Extracurricular Youth Ensembles in West Michigan

To any music students in middle or high school I highly recommend participating in a local extracurricular youth ensemble on top of your school groups. If you are headed to college be sure to check out the campus ensembles (many offer groups for music and non-music majors as well!!)

As a participant in youth ensembles myself I can see how they have positively impacted my path as a musician. Connecting with other instrumentalists increases your knowledge and encourages  personal development on so many levels. You will not only get more exposure to performing, but will learn how to work as a team and be a leader. (Yes, you can be a leader and a team player at the same time!)

Below I have listed a few youth orchestras and ensembles in the West Michigan Area along with some upcoming audition details for the 2016-2017 school year. This may not be a fully comprehensive list, so be sure to research for yourself as well.

Grand Rapids Youth Symphony Ensembles:
♢Grand Rapids Youth Symphony & Classical Orchestra:
http://grys.org/get-involved/audition/
http://grys.org/

♢St. Cecilia Music Center Ensembles:
http://www.scmc-online.org/youth-ensembles/
http://www.scmc-online.org/youth-auditions/

Holland Youth Symphony Ensembles:
♢Holland Area Junior Strings & Holland Area Youth Orchestra
https://www.hollandsymphony.org/education-community/youth-orchestra/  

Muskegon Youth Symphony Ensembles:
♢West Michigan Debut Strings & Youth Symphony:
http://westmichigansymphony.org/youth-symphony/debut-strings/ 
https://www.facebook.com/West-Michigan-Youth-Symphony-135694828630/

Auditions will be required for most of these ensembles. If you struggle with stage fright be sure to read my past blog post in the link 'here' on performance anxiety.

Best of luck! & be sure to message me or these organizations for other information. :)
Larissa