Amid the holiday bustle, a group of talented young musicians is hard at work preparing for an upcoming concert in the nation’s capital. Greenville County Youth Orchestras Association is sending its most advanced ensemble, the Young Artist Orchestra, to perform in the Capital Orchestra Festival on Feb. 17, 2025.
The YAO is one of just four youth orchestras from across the country that will participate in the event at the Kennedy Center.
David Kiser, GCYO executive director, said in addition to the performance, the trip will include other activities to broaden students’ horizons. They will have a private workshop with Col. Dennis Layendecker, former conductor of the Air Force Band, and a visit to Meyerhoff Symphony Hall to hear the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
“It will be a memorable trip for them,” Kiser said. “Playing on that historic stage is something they will never forget. They’ll also have a river cruise with members of the other orchestras and a tour of the Capitol arranged by the staff of Rep. William Timmons.”
Grace Jackson, a senior who plays flute with the YAO, sees the trip as an opportunity to learn and grow with her peers as well as to meet other musicians and form new relationships. Now in her third year with the GCYO, she participates in the philharmonic ensemble as well, and serves as music librarian.
“The teachers in GCYO have inspired me to a higher level of music,” she said. “Plus, getting to know other musicians gave me a connection to other people my age.”
Kiser said participation in the GCYO provides outstanding music education as well as access to professionals in the field.
“Students are not just getting extra rehearsals, they’re receiving coaching from multiple principal musicians from within the Greenville Symphony Orchestra,” he said. “YAO members get to experience performing with them at our annual ‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder’ concert.”
The GCYO, led by Gary Robinson, last performed in Washington, D.C., in 1987 when the YAO accompanied the Singing Christmas Tree. Robinson will direct the orchestra again on this trip as interim conductor emeritus.
The ensemble will play pieces selected by Robinson, including a newly commissioned work by composer Jon Grier, which the orchestra will also perform March 8 in the Peace Center’s Gunter Theatre.
“It’s called ‘Schubert Refinished,’ a meditation on Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, also known as the ‘Unfinished Symphony,’” Kiser said.
Kiser said the GCYO relies on support from Greenville County Schools and the generosity of donors to provide these formative experiences for the next generation of young musicians.
“We haven’t been on a tour in a long time,” he said. “I hope this will be the first of many exciting ventures around the world for these talented students.”
The Community Foundation of Greenville awarded the GCYO a 2024 Capacity Building Grant to fund the purchase of computers for staff members.
To learn more or donate, visit: gcyo.net/kennedy-center-trip.
Visit cfgreenville.org to learn more about the Community Foundation of Greenville.
