Adelaide Youth Orchestras (AdYO) provides world-class development programs and career pathways for South Australia’s brightest young emerging musicians. AdYO services and supports 300 young musicians participating each week during the school term across five orchestras (Youth Orchestra, Wind Orchestra, Youth Strings, Sinfonia, and Junior Winds), the newly formed Percussion Ensemble, and six chamber ensembles. Over the past 21 years, AdYO has supported 2000 young emerging musicians in over 4000 individual opportunities to engage with our orchestras. Many of our alumni play leading roles as professional artists, and in the business, arts, cultural, and education communities. AdYO’s forward-thinking artistic program focuses on the new generation of 21st-century orchestral players; not just as concert hall based custodians of ‘heritage’ culture, but as purveyors of new thoughts in music and the business of music-making, and of the orchestral culture as a unique demonstrator of social cohesion. In addition to artistic programming of the classics, AdYO has commissioned many local composers including Anne Cawrse, Daniel Schricker, and Jakub Jankowski (Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s 2023 Composer in Residence). We strive to provide high-quality development programs for young musicians and ongoing employment of professional musicians (artistic team, conductors, and music education specialists). We play a leadership role in collaborating with education and music partners to ensure that high-quality music education is available for all members and students in schools. Our programs are designed to increase engagement in the arts and raise the status of music education in South Australia – having a positive impact on music in schools and the community; ensuring access, engagement, and participation regardless of social, cultural, or educational background.
