On this page, you will find a variety of opportunities for performance, education, and additional resources. Students who immerse themselves in these learning opportunities outside of lessons usually find more motivation, insights, and an increased appreciation for the music that they have chosen to dedicate a part of their lives to.
These events are always being updated, so please continue to check back and discuss these opportunities with your teacher, to find what will be the best fit for you!
Performance Opportunities / Competitions
Youth Orchestras
Claremont Youth Symphony/Prelude String Ensemble
CYSO is a non-profit organization designed to foster in young musicians a lifelong love of music through an affordable, educational, professionally directed orchestra program. Founded in 1983 and currently led by Music Director Matthew Keating, CYSO offers students opportunities to improve their musicianship through weekly rehearsals, twice-yearly performances, and an annual Concerto Competition.
In partnership with CYSO, PSE was founded in 2014 by cellist and music educator Pat Kuenning, as a means of providing a preparatory string ensemble for CYSO. In 2022 the group was expanded to become a full symphonic ensemble and has been led since then by Matthew Keating.
CYSO is sponsored by the Claremont Symphony Orchestra (CSO), a non-profit community orchestra providing FREE concerts to the public. Check out CSO’s current concert schedule. PSE is sponsored by Claremont Community School of Music.
Rehearsals: Tuesday Evenings
Tuition: $380 per academic year, $320 for sibling
Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra, Intermezzo Orchestra, Overture String Orchestra
The Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra (CYMO), founded by Roger and Janet Samuel in 1989, is comprised of musicians, ages 12 to 20, who attend public and private schools in Southern California. The CYMO presents major symphonic works and soloists in concert each year at Bridges Hall of Music on the Pomona College campus. Other venues include Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Hollywood Bowl, Mabel Bridges Auditorium at Pomona College, Garrison Theater at Scripps College, Gardiner Spring Auditorium in Ontario, Haugh Performing Arts Center at Citrus College, Upland High School, and Disneyland. The orchestra provides special concerts for children, community programs, and chamber music performances. The CYMO repertoire is expansive and includes works by Tchaikovsky, Hindemith, Copland, Britten, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Borodin, Mahler, Shostakovich, Leonard Bernstein and John Adams.
The 75 member Claremont Young Musicians Intermezzo Orchestra, ages 9 to 18, was added to the CYMO organization in September of 1992. The group is dedicated to the musical training and development of the intermediate level orchestral player and is a preparatory group for the CYMO.
The repertoire performed past 2 seasons by the Intermezzo Orchestra included the following original works: Overture to Nabucco by Verdi, Symphony No. 5 by Mendelssohn, Danse Macabre by Saint-Saens, Merry Mount Suite by Hansen, Zampa Overture by Herold, Dance of the Comedians by Smetana, Carmen Suite #1 by Bizet, March Slave by Tchaikovsky, Egmont Ovverture by Beethoven, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 by Grieg, and more.
Rehearsals: Sunday afternoons/evenings
Ontario Youth Symphony
The Ontario Youth Symphony is a special project of the Southland Symphony Orchestra. The Southland Symphony Orchestra uses the power of music to lift the human spirit. We engage, uplift, and educate the diverse communities of Southern California’s Greater Ontario and Inland Empire area by coming together to perform and inspire through exceptional musical experiences. As part of the SSO’s mission, we are now building for the future, developing a full multi-level youth orchestra program, including orchestral and wind ensemble programs, at all levels from beginning to advanced ensembles.
Tuition: $200/semester
Redlands Youth Symphony
The Redlands Youth Symphony (RYS) strives to provide the young musicians of the Inland Empire the foremost orchestral experience possible through intensive rehearsal, meaningful community activism, and enthralling performance. RYS students learn under the baton of an experienced educator and conductor and receive tutelage and guidance from professional musicians.
The program is designed to supplement the musical experience found in the area’s schools. Rehearsals and performances bridge musical, academic, and social subjects. Participating in RYS allows students to gain self-esteem, self-expression, discipline, and team building.
