The St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra's youth orchestra was launched Oct. 1, 2007, and has already been making strides in providing opportunities for junior and senior high school students to enhance their musical skills.
Kara Schillerstrom, SCSU senior and assistant director of the youth program, said the youth orchestra welcomes students from more than 10 counties, including Stearns.
Schillerstrom said some schools in the area don't have orchestra programs, and the purpose of the youth program is to provide these kids with an opportunity.
"We have had feedback from the community, especially from parents who have asked for a program like this," Schillerstrom said.
Sandy Nadeau, executive director of the symphony orchestra, said the youth program also gives young musicians a chance to play with other young musicians from another school.
Daniel O'Bryant, professor at SCSU and director of the youth orchestra, said the youth orchestra is important to the community because public schools are not a stable environment for music programs.
"The youth orchestra is to fill a niche or need for students in the community," O'Bryant said.
O'Bryant said this program will offer a higher level of musical education than they are getting in school.
He said high schools like Cathedral High have just lost their music program, which further increases the need of a youth program.
"We are not competing with schools in the area but adding stability to music programs here," O'Bryant said.
"We see so many kids get involved in sports today, so it is great to see a program like this," Schillerstrom said.
O' Bryant said that the program is also important for the image of SCSU because the symphony orchestra and the university have always had a strong relationship together. He said that President Potter wants to enhance programs that involve SCSU students and make them even better.
"It is good for SCSU and the symphony orchestra to connect with younger students," O' Bryant said.
O' Bryant said that it is a community service and not a money maker. "Children have that innocence, which makes them very willing and excited to learn."
O' Bryant said that since the youth orchestra has been established there has been a small but steady increase in enrollment from 25% to 30%.
Schillerstrom said that so far 17 kids have been registered and their goal is to grow into two orchestras.
"Looking at the future of the St. Cloud Symphony Youth Orchestra, we hope that it will be an active and vital group in our community for years to come. We are hoping to eventually have two different groups, an intermediate and an advanced group, hopefully adding additional instrumentations to the ensemble as we expand more (i.e. percussion, brass, & woodwinds)," Schillerstrom said.
"It's probably going to be a five year outlook where we hope to get about 60 people within the next six years," Schillerstrom said.
O' Bryant said that he would like to see the program get stabilized and gradually move towards expansion.
"It takes a bit to get off the ground but we see a lot of support from parents who even play with their kids in the orchestra," O' Bryant said.
"I'm excited and honored as an SCSU student to be part of something so important to the youth in our community," Schillerstrom said.
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