The Chautauqua Regional Youth Symphony will continue its silver anniversary season Sunday with a performance at Jamestown Community College. The structure and name of the symphony have changed since the late 1980s, but the reasoning behind its existence remains the same.
The symphony began under the name "Jamestown Orchestra of the Youth," following a local concert by the Rochester Youth Orchestra.
"Everyone in Jamestown was inspired by it," said Nina Karbacka, Jamestown Orchestra of the Youth founder. "I thought, 'We could do this here; we could have a youth orchestra.'"
Jamestown Orchestra of the Youth formed, creating one local youth orchestra. Years later, the organization incorporated two more orchestras and changed its name to the Chautauqua Regional Youth Symphony.
"Nina started this as an outlet for kids who were more advanced than their middle or high school orchestras were able to provide for them," said Tanya Anderson, Chautauqua Regional Youth Symphony board president. "The reason that there are kids in this area who are more advanced is because we have a Suzuki program in our public schools. By the time they reach middle school, when a lot of children are just picking up their first band or orchestra instrument, they're already well on their way to reading music and being able to perform quite proficiently. Kids who are really into music or just enjoy music can get a lot out of Chautauqua Regional Youth Symphony. It's just a great outlet."
The intermediate string musicians who make up the Chautauqua Regional Youth Symphony's Young Artists Orchestra and the advanced 14- to 21-year-old musicians who make up the Youth Symphony will perform Sunday. The third orchestra, Prelude Strings, the young artists orchestra of the symphony, will be in action for the third and final concert of the symphony year - the Spring Gala - on May 6.
Over the years, some students have advanced from Prelude Strings to the Young Artists Orchestra to the Youth Symphony. The performers are initially recommended by their school music instructors, and musicians must audition for their seats in the Youth Symphony. The musicians in the Chautauqua Regional Youth Symphony come from throughout Chautauqua County.
"We have a fair share of them who do continue on," Anderson said. "Our hope is that they will. The idea is that they keep growing and they keep being challenged."
Sunday's performers will include mostly area middle, high school and JCC students, along with a few young area graduates. About 40 musicians play in either the Youth Symphony or the Young Artists Orchestra, Anderson said.
"The symphony has always attracted the finest of our local musicians," Karbacka said. "They are the premier young people in our area who are really serious about music."
Maestro Bryan Eckenrode, Chautauqua Regional Youth Symphony music director and conductor, will lead the way Sunday. He has been rehearsing the orchestras on Saturdays at Reg Lenna Civic Center.
Sunday's concert will take place in the Scharmann Theater and will start at 4 p.m. Tickets at the door will be $7 for adults and $5 for children. Pre-sale tickets, which can be purchased from orchestra members or by calling 664-2465, ext. 202, are $5 for adults and $3 for children.
The group of students and young adults who take the stage Sunday will continue a quarter-century tradition of out-of-school youth orchestral music in the Jamestown area.
"It's wonderful to see it reach its 25th anniversary," Karbacka said. "It was an idea that was embraced by the community. It has always been supported and funded by the community, and the concerts have been attended by the people in the community. It's not only to benefit the young people, but I think it has played into the cultural, musical life of our area."
