Chicago Young Musician Initiative

The Chicago Youth in Music Festival is a collaboration between the Institute for Learning, Access and Training at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago’s leading organizations in music education.

The Festival seeks to extend and deepen the engagement of youth and music in Chicago and foster critical mass and visibility among Chicago’s youth music providers. The primary vehicle for this work is a biannual festival of youth in music.

The collaborating organizations believe that making music provides essential nourishment to human development and has the power to transform lives...and that the power of live music is magnified when young people play together, building a musical community from their individual responsibilities and collective aspirations, adding a sense of shared achievement and joy to their lives, and opening windows onto new possibilities and horizons.

Collaborating Organizations include: Chicago Children’s Choir • Chicago Public Schools • Chicago Sinfonietta • Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras • DePaul University Community Music Division • Hyde Park Suzuki Institute • Merit School of Music • Midwest Young Artists • Music Institute of Chicago • Northern Illinois University • Northwestern University • The People’s Music School • Ravinia Festival • Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts • Sherwood, The Community Music School at Columbia College Chicago • VanderCook College of Music

2011 CHICAGO YOUTH IN MUSIC FESTIVAL

The Institute for Learning, Access and Training at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago’s leading organizations in youth music education and performance presented the 2011 Chicago Youth in Music Festival which took place May 5 – 15, 2011. By celebrating the achievements of young musicians, the Festival aimed to extend and deepen the engagement of youth in music throughout Chicago, foster critical mass and visibility among local youth music providers and strengthen ties between Chicago’s providers and counterparts both nationally and internationally. This video about the Festival, produced by Green River Films, was shown at A Celebration of Youth in Music on Sunday, May 15 at Symphony Center.

Watch the 2011 Chicago Youth in Music Festival video >

Download the Festival Brochure >
Press Release (English) >
Press Release (Spanish) >

Building on the accomplishments of the 2009 Youth in Music Festival, which engaged nearly 10,000 people as young performers and audience members, activities during the 2011 Festival are guided by CSO Music Director Riccardo Muti and Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant Yo-Yo Ma. The Festival features guest youth ensembles from Mexico—the Carlos Chávez Youth Orchestra and the Children’s Choir of Morelia—and includes over 15 events that are free and open to the public at Symphony Center and in locations throughout the city of Chicago.

Partners in planning the festival include:
Chicago Children’s Choir
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Sinfonietta
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras
DePaul University Community Music Division
Hyde Park Suzuki Institute
Merit School of Music
Midwest Young Artists
Music Institute of Chicago
New Music School
Northern Illinois University
Northwestern University
People’s Music School
Ravinia Festival
Sherwood, The Community Music School at Columbia College Chicago
VanderCook College of Music

98.7WFMT is proud to partner with the CSO on its 2011 Youth in Music Festival; tune in to WFMT’s Introductions program Saturdays at 11 a.m. to hear some of the Chicago region's most talented pre-collegiate classical musicians.

Introductions WFMT

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is grateful to the following donors for their support of the 2011 Chicago Youth in Music Festival:

The Negaunee Foundation The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund Leslie Fund, Inc.
The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation Mazza Foundation

Supported in part by:

Chicago Young Musician Initiative

More Information

Learn More About The Institute

The Chicago Youth in Music Festival is a collaboration between the Institute for Learning, Access and Training at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago’s leading organizations in music education.

2011 CHICAGO YOUTH IN MUSIC FESTIVAL