SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY AND CONSERVATORY
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Mission Statement
KeyNote instills excellence in musical achievement and personal growth through rigorous and inspiring music education experiences.
About This Cause
SDYS has been providing music education and performance opportunities for 80 years and is a nationally-recognized leader in returning in-school music education to improve academic achievement. Founded when in-school music instruction was the norm, SDYS enrolled the most talented local music students. About 20 years ago, it expanded to serve students at all levels from beginning to pre-professional. Today, over 600 students from ages 8-25 are enrolled in SDYS’ Program which includes 12 orchestras and wind ensembles that meet each weekend to rehearse in Balboa Park, located in central San Diego. Through its Community Program, SDYS partners with local school districts, schools and non-profits to provide students in kindergarten through high school with opportunities to learn and perform music. A central tenet of SDYS is that every student deserves high-quality music instruction for the myriad benefits it provides. Many studies have demonstrated that learning music from a young age changes the structure of the brain in ways that improve cognition, memory, spatial-temporal and executive function. Learning music in an ensemble setting instills in a student discipline, empathy, collaboration and teamwork. Unfortunately, severe cutbacks in school music education have disproportionately affected students attending schools in low-income neighborhoods that cannot afford to provide it. In 2010 SDYS expanded its mission to use its reputation and resources to influence the return of in-school music, both locally and nationally. It adopted a 10-year vision of Making Music Education Accessible and Affordable for All Students. To achieve that goal, SDYS launched Community Opus Project as a strategy to convince schools and school districts to invest in student achievement through music. Inspired by Venezuela’s El Sistema youth orchestra program, it included a major advocacy component aimed at building grassroots support for in-school music education. Partnering with Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD), SDYS began to provide free after-school music instruction to demonstrate the value of learning music. CVESD was selected for the pilot program because it did not provide arts education programming although it once had a music program that was eliminated more than 15 years earlier; and due to its location on the U.S./Mexico Border it has a large population (over 70%) of students from Latino, low-income families with parents who do not have a college degree. Thirty-five percent of the district’s students are English Language Learners. SDYS began by providing free after-school, on-site instrumental music instruction to 65 students at two Title 1 schools and the program grew rapidly. The changes in the students and their families became apparent very quickly and in the third year of Opus, CVESD’s Board voted to return in-school music instruction to all students. In 2015, CVESD invested $5 million for each of three years to hire 70 full-time credentialed arts teachers for its 45 campuses. Our early childhood music education program began in 2017 with the creation of ChIMES, and now reaches 1,000+ families each year. This program is designed for children under 5 with parents/caregivers, and offers a culturally rich array of music and activities developing musical, motor, social, literacy and language skills. Music Discovery, for children ages 5-7, continues children on their musical journey and builds a solid foundation of musical skills. Students learn singing, rhythm, creativity, musical literacy, and instrument fundamentals, setting the stage for participation in SDYS and school youth band and orchestra ensembles.