Surrey Youth Orchestra

Since 1976 the Surrey Symphony Society, operating the Surrey Youth Orchestras, has provided opportunities for young musicians age 7 – 21 years from across the Lower Mainland, to rehearse and perform in an orchestral environment with their peers under the instruction of professionally trained conductors. The mandate of the society, in summary, is to support young musicians’ growth through orchestra participation. The Surrey Symphony Society plays a distinctive role in the community by providing youth an avenue to build their musicality beyond individual private lessons. The success of the organization is in the commitment to its mandate and the fact that, after 40 years, the focus is on youth programming with a very defined set of activities. The core program is based on weekly orchestra rehearsals where the young musicians learn to perform alongside a larger group of players. With 125 students, there are three orchestras – Junior Strings, Intermediate, and Youth, each one defined by age and/or skill level of the players. The supplementary chamber music program develops smaller groups of players performing chamber repertoire together. The public performances held between September and June showcase the skills the students have learned in rehearsal. As a regional arts organizational, the three orchestras are invited to perform at events across the Lower Mainland.