the Durham Youth Orchestra
Established in 1993 by Oshawa violinist John Beaton, the Durham Youth Orchestra provides young musicians aged 21 years and under with the enriching educational experience of performing the music of such composers as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Dvorak and Elgar. The goal of the DYO is to foster the artistic and personal growth of young musicians through the experience of playing as a large ensemble. The DYO provides the wonderful opportunity to meet other musicians with the same passion for music, to acquire teamwork skills in an orchestral setting, and to become familiar with a wide range of classical music from the 17th to the 21st century.

The Durham Youth Orchestra performs in a minimum of three concerts each season. The orchestra’s involvement in the community includes concerts given in numerous Durham District schools, and for other non-profit organizations. With these efforts, orchestra members gain valuable performing experience and help contribute to the musical culture of the Durham region.

The young musicians have accompanied soloists from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Oshawa-Durham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra London, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, as well as some of Durham Region’s most talented music students.

• In 2002, they performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with one of Canada’s most outstanding violinists, Erika Raum.
  
• In 2004, the orchestra accompanied the principal cellist of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, Lief Moxon-Emre in a performance of Saint-Saen’s Cello Concerto No.1.
  
• In February 2005, they performed Italian arias and Neopolitan songs with Giovanni Secondini, a rising opera star and graduate of New York City’s ‘Juilliard School of Music’, with the assistance of pianist Marianne Turner.
  
• In 2006, the DYO performed Vivaldi’s Gloria with the “Young Singers” Choir, directed by Anna Lynn Murphy. They also performed Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture and Dvorak’s Cello Concerto (first movement) in combination with the Kitchen-Waterloo Youth Orchestra under Wilfred Laurier University Professor, Paul Pulford, and principal cellist, Alina Lim, as soloist.