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Greater Miami Youth Symphony Educates the Next generation

BY MARA RUDOLPH
Published in The Miami Herald

Every Sunday from September through June for three years, Ryan San Juan would board the No. 54 bus in Hialeah, sheet music and clarinet in tow.

One bus transfer, two Metrorail rides and nearly three hours later, he'd be in the principal clarinetist's seat, ready for the Greater Miami Youth Symphony's weekly practice.

``Sometimes I would sit there and think, `I could be in Orlando by now,' '' said San Juan, 17.

The hundreds of hours spent on public transportation paid off for San Juan, who in August will join the U.S. Marine Band.

``If I never got into music at all, I wouldn't even know what type of person I would be right now,'' said San Juan.

His introduction to music performance was made possible by the 51-year-old youth symphony, which has 600 students from age 5 to 19.

Whether they're beginners or prodigies, there's a place for young musicians in the four levels of orchestra, jazz band, concert band and chamber ensembles. They perform classical pieces as well as contemporary music from composers such as Carlos Santana and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

``It's so cool. The kids walk in listening to pop music on their iPods and then sit down to play classical music,'' said Laurie Hill, president of the organization.

There is a tuition fee to join the symphony, but financial aid is made possible by grants from groups like The Children's Trust. Many students come from families on food stamps, and about 250 of the members receive free music instruction and instruments.

Though an audition is required to be accepted into the performance groups, the youth symphony also has a preparatory division for children with little to no musical experience.

``It's the beginners and young musicians that we've seen this explosion and thirst from because they don't get training in elementary school,'' Hill said.

And as arts programs in public schools founder under the weight of budget cuts, Hill said the Greater Miami Youth Symphony is doing its part to educate a new generation of musicians.

``We're filling a niche as music programs are falling by the wayside,'' she said. ``It used to be that the magnet schools would feed us. Now we are training kids for them.''

The youth symphony conducts a series of summer camps for beginning, intermediate and advanced musicians. About 50 percent of these students are on scholarship to continue their training while school is out of session.

The camps host recitals, concerts and workshops in subjects like conducting, music theory and improvisation, as well as classes on art-based literacy.

Though the symphony has grown more than 300 percent in the past several years, the group has only been able to do so much during the school year since it doesn't have the budget to rent practice space. Currently, practices are held in several venues, from Florida International University to the University of Miami. And with no senior orchestra in South Florida, the group has been struggling for community awareness.

``We're playing the top repertoire you can find, but we don't have the big orchestra to take us under their wing,'' Hill said.

Eventually, the group would like to form a partnership with a youth symphony in Venezuela and be able to perform in the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

``We're not just preparing these kids to be musicians, we're preparing them to be active in the arts communities in which they live,'' Hill said.

That was certainly true for San Juan, who graduated from Barbara Goleman Senior High last month.

He expected to have to go to work to help out his family. But after auditioning over the telephone for representatives from the U.S. Marine Band, someone flew down to hear him play in person.

``It was so nerve-wracking. I felt like I really needed this opportunity,'' he said.

After basic training, San Juan will attend the U.S. Armed Forces School of Music. He hopes to eventually be stationed in Okinawa, Japan or Hawaii while studying music performance part time.

To him, the three-hour bus rides to get to practice were worth it.

``It helped me in so many ways. I would've never had the experience of playing with an orchestra,'' San Juansaid.

``It changed my life pretty much forever.''