Music is one of life’s greatest joys. Performances can inspire, move to action, and touch hearts; the sounds of the instruments transcending any language barrier as they blend into beautiful melodies. Behind every single one of these instruments is a person who has dedicated themselves to learning how to improve their craft. For young musicians especially, access to quality music education drastically impacts their ability to grow in music. The Santa Rosa Symphony Institute for Music Education has made it possible for schools to offer young musicians throughout the county that vital music education.
The Institute for Music Education’s most advanced youth orchestra, the Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Orchestra, will go on tour in Spain in June of this year. With its skilled, dedicated, and passionate staff, the Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Orchestra helps young musicians develop an awareness and appreciation of great music while learning responsibility, teamwork, and participating in the community through public performance.
In July, the Institute will present its Summer Music Academy, a three-week music experience that helps musicians, ages 7 to 23, gain a strong foundation in their craft. Summer Music Academy welcomes musicians of all skill levels, even completely fresh beginners. This summer day camp, held on the Sonoma Academy campus in Santa Rosa, runs from July 11 to July 29, culminating in a Performance Academy concert on the morning of July 30.
Young musicians throughout Sonoma County are privileged to enjoy access to one of the finest music education systems available today. Between its programs, performances, academies, mentorships and masterclasses, the Santa Rosa Symphony Institute for Music Education trains and educates musicians of all skill levels, giving them the foundation and skills to reach their music goals.
The origins of the Institute date back to 1959. In October of that year, representatives from Santa Rosa City Schools and a number of concerned music educators saw a need for enhanced musical training in the school system. To accomplish this, the first youth symphony was formed with the patronage of the Santa Rosa Symphony Association. Under the leadership of founding conductor Eugene Shepherd, the Sonoma County Junior Symphony was able to hold its first rehearsal just one month later, on November 28, 1959.
Over the decades that followed, the Santa Rosa Symphony’s music education grew and evolved. In 2018, the Santa Rosa Symphony Board of Directors voted to rebrand all of these education programs under a single label: The Santa Rosa Symphony Institute for Music Education. Today, the Institute operates 12 programs that provide a wide range of music education options for the community. Among these are Training Young Musicians, a program that has five levels of youth ensemble; Music for Our Schools, a program that provides both in-school listening and a number of live assemblies performed by both professional Santa Rosa Symphony musicians and SRS youth orchestras; Simply Strings, an after-school program inspired by the Venezuelan El Sistema program; and the Roseland Integrated Program, which began during the shelter-in-place, to provide music appreciation classes for all third grade students in the Roseland School District.
In that fateful spring of 2020, the Institute’s Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Orchestra led the way into the virtual performance arena, learning new performance skills along the way. These determined, courageous young people now look forward to their much-anticipated trip to Spain.
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