Community Youth Orchestra of Southern California

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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 unique performing ensembles and a community outreach program that brings the assistance of our music staff and talented student volunteers to elementary and junior high school music teachers at no cost. 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 create 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 do not use 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 lesosns 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 advanced violin, viola, cello, bass, harp, and piano 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 a conductor-less chamber orchestra open to performers on every standard orchestral instrument (strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion). This group features the entire music staff performing side-by-side with college and advanced high school age students, with rehearsals directed by the section principals in a collaborative setting. Participants in this group are expected to be of advanced technical and musical ability, as the pace of rehearsals is rapid and and difficulty of repertoire is significant; this upcoming season includes works by Janacek, Elgar, Mahler, and Prokofiev along with chamber music by Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Mozart. Select members of this ensemble accompany the teaching staff in our outreach program. This group is instructed and led by Mr. Wie.

 

Our Outreach Program

Our school music programs and their teachers are faced with incredible challenges in the 21st century. With funding for the performing arts on the decline, teachers of a single instrument are expected to be able to train students in all areas of music, especially in schools where only a single full-time position for music is alloted. While teacher credentialing methods classes may be sufficient to start off beginners at the most basic level, they do not prepare most teachers to offer the advanced-level instruction required to help develop strong technical skills nor identify complex playing issues in students without private instruction.

Recognizing the need for expert assistance from trained professional musicians as well as serious students, CYOSC sends its music staff along with a limited number of college-age volunteers to help out elementary and junior high school music teachers, providing much-needed help with section coaching, individual instruction for students without private lessons, and serving as positive role models for young musicians. We visit participating schools several times each semester, perform for and work directly with students, and support directors in any way that they ask at absolutely no cost to the school. We do not solicit students for private instruction from our visits (or our ensembles), and leave a general information sheet about CYOSC rather than taking up valuable instruction time discussing our program directly. To see how we can help your school program out, please contact our music director.

 

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: