DC Youth Orchestra Program is Moving!
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Washington, DC - The DC Youth Orchestra Program (DCYOP) is thrilled to announce that this year, the program’s 50th anniversary, they will be moving operations to Eastern High School.
Upon learning of the DCYOP’s move to Eastern, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells said, "the Youth Orchestra is a terrific asset for our city's youth and it is fantastic we are getting the program at Eastern High School." Chancellor Rhee has been working in tandem with the DCYOP to support the move of this, the area’s largest out-of-school-hours music program. The Chancellor says “this is a wonderful opportunity for Eastern Senior High School and contributes to the future success of our students.”
Ava Spece, executive director of DCYOP, says, “we are so excited to be able to provide this new environment for our students, including improved metro and freeway access and a more-central location. The new facility will enable DCYOP’s incredible faculty to better serve the youth of the Washington region.”
For the last 50 years, the program has operated out of Coolidge High School in NW Washington. After sharing the facility for a half-century, the DCYOP will always be grateful to all those over the years at Coolidge High School who have provided their long-time support and care for the program. Physical relocation will occur sometime in August, and the program will hold its regularly scheduled Open House, Petting Zoo, and Orchestra Day on September 11, 2010 in the new location.
In celebration of the program’s 50th birthday, the organization will also have a day-long celebration on August 21, 2010. The day will include bringing together some of the program’s 50,000 alumni from around the country to present a performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall at 6:00 p.m. followed by a reception at 7:30 p.m.
The esteemed Marvin Hamlisch, three-time Oscar winner, four-time Grammy winner, four-time Emmy winner, Tony winner, three-time Golden Globe awardee, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his work A Chorus Line, will host the event and conduct one of the pieces on the program. Mr. Hamlisch is also the principal Pops Conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Hamlisch believes in the power of music to bring people and children together, and it is precisely this belief that has drawn him to support the DC Youth Orchestra Program for this remarkable 50th Anniversary event.
The impact of the DC Youth Orchestra Program is significant, whether measured in size, social contributions, or financial aid:
§ Every year, over 600 children play in the DC Youth Orchestra Program, making it the largest youth orchestra program in the Washington area.
§ Offering 17 times more classes than any other DC-area youth orchestra organizations, the DC Youth Orchestra Program is a leading music education resource.
§ Children in DCYOP finish high school. Virtually every student who graduates from our Program graduates from high school and most go on to attend college.
§ DC Youth Orchestra Program tuition is over 25% lower than other area youth orchestras for DC students.
§ Students pay, on average, about 45% of the costs of programs offered by DC Youth Orchestra Program.
§ The program accepts all students, regardless of experience or income level.
§ Over the last 4 years, more than 25% of students received subsidized or free tuition, and that percentage is growing.
The program's success has been recognized by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2002, the program received one of the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ 11 coveted “Coming Up Taller” Awards for out-of-school arts and humanities programs. The U.S. Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting have also cited the DCYOP for its efforts, and Maestro Leonard Slatkin has often spoken on behalf of the program. In the 2009-10 Season the students of the Youth Orchestra of the DC Youth Orchestra Program performed for the National Endowment for the Arts Council meeting, for Secretary Hillary Clinton and the Ecumenical Patriarch, and twice at the White House. Recently the program was voted as “the best music classes in the Washington metropolitan area” by Nickelodeon’s Parents Connect and was also chosen as “one of the best small nonprofits in the Washington Region” by the Catalogue for Philanthropy.
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