The Decorators' Show House & Gardens Supports The ASO's Learning Community
The Learning Community of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is more than a grouping of programs; it is a guiding philosophy. The ASO began as a youth orchestra in 1945. Community and education are an integral part of this organization's roots. The spectrum of offerings is broad. From a family-oriented concert series that introduces classical music to the very young to intensive training programs to continuing education opportunities for adults, the ASO's Learning Community truly does have something for everyone. School day concerts, training programs, continuing education, and community engagement efforts reach more than 100,000 patrons of all ages each year.
The ASO's Concerts for Young People, our school day concerts, have grown from a simple introduction to the orchestra and exposure to classical repertoire to programs that include extensive award-winning preparatory materials which are sent to teachers in advance and are correlated to state and national performance standards. Highly engaging and entertaining, the ASO's Concerts for Young People serve more than 30,000 and have become an annual staple for many classroom teachers.
Are your children younger than school age or would you like to enjoy a similar experience with your children or grandchildren; then check out the ASO's Family Concerts. These informative concerts are so much fun that the children often don't realize they are being educated at the same time!
Celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2009-10, the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra has provided Atlanta's top, student instrumentalists with an opportunity to perform orchestral masterworks under the finest conductors. Many of the Youth Orchestra's members have gone on to study in conservatories and university music departments, but the experience and discipline that comes with being a part of this Orchestra are treasured by all ASYO alumni. The ASYO will be the featured orchestra at the National American String Teacher's Association (ASTA) Conference this March. In 2008, Mrs. Elinor Rosenberg Breman made a generous gift to open the door to this extraordinary musical experience to any student who demonstrates the desire and aptitude to achieve a chair in the ASYO. She endowed the Elinor Rosenberg Breman ASYO Fellowship, a needs-based program that provides ASYO tuition scholarships for up to five musicians a year.
Established in 1993, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Talent Development Program was the first intense training program established by a major American orchestra to support talented, young African-American and Latino students of every orchestral instrument who desire to pursue classical music.TDP students comprise a significant segment of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and regularly place in the top All-State ensembles. In addition, through the Azira G. Hill cholarship Fund, the Program provides financial assistance to these students to attend leading summer music study programs. Celebrating a 15 year anniversary, this programs great strides are epitomized in the successes of cellist and TDP graduate Ismail Akbar who recently secured a one-year appointment in the Augusta Symphony Orchestra, the second TDP graduate to secure a position with a professional orchestra. In 2007, bassist and TDP graduate Eric Thompson was appointed to a one-year position at the Charlotte Symphony — he now holds a permanent position there. Current TDP student Khari Joyner has been named the First Place Junior Division Laureate in the 12th Annual Sphinx Competition. Mr. Joyner, a 17-year old cellist from Atlanta, GA, was awarded prizes and scholarships including opportunities for solo appearances with major orchestras and a performance on NPR's From the Top. Mr. Joyner is the first ASO Talent Development Program student to win at the prestigious competition.
The success of the TDP has inspired collaboration between the ASO and Beacon of Hope's Renaissance Learning Center to create a program called Kids with Strings which will be jointly administered by both parties. The program introduces school-age children to classical music through an interactive, entertaining and engaging music curriculum. As its goal, the program provides underserviced children access to quality music education; a positive introduction to classical music; identifies and encourages individuals with musical talent; and strengthens communities and families through music education. The charitable foundation Humana awarded a $100,000 signature grant to launch Kids with Strings.
For the past eleven years, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's community engagement component annually reaches over 13,000 metro Atlanta residents. ASO musicians perform over 1,400 hours of community service each year through classroom contact, neighborhood chamber music concerts and interaction with members of community service organizations. The ASO is now endeavoring to work with metro Atlanta neighborhoods to completely re-imagine the way that it interacts with the city of Atlanta. This ground-breaking program, entitled, Rhythm In Time: A Community Experience, seeks to build community partnerships which will create unique and meaningful experiences, with original programming, while building bridges across the city of Atlanta.
For many seasons the ASO has offered continuing education opportunities to patrons through the ASO's Concert Previews and Lecture of Notes series. In 2008-2009 Lectures of Note became Conversations of Note, is now free to any member of the community, and has expanded beyond the lecture format. With live musical elements integrated into each event; this series is attracting a diverse group of artists, educators, professionals, and audience members. Historians, poets, composers, gospel singers, and musicians join Ken Meltzer and Robert Spano in an exploration of how art, history, and society intertwine to provide a truly unique view into the world of music. Each event is being filmed for webcast and podcast on the Atlanta Forum Network.
Each year the Orchestra's commitment to music and community has expanded to create a wider variety of musical and educational experiences for citizens of all ages. ASO musicians travel throughout the greater Atlanta area, partnering with community groups and schools to perform concerts in small community venues, coach young musicians and provide classical music education for all ages. The programs are designed to educate, stimulate interest in classical music and create musical opportunities for people who may not otherwise have access to them. What are you looking for from your Atlanta Symphony Orchestra? There is something here for every age, for every level of interest and education, for every level of involvement.