CCYO’s annual Spring Concert on Sunday May 21, will begin at 3:30 p.m. and will be held at Thomas Stone High School, 3785 Leonardtown Rd, Waldorf, MD. This concert is free and open to the public.
Conducted by Dennis Murphy, Prelude Strings; Dr. Teri Lazar, Encore Strings; Takako Mato, Encore Band, and Dr. Osman Kivrak, Charles County Youth Orchestra, the program will include Schubert’s great “Unfinished” Symphony, March of the Sardar by Ivanov, and Chaminade’s Concertino for flute with CCYO Concerto Competition winner Haley Gruwell as soloist. Haley performed the Chaminade last week at the Kennedy Center as a member of the National Symphony Orchestra’s Fellowship Program.
The concert will conclude with a rousing rendition of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” with all four ensembles performing together.
Upcoming CCYO events include the CCYO Concerto Competition Concert on June 3 at 3 pm at Christ Church, La Plata and the CCYO Chamber Music Festival from July 18 to July 29 with concerts at 8 pm on July 22 and 29 at Christ Church, La Plata.
Recently, CCYO has been spotlighted in an online film by the Charles County Arts Alliance and has been featured on WTOP radio. Also, two CCYO String Quartets were finalists in the prestigious Washington Performing Arts Society Misbin Chamber Music Competition in Washington, D.C.
CCYO presents two large concerts and several smaller concerts each year, a two-week Chamber Music Festival with two additional chamber music concerts, a Concerto Competition Concert as well as masterclasses and sectionals for students in all four of CCYO’s ensembles.
CCYO is one of the largest youth organizations in Southern Maryland, providing music education and performance opportunities for talented young musicians ages 8 to 18 in Charles, Prince George’s, St. Mary’s, and Calvert counties.
The Charles County Youth Orchestra is sponsored in part by grants from the Charles County Arts Alliance, the Charles County Charitable Trust, the Maryland State Arts Council, the Rotary Club of Charles County, MD, and the Knights of Columbus of Accokeek, MD. Other major contributors include Potters Violins, Gailes Violin Shop, and the Neighborhood Creative Arts Center of La Plata as well as generous donations from individuals.
