Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras

Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra, FSYO, Bob Carr Theater, - YouTube

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The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras (FSYO) is a music education program consisting of six ensembles of nearly 300 student musicians. The organization is under the musical direction of Hanrich Claassen. FSYO is the oldest youth symphony in the state of Florida and believed to be the 3rd oldest in the southeastern United States. The youth orchestra was originally affiliated with the now-defunct Florida Symphony Orchestra.

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History

FSYO was founded in 1957 by Alphonse Carlo, who was both an associate professor of music at Rollins College and the concertmaster of the professional Florida Symphony Orchestra. The first rehearsals were held at Rollins College. From the very beginning through the late 1970s, the youth orchestra was jointly supported and sponsored by both the (now-defunct) Florida Symphony Orchestra (through its Women's Committee) and the Rollins College School of Creative Arts. On November 29, 1959, the youth orchestra had its first In public concert in Eustis, FL with 59 students. In 1962, the program gained considerable structure and support under the full wing of the professional Florida Symphony Orchestra and its music director, Henry Mazer.

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Relationship with Florida Symphony Orchestra & Rollins College

In 1982, FSYO became independent by incorporating as a non-profit and received its 501(c)(3) charitable tax status in 1984. Despite its legal and financial independence, FSYO remained very closely associated with the Florida Symphony Orchestra (FSO) until the professional orchestra ceased operations in 1993. Documents discovered in Rollins College Dept. of Archives & Special Collections, show that while FSO provided the music staff and administration during the early years, the Rollins College School of Creative Arts provided the funding for the expenses of running the youth orchestra, including paying for conductor salaries, music, rent, janitorial, etc. Although complete records are missing, receipts and archive concert programs show that this arrangement continued for approximately 20 years from the late 1950s until the late 1970s.

The American Prize: HOUSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY WINS THE AMERICAN PRIZE

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Name Changes

According to archive concert programs and other records, the youth orchestra changed its name 6 times in its first 20 years. A concert program from Nov 1959 shows the original name of "The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra." In 1962, FSO Music Director Henry Mazer took over the youth program and re-branded it as the "Florida Symphony Youth Training Orchestra" and later called it the "Florida Symphony Training Orchestra." After Mazer left, the name was changed back to the "Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra" for a brief time. Next came new FSO music director, Herman Hertz in 1967, who promptly changed the name to the "Florida Youth Symphony" and then later changed it again to "Florida Youth Orchestra." In 1977 the name was changed back to the original, "Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra." In 2017, the Board of Directors voted to slightly change the name to the plural, "Orchestras" to better reflect the current size & breadth of the entire program (see current logo above).

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Ensembles

Symphonic Orchestra A full orchestra started in 1957 for advanced students of difficult orchestral literature
Philharmonia Orchestra A full orchestra created in 1980 for intermediate to advanced students of orchestral literature.
Prelude Orchestra A full orchestra for intermediate students of orchestral literature since 2004
Overture Stings A beginning to intermediate experience for strings only, since 1994
Chamber Orchestra For advanced students seeking performance experience with literature written for chamber ensembles. Must already be a student of the Symphonic Orchestra.
Jazz Orchestra This new ensemble started in fall 2017. The 18-24 piece orchestra of advanced students focuses on the study of big band jazz music, the theory behind jazz composition and improvisation.
Stringmania Summer Camp 2-week summer camp for beginning to advanced strings held every July since 1998.