Community Youth Orchestra of Southern California

ALTERNATE AUDITION DAY/TIME: We have arranged another time during the week prior to the first rehearsal for those unable to make the original audition days; please check the schedule page for details. Thanks for your patience, we have a lot of interested kids this season! :)

Audition Applications for the 2010-2011 season are still being accepted, come and join the orchestra!
Graduated/Moved on, but want to keep in touch? Join our Facebook Group!

Community Youth Orchestra of Southern California (CYOSC) is an Irvine-based non-profit community arts education organization that offers ensemble training and service opportunities for K-12 and college students. Deeply committed to the musical, intellectual, and social growth of our young musicians, our programs include two performing ensembles and a community outreach program. Founded in 1989 by Robert Lau, the organization is currently led by Music Director Gene Wie and Assistant Director Jennifer Visick and an all-volunteer board of directors.

We offer an intensive yet positive rehearsal environment in which all students are engaged at a high level and encouraged to excel. Our focus on exceptional musical training unites young musicians from many varied backgrounds into a cohesive artistic unit. We do not go on expensive concert tours, do not have a concerto competition, and have no fixed chair/seat-rankings. All players are rotated through their respective sections by our coaches, and many students are given the opportunity to experience leading a section. Our experienced and talented coaches give the students the mentoring they need to experience significant personal growth through music-making, and every single staff member is a capable performer and teacher that plays in their respective section working one-on-one with students when not engaged in conducting or administrative duties.

CYOSC performs many concerts in our local community and augments the critical daily ensemble instruction that our students get in their school music programs. All of our students are required to take private instruction as well as fully participate in their school's music program, if one exists.

 

Our Ensembles

All of our ensembles perform in four complete programs each concert season. There are also several optional performances each year for special events in Irvine that are offered to those students who wish to participate, including concerts at schools for our community service program. Our focus is on "quality, not quantity" and as educators we aim to see significant growth in the skills of our students from the first to the last concert each year.

SINFONIA

The Sinfonia is a string orchestra for intermediate to advanced violin, viola, cello, and double bass players ages eight through fifteen (by September 1st of the year), and one of the premiere groups of its kind in Orange County. The largest of CYOSC's ensembles, members of the Sinfonia study and perform the works of Bach, Corelli, Handel, Vivaldi, and other major composers whose compositions constitute the major output of string orchestra music from the last three centuries. A strong emphasis is placed on the development of critical ensemble skills, use of bow strokes, and the application of music theory and history to actual performance. We recognize the incredible diversity of approaches to the study of stringed instruments and seek to help students discover how they can play "their way" and still contribute to a unified ensemble. This group is conducted by Ms. Visick and Mr. Wie.

CHAMBER SYMPHONY

The Chamber Symphony is  composed of string players of high school and college age, although woodwind, brass, and percussion students are invited to join to ensemble when instrumentation needs arise. Sections are led by CYOSC's experienced music staff, who play side-by-side with the students. The ensemble performs the most challenging works from the repertory of composers like Bartok, Janacek, Bloch, Mahler, Brahms, Schubert, Elgar, and others, as well as presenting world premieres of the work of living composers. The ensemble expects its members to collaborate in a semi-professional rehearsal setting, and participation in the Chamber Symphony requires not only sufficient technical ability, but a significant individual commitment to practice and preparation. This group is instructed and led by Mr. Wie.

 

 

Contact Us

CYOSC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that welcomes your questions, comments, and support. Please feel free to contact our staff by email at the following addresses: