MUSIC FOR YOUTH

Founded in 2001, the mission of the Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestras (WSYO) is to enrich the lives of Cape Fear area youth by providing talented young musicians with unique orchestral training and performing opportunities. WSYO ensembles are auditioned and for students in grades 4-12.

The Richard R. Deas Young Artist Concerto Competition has approximately 20-25 qualified applicants each year from which a three-judge panel selects winners in three age-group divisions (Junior, High School, UNCW) to perform as soloists accompanied by WSO or WSYO.

The Wilmington Symphony Orchestra (WSO) offers free music experiences for our community’s youth through the Making Noise with the Symphony program. Making Noise with the Symphony provides storytelling for young children throughout the year in schools in the Wilmington metropolitan area and in the New Hanover County Public Libraries. Making Noise with the Symphony includes an Instrument Discovery Zone where children learn more about the different instruments in an orchestra - either having the opportunity to play an instrument or creating their own!

WSO’s Young People’s Concert is programmed for families with children ages 6 and older, but even adults will enjoy this concert! Tickets are $10-$15. The concert is only 50 minutes long with no intermission, great for those young music lovers! Prior to the concert, families are invited to attend an Instrument Discovery Zone in the lobby where children can learn about and play the different instruments in an orchestra.

WSYO Chamber Ensembles is for advanced middle and high school students. Chamber Ensemble students gain musical and interpersonal technical skills. Chamber Ensembles are led by WSO musicians.

WSO provides school and community groups tickets to its concerts in the Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College. Each year, over 500 students experience the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra live! Past recipients of the Symphony Hall Pass program include Snipes Academy of Arts & Design, DREAMS of Wilmington, 100 Black Men, NC Project Lead, Soaring as Eagles, Swansboro Middle School, and Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (GLOW).

The Artist-In-Residence program provides masterclasses and concerts in local-area schools featuring Wilmington Symphony Orchestra’s special guest artists. Guest artists also visit community centers, museums and libraries. The master classes and concerts are educational and fun for children throughout the community.

Through its Music Collective initiative, and in partnership with local school programs and community arts organizations, WSO provides talented children need-based scholarships for WSYO and complimentary private music lessons with a WSO musician.