We are thrilled to offer a new ensemble to our program! This spring, we will have a Youth Concert Band open to students in 6th - 8th grade. The first "season" of the Youth Concert Band is an 8-week program beginning on March 18th with a final concert open to students, parents, and the public!
Rehearsals will be held on Monday nights from 6:00 - 7:30 PM at Duerksen Fine Arts Center (WSU campus)
Tuition is $125 and need-based scholarships are available.
The application deadline has passed.
The Wichita Symphony Youth Orchestras Program (WSYO) brings classical music to life for young people in south central Kansas. This program is a key educational outreach arm of the Wichita Symphony and shares in its mission to enrich, educate, and entertain diverse audiences of all ages in our region through performances of orchestral music, thereby enhancing the vibrancy and vitality of Wichita.
Founded in 1947, WSYO’s Youth Symphony is a charter member of the Youth Symphony Orchestra Division of the League of American Orchestras. Today, the Wichita Symphony Youth Orchestras Program is made up of four ensembles that serve over 250 students from 19 cities and towns in Kansas. WSYO ensembles include the Youth Symphony, Repertory Orchestra, Youth Chamber Players, Wind Ensemble, and coming in Spring 2024, the Youth Concert Band! For full descriptions of the ensembles, click here.
Like WSYO on Facebook
Follow WSYO on Instagram
Click here for information about 2024-2025 Season Auditions!
ONE TIME DONATION RECURRING DONATION
If you'd like to support the WSYO program, please contact Tiffany Bell Rhodes at trhodes@wso.org to discuss sponsorship options.
Wichita Symphony Youth Orchestras activities are made possible with the generous support provided by The City of Wichita, The Sam and Rie Bloomfield Foundation, Fidelity Bank, Star Lumber, and Cessna and Beechcraft by Textron Aviation.
Dr. Mark Laycock
Director of Youth Orchestras & Ensembles Program
Youth Symphony Conductor
Koch Family Foundation Endowed Chair
Dr. Mark Laycock is a Professor of Music at Wichita State University, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship. He serves as Director of Orchestras and Coordinator of Strings. A member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, he is also Conductor of the Wichita Youth Symphony. His work as guest conductor, clinician, or adjudicator spans 35 states. Dr. Laycock has served the National Orchestra Festival as adjudicator, clinician, and, in 2018 and 2019, chair of the event. Dr. Laycock has presented clinic sessions for numerous state education conventions, as well as the American String Teachers Association National Conference, the Northwest and Northeast Division Conventions of the National Association for Music Education, and the Midwest Clinic. A frequent visitor to Australia, he will be a Keynote Speaker for the 2021 Australian National Band and Orchestra Conference. Dr. Laycock is a four-time invited music education panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, evaluating grant applications from institutions throughout the country. He is a chapter author for the fourth volume of Teaching Music through Performance in Orchestra and a frequent contributor to the American String Teacher journal.
Eric L. Crawford
Repertory Orchestra Conductor
Delmar and Mary Klocke Endowed Chair
Eric Crawford is very excited to continue his new journey with the Repertory Orchestra after having been the director of Youth Chamber Players for the previous fourteen years! When not working with the Repertory Orchestra, Mr. Crawford is the director of orchestras at Wichita High School East and is the orchestra curriculum coach for Wichita Symphony Schools. He has also played bass with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra for twenty-five seasons and has been the bass player for Music Theatre Wichita for twenty-one years. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Crawford began playing double bass at the age of nine. He has a bachelor's degree in Bass Performance from the prestigious Eastman School of Music, and he also has a master's degree from Wichita State University. Mr. Crawford has conducted numerous student groups throughout the state of Kansas and frequently adjudicates at regional and state festivals. He has served as the President of the Kansas Chapter of the American String Teacher's Association as well as the President of the Wichita Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 297.
Catherine Tummons
Youth Chamber Players Conductor
Ms. Catherine Tummons is a native of Wichita, Kansas. She has taught band and orchestra in Wichita Public Schools since graduating from Wichita State University with a Bachelors of Music Education in 2012. She subsequently completed Kodaly certification Levels 1-3 and her Masters in Music Education in 2018 at WSU. Ms. Tummons currently teaches at Christa McAuliffe Academy and Heights High School, plays violin/viola in local orchestras, works several summer music camps, maintains a small private studio, is an active member of KASTA, and is excited to direct the Wichita Youth Chamber Players! She was named Young Teacher of the Year by the Kansas American String Teacher Association and was awarded a Distinguished Classroom Teacher Award from Wichita Public Schools. When not in rehearsal, you'll find her reading, hiking, playing board games, or doting on her two cats!
Dr. Timothy Shade
Youth Wind Ensemble Conductor
Dr. Timothy Shade is currently the Director of the School of Music and Director of Bands at Wichita State University. His responsibilities include leading the WSU Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, coordinating the graduate wind conducting program and teaching various courses within the school of music. Previous appointments include Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Alhambra Orchestra (FL), Visiting Director of Orchestras at Florida Atlantic University, and Director of Instrumental Music at Bethel College (KS). He has garnered praise for his exciting programming, engaging personality and “marvelous conducting.” Equally comfortable in the orchestral and wind realms, Shade has worked with Greater Miami Symphonic Band, The New River Orchestra, The Naples Philharmonic, The Frost Wind Ensemble, The Florida Youth Symphony, The Wichita Wind Ensemble, The Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra, and the Delano Chamber Orchestra.
Youth Orchestras Manager
Wichita Symphony Orchestra
As Youth Orchestras Manager, Maya Grossman oversees operations of all Wichita Symphony Youth Orchestras and Wind Ensemble activities. For any questions regarding our youth ensembles, contact Maya at:
mgrossman@wso.org
316.267.5259 xt 107
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