed for musical performance, theatrical productions, film viewings, educational programming, and community gatherings, will be located in the heart of the 47-acre public garden in Winter Park. It will serve the FSYO as its preferred site for outdoor concerts.

“The Grove will add to the rich social, cultural and economic life in Winter Park and the region,” said Winter Park Mayor Ken Bradley when the project was first announced. “The venue is part of the garden’s revival thanks to the commitment of the City and its partner, Mead Botanical Garden.”

“The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra is honored to be a part of this project. The Grove will provide our young musicians with an opportunity to perform on a stage, surrounded by Mead Garden’s beautiful landscape. We are grateful to be working with wonderful community partners that support arts and music education,” said FSYO Executive Director Heide Evans Waldron.

On the Suzuki Program, studying music in college, and her Prelude Orchestra

The FSYO is lucky to house 4 diversely talented conductors for our 4 orchestras. In this series, Conductor's Corner, we'll sit down with each of our conductors, and learn more about their individual talents, and their history with the FSYO.

Elizabeth Hicklin is the Prelude Orchestra Conductor, an FSYO alumni, and a recent Suzuki Registered teacher. FSYO sat down with her to learn more about her experience. Read her full bio here.

FSYO: When did you first join FSYO? What about this program interested you?

Elizabeth Hicklin: I joined the FSYO in 1989 as a sixth grade violinist. I honestly do not remember what exactly interested me the most except most of my friends were joining! Back then there were only 2 orchestras called Orchestra I and Orchestra II. I was last chair 2^nd violin my first year and by the time I graduated I was concert master of the Chamber Orchestra and Assistant Concert Master of Orchestra I!

FSYO: What inspired you to study music in college? What was it like being a Music Major? Any advice to students who are about to audition for Music programs this Fall?

EH: I have played the violin since I was in the 1^st grade. It was my life all throughout school and I could not think of any other way but to major in music in college. I started out as a violin performance major. At the beginning of my sophomore year, I realized I really wanted to teach when I graduated, so I made the change to music education. Being a music major was a LOT of work! I took 20-22 hours a semester and practiced and rehearsed nonstop! It was a blast! The best thing about being a music major is that you are surrounded by other students who also have the same love and drive as you, so the practicing, rehearsing and classes nonstop do not seem all that bad. We did make time for fun as well!

The only advice I would give students who are auditioning in the fall is to play your best and try not to be nervous. Judges or professors are not hoping you play terrible! They want to hear you play your best. This is your special time to shine! Also, I would try to audition and visit as many schools as possible.

FSYO: You've recently become Suzuki Registered! Congrats! Can you tell our readers more about the Suzuki program?

EH: I had the best time in my Suzuki training! I spent 10 days in St. Petesburg at the Florida Suzuki institute working with Carrie Reuning-Hummel, a well known Suzuki teacher trainer. Dr. Suzuki began the Suzuki method with the idea that every child learns their native language with ease, through emersion and repetition. He then began applying that to music using the “mother-tongue approach”. Suzuki believed in parent involvement, encouragement, constant repetition and an Every Child Can atmosphere. I plan to work with children ages 3-5 as beginners. I’m so excited to work with really young children!

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Elizabeth conducting the Prelude orchestra at the Celebration of Music Education Concert on February 10, 2013.

Big thanks to Elizabeth for the interview! Please send her any questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

You may also enjoy reading: Conductor's Corner with John Dupuis