In honor of Black History Month, CYSO is excited to release a new album, “A Celebration of Black Composers.” The CD includes performances recorded over the past three seasons and is the first album CYSO has produced that features each of our high school level ensembles. The album highlights works by Black composers from across the spectrum, from Duke Ellington …
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Karen Mari is CYSO’s Community & Family Engagement Coordinator. This spring, as part of our Community Engagement Programs, Karen led our Ambassadors groups as they crisscrossed Chicago performing in-school concerts across the city. CYSO Ambassadors are Chamber Music and Jazz Orchestra combo groups that perform on-site concerts at CPS schools for hundreds of young people each year. This January and …
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The 2020 CYSO Gala: An American in Paris took place on Saturday, February 8 at the Four Seasons Chicago, celebrating the Gershwin classic and magic of the city of lights. The event broke previous Gala fundraising records, bringing in $480,000 to support CYSO’s music education programming. This year’s Gala was attended by more than 325 CYSO supporters. Guests ascended the …
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While Operations Assistant Nico Chona is no stranger to youth orchestras—he both played in and then worked in a similar position at Houston Youth Symphony before coming to CYSO in 2018—this month was his first experience chaperoning a large group of young players. Nico helped ferry 30 Preparatory Strings players (plus parent volunteers and a few other CYSO staff members) …
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Have you dreamed of playing in CYSO? Make that dream a reality—New student auditions are open now! New this year, you can now register to audition for any of our on-site programs—orchestra, steelpan, and jazz! No matter the ensemble, we provide young musicians with the tools they need to grow and thrive. Students learn from the city’s top educators and collaborate with …
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Early on the morning of December 5, five dedicated Kaiso Steel Orchestra students (and one Steel alum!) converged at the Fine Arts Building for a very early 5:00 am call time.  The students made their way to the 8th floor where they met Scott McConnell, CYSO Steel Orchestras Director, and did a few practice runs on a handful of songs …
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