Dear Friends,
One month ago, our CYSO Symphony Orchestra began its musical and cultural journey in four cities in Spain with two recordings and four concerts. Before we left, I shared that we tour to build reputation and cohesion and that we are ambassadors for American music and American music education. This is why we tour. I am proud and humbled to tell you that the Granada Festival, one of the most renowned summer festivals in Europe endorsed our orchestra “as one of the best youth orchestras in the world” and as “a global benchmark for its bold programming and its commitment to contemporary music.”
I am even prouder to tell you how our students engaged the Spanish Association Against Cancer, who benefited from two of our concerts with their goal to eradicate cancer by 2030. Our young musicians provided music in our lives and in our world when we and our audiences most needed it, and the director of the Granada Festival personally told me that she felt our music coming from the heart. In our last concert in the Gran Teatro de Córdoba, I left the podium in a rehearsal. I have done this before, but this time I let the orchestra play a long time. It was inspiring. A great conductor once said: “If I’ve done my job, you can play this concert without me.” I was so inspired by the music-making achieved by our young people on this journey.
I also want to share with you how the Granada Festival described our work as an organization and why we do it: “Founded in 1946, CYSO trains hundreds of young musicians each year, forging artists and leaders of the future.” This is why CYSO today is more than one orchestra, where our flagship Symphony Orchestra is now blazing a global trail that allows our organization to grow to blaze even more trails. This is why we have many orchestras, as the orchestra—whether symphonic, string, jazz, or steel—is an unparalleled environment for the highest levels of collaboration. The orchestra is a microcosm of society.
Moving an orchestra across the world is a huge undertaking, and this tour was years in the making and represented the commitment of our entire community to our legacy of international touring. I hope you will join me to celebrate CYSO’s accomplishment presenting our flagship Symphony Orchestra in Spain this summer. This tour would not have been possible without the leadership of our Board and Executive Director Jennie Oh Brown and the support of Interim Chief Operating Officer Yoo-Jin Hong and our entire Program team. This was our first tour with Classical Movements and their team in Spain, and we are grateful for our partnership.
It is a privilege to share our music-making, and I am honored to have been part of this extraordinary journey, which would not have been possible without the dedication and talent of our 2024-2025 Symphony Orchestra. Our mission is to inspire and cultivate personal excellence through music, and I am beyond inspired by our young people and cannot wait to see how they cultivate our future. Bravo to our young musicians for their great performances and bravo to everyone who supported this journey—from those who made sure stages were ready for rehearsals to our generous sponsors and supporters who made this tour possible!
Warm regards,
Allen Tinkham
Music Director
