DC Youth Orchestra Program Advances Music Education
Maestro Gianandrea Noseda conducts a rehearsal of the DC Youth Orchestra. Standing, center, is DCYOP Executive Director Liz Schurgin.
Sixty years of music education is a milestone worthy of celebration, and so it is with the DC Youth Orchestra Program (DCYOP). This year, 2020, marks the sixtieth anniversary of the local non-profit organization which serves more than 500 students from D.C., Maryland and Virginia and has given them the opportunity to perform in several countries, including Italy. As one of the organization’s board members, I am excited by the program’s unique role in introducing and advancing music skills and education for young people ranging from 4 years of age to seniors in high school. DCYOP fills a unique role indeed, providing an introduction to play an orchestra instrument or further developing the musical skill level of children and teenagers from diverse cultural and education backgrounds.
Students meet almost every Saturday from September thru May for lessons in one of DCYOP’s several classes at the Takoma Education Center (TEC) in Northwest D.C. It’s endearing to see very young children begin to learn an instrument. These young individuals, older children and adolescents have the fantastic benefit of learning from experienced music teachers including some who were once DCYOP students. Each time I visit the Saturday programs or attend an event in the area, I’m inspired about music education and seeing students learning how to interact with each other, to learn how to listen to each other, and play instruments together. These are important life skills and essential when a DCYOP orchestral group has the opportunity to tour to other countries.
The DC Youth Orchestra toured to Riva del Garda, Italy, in 2018 where they served as Orchestra in Residence at the Musica Riva festival. A special occasion this past year was having Maestro Gianandrea Noseda conduct a rehearsal of DCYOP’s DC Youth Orchestra (DCYO). Practicing Brahms’s Symphony No. 2 was quite an experience for orchestra members and all who attended the rehearsal and post-rehearsal Q&A with DCYOP students. Please visit www.dcyop.org for more information about the organization and its programs. If you would like to visit DCYOP on a Saturday morning, please contact me at (202) 680-9348.