This story previously appeared on StratfordToday.
Listen closely enough and you can hear the Stratford Symphony Youth Orchestra (SSYO) starting to tune up for the new season.
Things unofficially kick off with the orchestra’s registration night on Thursday, Sept. 5, but things start to ramp up quickly with an open rehearsal September 9 for new students. Eric Charbonneau, the SSYO’s director, said they’re looking forward to kicking off the new season as they work their way towards the December 9 term-ending concert at Avondale United Church.
“We’ve grown a lot from when we first started this back towards the end of COVID, growing from just five members at the back of the museum wearing masks to now 30 musicians,” he said. “This isn’t the place to come if you’re just learning how to play an instrument; you come here to learn how to be part of an ensemble.”
As the SSYO has grown, Charbonneau said they’ve been welcoming of new musicians to help fill out their numbers. The lack of auditions hasn’t hurt the four-year-old program, but he sees a point in the future where competition for places in various sections will become tougher.
“It could get to the point where we have to audition new talent, but currently people just come in and we chat with them to see if there’s a good match,” he said. “If it’s not a good fit or the pace is too quick, we’ll recommend they go get a private teacher and come back next year - it just depends on where they’re at in their progression.”
This part of the organization is split into two different groups - the youth orchestra and the junior youth orchestra. Charbonneau described the junior group as more of a developmental body where rehearsal times are half of the main group, which allows for the musicians to better absorb the skills required to make the step up to the main youth orchestra.
“There is a lot of good information on our website, especially the handbook that details what we do, our schedule and some other important points,” he said. “The registration night will allow us to take care of the intake paperwork and get musicians ready without taking away a rehearsal session. We then have the open rehearsal on Monday before the season schedule starts in full.”
Registration information - including a fee schedule - can be found on the Stratford Symphony Youth Orchestra’s page of the main SSO website.
