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The Winnipeg Youth Orchestras comprise three separate orchestras: the Junior Strings, the Youth Concert Orchestra, and the Youth Symphony Orchestra. Organized in 1923, it is the oldest youth orchestra in Canada, with more than 150 musicians from 9-21 years of age and from every part of Winnipeg and several outlying regions of the province.
For 85 years the WYO and its predecessors have provided a solid foundation for hundreds of young musicians through training and through the development of an appreciation of serious music.
All three youth orchestras rehearse every Saturday morning or afternoon, from September to May, at either Kelvin High School or Gordon Bell High School.
Every year the three orchestras give concerts in Winnipeg and different parts of Manitoba. In the past few years, the orchestras have played with the Philharmonic Choir, performed at the Bach festival and with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Minneapolis Youth Orchestra, and the Hamilton Youth Orchestra.
It has collaborated with composers to present newly created compositions, and some of its members have also created their own compositions, which have been performed at the annual Sounds of Spring concert held in May.
Auditions for placement with one of the three orchestras are held in May and September. All new and returning players must audition each year.
Yearly fees are determined by the Board of Directors. No candidate who is accepted after the audition is refused because of financial need.
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