Metropolitan Youth Symphony

Mission

Metropolitan Youth Symphony (MYS) educates, develops, and promotes young musicians. For five decades, MYS has been a trailblazer in music education and now stands as one of the nation’s largest youth orchestra programs. Each season, we engage more than 400 students across the Portland metro area, representing a full range of skill levels in 14 orchestra, wind, strings, and jazz ensembles that draw participants from up to eight counties in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Altogether, our programming reaches roughly 7,500 students and community members each year.

Through our Music Access Program, we connect with 5,000 students who might otherwise go without music education. The cost of lessons and instruments is the primary barrier to participation and MYS is dedicated to removing those obstacles, so every child has the chance to experience the joy and transformative impact of music. We provide free Beginning Strings classes and instruments, present 15 concerts at Title I schools, offer tuition assistance and instrument loans for students in MYS ensembles, small group coaching across our ensembles, and deliver free one-on-one lessons for graduates of Beginning Strings.

For the past 50 years, MYS has worked to dismantle barriers to music education, ensuring that thousands of young people benefit from music’s academic, social, and emotional rewards. Research and experience show that music powerfully shapes a child’s intellectual growth and social development.

Yet, many schools in the metro area do not provide instrumental music programs, and the high cost of private lessons and instruments prevents countless families from accessing them on their own. MYS fills this gap, giving young people across the region meaningful access to music and equipping them with vital skills that support success in both school and life.

Bottom Line for Portland

For the past 50 years, MYS has championed Music for All, breaking down barriers to music education so that thousands of young people can experience the academic, social, and emotional benefits that music provides. Music is more than a “nice to have.” Music  benefits a child’s academic growth and social development in countless well-documented ways.

Yet many Portland-area schools cannot afford to offer music or band programs, and the high cost of private lessons places access out of reach for countless families. Through MYS, and with a commitment to Music for All, youth across the metro region are given the opportunity to learn, grow, and build the critical skills that help them thrive in school and in life.

Quote

According to Nabil Zaghloul, Director Bienestar de la Familia Social Service Program:

“Over the years, we have seen firsthand how critical access to quality enrichment programs is to the health and success of our community’s youth. Many of the families we serve have limited access to the arts, especially programs like string music education that require specialized instruction, transportation, and instruments. That’s why we are proud to collaborate with MYS and support their Beginning Strings program as a powerful tool for equity and youth development.”

Incentives

Donors to MYS' Music for All campaign will receive a “Sweet Thanks!” 15% discount on purchases $25 or less from Farina Bakery as a thank you gift. 

Partner(s)

Farina Bakery “Sweet Thanks!” 15% discount of purchases $25 or less with gift receipt.

Fear No Music social media partnership.