GWYOA.org

2024-2025 Schedule

2024

13 rehearsals for ES and JS, 14 rehearsals for YS, 1 sectional, ES & JS Tours, Winter Concert

SEPTEMBER
September 9*,16,23,30

OCTOBER

October 7*, 14, 21,28

NOVEMBER

November 4*, 18, 25

DECEMBER

December: 2*, 9, 16 (YS only)

Wednesday December 11 - JS Tour

Thursday December 12 *Snow Date: December 13)– ES Tour

TBD –Holiday Lighting Celebration and Performance – ES Tour

ES Winter Sectionals: Sunday, November 17, 1 -4 pm

JS Winter Sectionals: Sunday, November 17, 1 - 3:45pm
YS Winter Sectionals: Sunday, October 27, 4 - 7pm

PLEASE NOTE: only YS will be rehearsing on 12/16

Sunday, December 15, 2024 Winter Concert
ES: 2:00 pm*, JS: 3:00 pm*, YS: 4:15 pm*
Hankin Academic Arts Auditorium, WCC

*Anticipated starting time, concerts will not begin earlier.

2025

13 rehearsals, 1 sectional, ES & JS Tours, YS Lewis Lionti Concert, Spring Gala Concert

JANUARY

January 6*, 13, 27

FEBRUARY
Feb 3*, 10, 24

Monday, February 3, 2025 Lewis-Lionti Concert

MARCH

March 3*, 10, 17, 24

TBD ES sectionals

March 3 – 4pm - 7pm YS sectionals

ES Sectionals: Sunday, March 9, 2025, 1 pm – 4 pm
JS Sectionals: Monday, March 24

APRIL

April 7*, 21, 28,

MAY

May 1 – JS Tour

May 2 – ES Spring Bus Tour

Sunday, May 4, 2025 at 1 pm– Spring Gala, Lincoln Center

AUDITIONS for 2025-2026 Season:

Saturday May 10, 2025

-New Musicians interested in joining Elementary Strings (4th grade – 6th grade), Junior Strings (7th grade – 9th grade), Youth Symphony (Strings: 10th grade – 12th grade; Wind, Brass, Percussion: 9th grade – 12th grade)

Monday May 12, 2025

-New Musicians interested in joining Elementary Strings (4th grade – 6th grade)

-Graduating Musicians from Elementary Strings and Junior Strings wishing to move up to the next orchestra.

Committee Meetings last Monday of month.

Last Board meeting May 12*

(*) GWYOA Board meetings

Announcements

Comprehensive Information for the May 4 2025 Gala is available HERE.

Ready for GWYOA's Spectacular Spring Gala! Join us for an unforgettable musical experience at the GWYOA Spring Gala on May 4th in David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center! The 2025 Spring Gala Concert features works by Bach, Bernstein, Bruckner, Bizet, Fletcher, Grieg, Handel, Mozart, Stravinsky, Telemann, and Williams. Secure your seats now at this link.

Open Auditions for the 2025-2026 Season
GWYOA welcomes new musicians and current members moving up to participate in another exciting season of inspiring music! Auditions for new musicians interested in joining Junior Strings and Youth Symphony will be Saturday, May 10, 2025. Auditions for new musicians interested in joining Elementary Strings, and graduating musicians of Elementary Strings and Junior Strings wishing to move up to the next orchestra will be held on Monday, May 12, 2025.

Second Annual Vincent and Victor Lionti Scholarship Award
GWYOA will be awarding it Second Annual Vincent and Victor Lionti Scholarship Award at The Lewis-Lionti Sonata Concert. Application details will be emailed to current Youth Symphony members in May, 2025. Applications will be due September 12, 2025.

As always, thank you for supporting GWYOA and our talented young musicians. We hope to see you at these upcoming events, celebrating the beauty and power of music in our community.

Welcome to the 2024-2025 Season

Please see Member Info for arrival and rehearsal times, plus related info.

Parent/Guardian Info for additional detailed information

Rehearsals and the Winter Concert are held at Westchester Community College's Academic Arts Building near parking lot #4.

About the GWYOA

The Greater Westchester Youth Orchestras Association
is dedicated to the development of young people’s
musicianship through rehearsing and performing together.

The GWYOA is a not-for-profit organization providing excellent grounding in cooperation, helping young people to develop self- esteem, and promoting harmony in our ethnically diverse community through classical music training. Founded in 1953, the GWYOA consists of three orchestras made up of students in grades four through twelve from Westchester County, NY, and from the surrounding counties in the Tri-State area, working in cooperation with the Westchester Community College in Valhalla, NY. All three of the orchestras perform Winter and Spring Concerts each year.

History of the GWYOA

Mr. Harry Alshin, a string teacher in the Scarsdale school system, sowed the seeds for a Westchester-based youth orchestra in 1955. He first organized and conducted a countywide group of junior high-school students, preparing the young participants for the challenges of playing in a youth orchestra. Two years later, the original orchestra was established. The modern-day GWYOA is comprised of three groups: Elementary Strings (grades four through six), Junior Strings (grades seven through nine), and the Youth Symphony (for high-school musicians).

Maestro Alshin remained with Junior Strings until he retired in the 1980s. Dale Lewis was the next conductor, and was followed by Vincent Lionti in 1990.

Elementary Strings was organized in 1983 and was first conducted by Jacqueline Stern. She moved on to lead the Junior Strings in 1996 (where she remains today) when Bernard Klinger joined GWYOA as the new (and current) conductor of the Elementary Strings.

The Youth Symphony has had only five conductors since its inception. Victor Lionti, who took over the baton in 1970 and maintained it for 25 years, holds the longest tenure. His son, Vincent Lionti, who played viola with the GWYOA from the age of 12 through high school, followed in his father’s footsteps and began leading the Youth Symphony in 1996. Vincent guided the Youth Symphony with passion for the next 24 years, but tragically passed away on April 3, 2020, from COVID-related illness. Following the incomprehensible loss of Vincent, the board of GWYOA appointed Kathleen Coletta Feldman to the position of interim conductor, and on November 3, 2021, made that appointment permanent.

During the early years, GWYOA was sponsored by Westchester County and rehearsals were held in the basement of the County Center. There was also a six-week sleep-away summer camp co-sponsored by the GWYOA and the county at Croton Point. For many years after that, GWYOA worked in cooperation with the Westchester Community College in Valhalla, NY, where weekly rehearsals and certain performances were held. While adapting to the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, GWYOA has been working in cooperation with the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, White Plains High School, and St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church for rehearsals and performances.

Performance Venues

The GWYOA orchestras perform in a wide range of venues. In the past they have been honored to perform at:

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts
Carnegie Hall
David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center
Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center
Ellis Island
Kennedy Center
SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center
Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital
MENC Eastern Division Conference
NYSSMA State Conferences
White Plains Performing Arts Center
1976 Bicentennial celebration in Philadelphia

Various local nursing homes, elementary and middle schools.