COLORADO YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS
NOW ACCEPTING AUDITIONS
for the 2022-2023 Season!
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO JOIN CYSO!
Don't wait! Come join the fun.
Send us your video audition.
Scholarship assistance for qualifying families are available.
Click here for more information.
Rehearsals will be held at Colorado's Finest High School of Choice on Monday evenings
300 West Chenango Ave, Englewood, CO
Click HERE for more information and to learn about CYSO's five ensembles.
There's something for everyone! CYSO will be performing at the Denver Nuggets game this season.
Date: March 6, 2023
CYSO will have on line programming made in advance featuring professional symphony musicians from all over the United States in case of disruption of our normal rehearsals due to the Covid-19 virus. The musical experience will not be interrupted!
Announcing our wonderful Fall Concert Guest Artist:
Ebonee Thomas
Ebonee Thomas is Assistant Professor of Flute. Hailed for her “verve and pizazz” and the “gleaming purity” of her artistry by the Miami Herald, Ebonee Thomas is Second Flute and Piccolo of The Dallas Opera. She has previously served as Principal Flute of the Knoxville Symphony and the Florida Grand Opera, and spent one year as Second Flute of the Houston Symphony. In addition, she has performed as Guest Principal Flute with the Seattle Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, and the Fort Worth Symphony. Ebonee has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Oregon Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Detroit Symphony and Dallas Symphony.
Ebonee completed a four-year fellowship with the prestigious New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson-Thomas. In addition to performing at Carnegie Hall, she was a featured soloist under Tilson-Thomas, performing Joan Tower’s Flute Concerto and the North American premiere of Christian Lindberg’s flute concerto, The World of Montuagretta.
Along with performing orchestral repertoire, Ebonee is an avid chamber musician, applauded as a “standout” by Theater Jones in her latest performance for the Fine Arts Chamber Players. She performs regularly with the Austin Chamber Music Society and Voices of Change, a new-music ensemble in Dallas, TX. She was a finalist for the Austin Arts Awards for her performance of Valerie Coleman’s Danza de la Mariposa, for solo flute. Ebonee has been a member of the Firebird Ensemble with Seraphic Fire and can be heard on several of their released recordings including The Brandenburg Project. Ebonee had the rare opportunity to perform John Adams’ Chamber Symphony in Carnegie Hall under the composer’s baton. She also served as Principal Flute of the Star Wars in Concert! Orchestra during their U.S., Canada, and Mexico tour and was Principal Flute of the American Repertory Theater’s revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.
As a passionate pedagogue, Ebonee maintains a full studio of students from beginners through adults and also serves on the faculty at Brookhaven College in Dallas, TX. Along with all of her musical endeavors, Ebonee serves as a member of the board of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestras and is on the National Advisory Board of the Memphis Youth Symphony Program
Ebonee received her Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Southern Methodist University and received her Master of Music from New England Conservatory of Music. Her principal teachers were Jean Larson Garver, Claire Johnson, Helen Blackburn, and Fenwick Smith. Ebonee plays on a silver .16 wall Brannen Brögger flute with a platinum Mancke headjoint and a Burkart Elite Piccolo.
CYSO Outreach Teacher Spotlight: Mariama Alcântara
CYSO Outreach Teacher. Dr. Mariama Alcântara, has earned recognition for her artistry as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician. Her debut album Brazilian Landscapes: Music for Solo Violin from Brazil, released by the Italian-Japanese label Da Vinci Classics, has been described as “an unmissable album,” as well as “impactful” and “courageous”. Gramophone Magazine UK state “Brazilian-born Alcântara copes well with the
considerable demands that this music makes on her, the proof being that you are hardly ever aware of any technical hurdles, just the nourishing fruits of Alcântara’s labours”. The album features Flausino Vale’s 26 Preludes for solo violin and a Partita that she commissioned from Andre Mehmari.
Dr. Alcântara grew up in a musical family, making her solo debut at the age of 12 with the Paraiba Symphony Orchestra. Presently, she is a member of the Iris Chamber Orchestra. She has given recitals and solo orchestral performances in Brazil, Austria, France and the United States. Most recent performances include recitals with the Western Slope Concert Series and a CD Release Recital through the Colorado Music Festival.
In addition to her extensive solo and orchestral career, Dr. Alcântara is an avid chamber musician, having collaborated with the Aizuri Quartet, Dali Quartet and guest artist with Allenspark Chamber Music Festival.
Passionate about improving equality and diversity in classical music, Dr. Alcantara worked as a researcher with the Boulanger Initiative, an advocate of women composers based in Washington D.C. The Initiative promotes music composed by women through performance, education, commissions, and consultations.
Dr. Alcântara’s background and diverse musical projects shape her passion for discovering, performing and teaching a broad range of music to students of different ages and abilities. She has served on the faculty of El Sistema Colorado and Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestra, coaching and mentoring young aspiring musicians as part of the organization’s outreach program. Currently, she is a faculty member at Austin Chamber Music Center, orchestra clinician and violin instructor at Lake Travis High School.
A graduate of the University of Memphis, she studied with Dr. Soh-Hyun Altino and earned her master’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University as a student and teaching assistant of Professor James Lyon. A 2019 recipient of the prestigious Starling Foundation Fellowship, Dr. Alcântara earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Colorado Boulder as a student and teaching assistant of Professor Harumi Rhodes and Ed Dusinberre of the Takács Quartet.
2022 CYSO Performance at the Denver Nuggets
Virtual Content for All!
Virtual content for our CYSO Outreach students may be accessed using the link below:
CYSO Alumni Spotlight
CYSO alum and Principal Cellist of the San Fransisco Symphony, Rainer Eudeikis, is featured on this episode of "The Cello Sherpa" podcast!
Click HERE to listen.
Thanks to our Summer Music Menu participants, CYSO was able to make a donation to Food Bank of the Rockies!
CYSO proudly donated string instruments and bows to the women's prison Musical Freedom program!
CYSO is incredibly grateful to the Colorado Creative Industries and National Endowment for the Arts for their generous grant in support of CYSO during these challenging times.
CYSO is proud to receive generous support from the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District and the Sheila Fortune Foundation.
Hear what the community is saying:
TESTIMONIALS
"The CYSO has played a critical role in ensuring that music is available to our youth. We are proud to have the Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestra working to strengthen the arts through music."
-John Hickenlooper,
Former Governor of Colorado
"I look forward to my son having the opportunity to be a member of the Colorado Youth Symphony in the future."
-Jared Polis,
Governor of Colorado
"CYSO encourages kids to develop their talents and sense of identity."
-Edward Dusinberre,
First Violinist, Takács Quartet
My time in the CYSO was one of the most enjoyable musical experiences of my youth. Being able to perform with other highly accomplished youth musicians and fantastic guest artists was an irreplaceable and unforgettable experience. Additionally, CYSO taught me what high standards really look like and, more importantly, how to strive to exceed even those high standards. We played wonderful and varied repertoire and I still think back fondly at the musical experiences I had with the CYSO. While I am no longer an active player, I have no doubt that my time in the CYSO is a significant reason I am such an active supporter of the Colorado arts community today.
-Greg Diamond
Senior Corporate Counsel
Snowflake Inc.