Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra
| Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | FSYO f/k/a Florida Symphony Training Orchestra |
| Origin | Orlando, Florida, United States |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Youth Symphony Orchestra |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Website | www.fsyo.org |
| Members |
Executive Director Heide Evans-Waldron Music Director Hanrich Claassen |
Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra 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 4th oldest in the southeastern United States.
FSYO was founded in 1957 by Alphonse Carlo, who was both the concertmaster of the professional Florida Symphony Orchestra and an associate professor of music at Rollins College. The first rehearsals were held at Rollins College. From the very beginning through the late 1970’s, the youth orchestra was jointly supported & sponsored by both the Florida Symphony Society (which was the parent organization of 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 & support under the full wing of the Florida Symphony Orchestra and its music director, Henry Mazer.
In 1982, FSYO incorporated as an independent 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 paid for the cost of running the youth orchestra, including paying for conductor salaries, music, rent, janitorial, etc. Although complete records are missing, it appears that this arrangement continued for approximately 20 years from the late 1950's until the late 1970's.
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 the mid 70’s the name was ironically changed back to the original, “Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra” and it has remained so for 40 years.
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