About Delaware County Youth Orchestra

The Delaware County Youth Orchestra is a highly selective ensemble of talented musicians most of whom are in high school.  Now in its 41st season, the orchestra has 100 student members who range in age from 7th to 12th grade. This full symphony orchestra is dedicated to providing young people of exceptional ability with an opportunity to rehearse and perform major works from the standard symphonic repertoire. Three concerts are performed during the academic year.

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 Delaware. For high school students interested in performance opportunities of high caliber, we invite you to visit our Auditions page to schedule an audition appointment.

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 performs two concerts during the academic year. For information about the Young Musicians’ Orchestra for younger and less advanced students, please click here.

The Delaware County Youth Orchestra presents three 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 Memorial Fund. All contributions are tax deductible.

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 conducted 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.

Brad Smith was named Music Director and Conductor of the Delaware County Youth Orchestra in 2005.  He is also Music Director and Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has served for the past nine years. Originally trained as a trumpeter in Texas, Dr. Smith holds degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and Stephen F. Austin State University. His primary teachers were Kevin Noe, Jerry Junkin, and Kevin Sedatole.

DISTINGUISHED VISITING ARTISTS PROGRAM

In the spring of 2009, award-winning composer Jennifer Higdon visited a DCYO rehearsal to help the students rehearse her composition blue cathedral, which the orchestra had programmed for its May 2009 concerts. During this session Ms. Higdon provided invaluable feedback about the piece, including its compositional history and the specific techniques required to perform it successfully. She described the career path that led to her success as a composer and fielded many questions in general about life as a musician. Her insights proved to be invaluable to the students in terms of interpretation and perspective.

In the following year, DCYO was honored to have Don Liuzzi, Principal Timpanist, Dwight V. Dowley Chair, The Philadelphia Orchestra, as our 2011 Distinguished Visiting Artist. To begin the evening, Mr. Liuzzi played several timpani solo selections for the students. His performance was followed by an entertaining question-and-answer session, after which he conducted the orchestra in works by Glinka and Mendelssohn for the second half of the rehearsal. This memorable event marked the third in our annual series of invited distinguished visiting artists.

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 members tend to be high achievers, both musically and academically. Over the past few years DCYO students have been accepted at such prestigious music schools as the Cleveland Institute, the Eastman School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, Northwestern University, and Peabody Conservatory and such highly selective schools as Cornell, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, and UC Berkeley.

For information about the Delaware Valley Young Musicians’ Orchestra, please click here.

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