The Carolina Youth Symphony Mission

The Carolina Youth Symphony (CYS) mission is to encourage artistic excellence in a nurturing environment by providing the highest quality orchestral training and performance opportunities to qualified musicians, grades K-12, and makes participate possible to many through financial aid and work programs. CYS offers a continuum of orchestral and ensemble training to hundreds of students ages 6 to 18, with three full orchestras.

CYS prides itself on creating a community for young musicians, their families and the people that support their passion for music.

Carolina Youth Symphony strives to:

• Encourage pride and self-esteem in young people from all cultural backgrounds through their individual musical achievement
• Create an atmosphere of discipline and appreciation of fine music our members will carry with them all their lives
• Promote and enhance the cultural life of Upstate South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina through orchestral performances, community outreach programs, open rehearsals and recitals, and open music competitions.

Membership in the Carolina Youth Symphony is one of the most important pre-college educational experiences for talented young musicians available. The opportunity to join with musicians from many different schools and backgrounds who share the same love, dedication and commitment to music, and to perform the great compositions of the orchestral repertory for the first time make the Carolina Youth Symphony experience one of the most exciting in the musical community.

Many of our members have gone on to distinguished music schools and careers.