Youth community orchestra fills a school gap
Carrie Young directs a beginning orchestra class at the Hope Box Theater in Kaysville on Thursday, July 30, 2015. Young started the Orchestra Adventures program as a tool to give kids a chance to participate in an orchestra even if they don't have the option at their school.
Allie Young plays the viola during the Orchestra Adventures summer program at the Hope Box Theater in Kaysville on Thursday, July 30, 2015. Each year the program adopts a theme for their music. All of the music being performed this summer is related to the ocean.
Carrie Young demonstrates how to position the violin bow during a beginning orchestra class at the Hope Box Theater in Kaysville on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Isabella Biesinger plays the harp during the Orchestra Adventures summer program at the Hope Box Theater in Kaysville on Thursday, July 30, 2015. Each year the program adopts a theme for their music. All of the music being performed this summer is related to the ocean.
Cole Cummings plays the viola during the Orchestra Adventures summer program at the Hope Box Theater in Kaysville on Thursday, July 30, 2015. Each year the program adopts a theme for their music. All of the music being performed this summer is related to the ocean.
Carrie Young directs a beginning orchestra class at the Hope Box Theater in Kaysville on Thursday, July 30, 2015. Young started the Orchestra Adventures program as a tool to give kids a chance to participate in an orchestra even if they don't have the option at their school.
KAYSVILLE — Having seen too many charter schools cut their orchestral programs and knowing too many home-schooled children who don’t have access to one, former public and charter school music teacher Carrie Young decided to start up her own youth community group, aptly named Orchestra Adventures.
Numerous students have joined the venture in the last few years since its inception, including 15-year-old Olivia Ness, since the school she attends, Utah Military Academy, doesn’t have an orchestra.
“I hadn’t been able to play in an orchestra for a long time, and I felt like I had lost my confidence and couldn’t express myself through music, so being a part of this orchestra now has been a great experience,” Ness said.
While Young was teaching orchestra at a local charter school a few years ago, she started getting phone calls from home-school and charter students desperately looking for an orchestra, wondering if Young knew of any opportunities. At the time Young was teaching a summer camp orchestra, but decided to expand her offerings during the school year for youth in the community interested in performing with an orchestra.
“I discovered there were too many kids that didn’t have the opportunity to take lessons because their schools were cutting their programs. I felt like there was a need that needed to be filled,” Young said. “It opens up a great opportunity for kids and I want them to have the chance to do it and give parents the confidence that there are opportunities for the kids to do something they can love.”
Now in its third year, Orchestra Adventures helps dozens of kids bring music back into their lives.
“I offer a unique program because there just isn’t a lot of these around, especially youth groups,” Young said. “There is a local youth chamber group, the Davis Youth Symphony, but they are only open to students taking classes in a public school in the Davis School District, so there are several home-school students, charter kids, and students from other districts that can’t play in that group.”
Her program offers rhythm classes for younger children, beginning group string lessons for violin, viola and cello, and after the first year, students begin playing with the orchestra. As they progress, they can audition for the youth chamber orchestra, which tours around the state for performances.
During the orchestra summer camps, youth spend a week learning new music that is then performed during a concert at the end of the week. Young complimented students on their playing during their mid-week rehearsal, saying, “Can you believe when you came in on Monday, you didn’t even know this music?”
However, the kids had spent numerous hours working on the pieces during sectionals and as a group, with Young guiding them through the pieces. “Watch your staccato in this section,” Young said, pointing to the bass and cello players, then turning to the violins and violas. “Really dig into it and hammer those fingers. Don’t make it too mushy.”
Fifteen-year-old Anna Thomson attended the camp after realizing how boring it was to play by herself at home. “I didn’t know what to play or how to practice because I didn’t have any music, so being here is a lot cooler because I can hear all of the different parts rather than just myself,” Thomson said.
Having students play during a summer camp prevents them from losing their skills, Young said, and though they only have one week during the summer to put together a concert, the students live up to her expectations. “They learn it quickly, and it makes them feel good when they sound good,” Young said.
Orchestra classes and rehearsals will continue this fall in the Layton/Kaysville area. For more information, visit www.orchestraadventures.com.