The Durham Youth Orchestra is an extremely important part of my life – not only have I had a huge amount of fun rehearsing and performing with the group, but I have learned a lot about myself and music.  Whether it’s in a classroom at Juilliard or on a concert stage in Japan, I often think of things I learned during my time with the DYO –  focus and discipline as well as a love of music that I will cherish forever!

Joining the Durham Youth Orchestra was the best thing that I did while I was in high school. I always knew that I wanted to go to university to study classical music, with the dream of one day winning a position in a professional orchestra, but my high school was not able to offer the training and experience that I needed to achieve my goals. The Durham Youth Orchestra gave that to me, and much more. During my time in the DYO I had the opportunity to learn and perform many orchestral masterworks in an environment that was encouraging, fun, exciting and enriching. Under the kind and inspirational leadership of Director John Beaton and Assistant Director Paul Otway, I learned about many important aspects of playing in an orchestra, such as orchestral etiquette, performance practices, intonation, balance,… all of which is invaluable knowledge for anyone interested in pursuing a career in music. The connections I made during my time in the orchestra, both among the other musicians and with the professionals whom directed our sectionals, helped me to get introduced and acquainted with the musical community around me. I made many friends in the DYO who later became my colleagues in the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra. We very fortunate to have this wonderful training orchestra in our community, which greatly enriches the music education program in Durham Region. I cannot recommend it highly enough!