AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN
Founded in 1973, the Delaware County Youth Orchestra is a highly selective ensemble of nearly 100 talented young musicians through senior year of high school. Now in its 35th season, this full-fledged symphony orchestra is dedicated to providing young people of exceptional ability with an opportunity to learn and perform major works from the standard symphonic repertoire. Although the orchestra’s home base is in Delaware County, members come from throughout the tri-county area as well as from Philadelphia, New Jersey, and the state of Delaware. The discipline involved in acquiring the musical skill necessary to participate in this group is both rewarding and exhilarating. The increase in the number of students auditioning for the orchestra over the past decade has resulted in greater selectivity in admissions, and in turn has resulted in performances of higher and higher caliber. In 1989, a new intermediate orchestra—the Delaware Valley Young Musicians’ Orchestra—was founded for players not quite ready for the Delaware County Youth Orchestra. The Young Musicians’ Orchestra rehearses weekly and gives two concerts during the academic year.

FOUR CONCERTS A YEAR
The Delaware County Youth Orchestra presents four concerts a year in locations throughout the Delaware Valley, free of charge whenever possible. It has also performed at the Rose Tree Summer Festival and participated in the Festival of Youth Orchestras in the United States and Canada. The DCYO welcomes the opportunity to perform in communities where efforts are being made by school, college, or civic organizations to stimulate interest in serious music among young people. The Delaware County Youth Orchestra is incorporated under the Non-Profit Law of Pennsylvania. Financial support comes from individuals, corporations, and foundations; among these are the Donald P. Jones, the Elsie Lee Garthwaite, the Presser, and the Strine Foundations, and the Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Fund. All contributions are tax deductible. In the summer of 1998 a Memorial Fund was established by the Kavanagh Foundation to honor Gisela Savage, who was one of the founders of DCYO. The sole purpose of this fund is to buy or rent music for the orchestra. Anyone desiring to contribute to this fund should mark his or her contributions accordingly.

DISTINGUISHED CONDUCTORS
In its formative years, the podium was shared by James Freeman, Eugene Narmour, Richard Wernick, and Jerome Wigler. Dr. Narmour was musical director from 1975 to 1980. He was succeeded by Rosalind Erwin, who conducted the orchestra for the next seven years. Richard Vanstone, who was also conductor of the West Chester University Orchestra, was conductor and music director from 1987 to 2002. J. Karla Lemon was conductor and music director during the 2002-2003 season. Thomas Hong, who also conducts the Haverford/Bryn Mawr College Orchestra, conducted the orchestra from 2003 to 2005. The students have also enjoyed the privilege of working under such notable guest conductors as Robert Page and William Smith.

MUSIC DIRECTOR
Brad Smith was named Conductor and Music Director of the Delaware County Youth Orchestra at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season. Dr. Smith also serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra and Wind Ensemble at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to his appointment at UPenn, Dr. Smith received the Doctor of Musical Arts in orchestral conducting and Master of Music in wind band conducting from the University of Texas at Austin.  During that time, he served as Music Director of the University Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Symphony Band.  Before beginning graduate studies, he taught for four years in the Texas public schools.

Dr. Smith is a founding member of the College Orchestra Directors Association, having given a keynote presentation at the first national conference of this organization in the summer of 2004 in Cleveland, Ohio.  He has participated in master classes with leading conductors such as Larry Rachleff, Otto Werner-Mueller and Christoph Eschenbach. In May of 2006, Dr. Smith was a conducting participant in a workshop focusing on large choral/orchestral masterworks in a workshop featuring the Mannes College of Music Orchestra, the Philadelphia Singers and distinguished conductors David Hayes, Duain Wolfe, Vance George, Alan Harler and Amy Kaiser.  Smith and his wife Becki have been married for twelve years.  Becki works as a consultant with Teachers Curriculum Institute.  They have two daughters, Emily and Heather.   

CAMP TOCKWOGH
Each September, the DCYO travels to Camp Tockwogh on the Chesapeake Bay for a weekend of intense rehearsal time, as well as fun and relaxation. The Camp Tockwogh retreat helps to consolidate the orchestra as a group by bringing together new and returning students.

DCYO STATISTICS FOR 2003-2004
During the 2003-2004 season the orchestra had 94 members. The previous spring, approximately 100 students auditioned for the orchestra to fill out the ranks of those who graduated or were unable to return. The large number of talented students participating in auditions over the past decade has permitted a very high degree of selectivity and maintained the high quality of the orchestra. DCYO members come from a wider geographic area than the name implies: for the 2003-2004 season, 47% came from Delaware County, 20% from Chester County, 20% from Montgomery County, 4% from Philadelphia, 4% from New Jersey, and 5% from Delaware. Approximately 88% of the members were high-school students, the majority of whom were juniors and seniors, and 12% were in middle school. Membership was evenly divided between male and female students.

DELAWARE VALLEY YOUNG MUSICIANS' ORCHESTRA
For information about the Delaware Valley Young Musicians' Orchestra, please click here.