RYS prides itself in serving the most diverse demographics of youth while maintaining a welcoming and warm atmosphere. Membership in the Redlands Youth Symphony is a powerfully enriching experience which helps develop well-rounded students, elevate school resumés, and promotes life-long friendships with like-minded students.
Rehearsals: Wednesday Evenings
Tuition: $85/semester
Performance Opportunities / Competitions
VAYA International Music Festival
Objectives of VAYA
- to support and foster performing and literary arts education through bursaries and scholarships
- to give participants the benefit of expert criticism from unbiased adjudicators
- to provide performance and education opportunities for participants both at the festival and in the community throughout the year
Registration deadline: March 1
Global Cello Project
The Covid/Global Cello Project is an online recording project created for cellists of all abilities and all cultures and has grown from 17 cellists to over 500 entirely via word of mouth.
Current project: RADIOHEAD
Claremont Community School of Music Student Recitals
CCSM recitals are presented expressly to give students the opportunity to perform in front of an audience full of loving and supportive families and friends. These recitals are open to the public, and any student who is currently studying with a CCSM teacher may sign up to perform.
Next recital date: Costume Recitals! October 19-20, various times
National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Music Festival
The National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC), founded in 1898, is now the world’s largest philanthropic music organization supporting American music and musicians. It is one of three music organizations to be chartered by the United States Congress and the only music organization member of the United Nations. There are 6,000 NFMC-related organizations and music clubs nationally. Members are professional and amateur musicians, vocalists, composers, dancers, performing artists, arts and music educators, students, generous benefactors, and music lovers who are interested in creating a dynamic, musical and cultural environment in their communities.
Each year in February and March, CCSM sponsors the annual Jr. Music Festival (JMF) through the NFMC charter. This music festival is open to all music students and encourages creative growth and development through nationally-approved, graded performance material. Students choose various events to enter ranging from solo, chamber, concerto, music theory, and much more. This festival is not a competition, but rather an opportunity for each music student to receive specialized feedback and comments from an objective judge who evaluates students on individual merits of performance and aptitude. This special opportunity empowers students to achieve musical, academic and performance goals that might not otherwise be realized.
Dates: February 14-16, 2025
Summer Camps and Festivals
LA Suzuki Institute
June 16-20, 2025
Location: Pitzer College, Claremont, CA
Registration Deadline: April 15
National Cello Institute
TBD, 2025
Location: Pomona, CA
Registration Deadline: June 1
Live Concerts
Whittier Regional Symphony: Visionary Vibrations: Past and Present
September 29, 2024
Featuring Young Artist Competition Winner:
Kana Funayama, Marimba
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Magic Flute Overture
Kevin Puts: Marimba Concerto
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 5
Sponsored By BCM Foundation
Time and Location:
3:00 P.M. September 29th
Vic Lopez Auditorium – Whittier High School
12417 E. Philadelphia St.
Whittier 90601
Southland Symphony Orchestra: Season Opener
Sunday, October 6, 4:00pm
Season Opening Concert – featuring new works by living composers, as well as an appearance by a young conductor (winner of the 23-24 Season Finale Conducting prize). We will release more about ALL the repertoire, and about this outstanding young musician soon. $20 VIP/Premium $10 General Children under 12 – Free
$20 VIP/Premium $10 General Children under 12 – Free
Recommended Listening
Suzuki
Suzuki Cello School Volume 1: YouTube or purchase on iTunes
Moon Over the Ruined Castle (Yo Yo Ma)
Classical
Libertango by Piazolla
Suite No. 1 in G Major by J.S. Bach
Vocalise for Cello and Piano by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Spinnlied (Spinning Song) by David Popper
Apres un rêve by Gabriel Faure
Seven Tunes Heard in China by Bright Sheng
Summerland by William Grant Still
Modern/Pop
Me and My Cello (The Piano Guys)
Thunderstruck (2Cellos)
The Cello Song (The Piano Guys)
Viva La Vida (Prague Cello Quartet)
In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company (The Dead South)
Fiddle/Alternative
Julie-O by Mark Summers
First Month of Summer – Traditional Irish Folk Tune
Alien Celidh, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas
Appalachia Waltz by Mark O’Connor
Orchestra
The Planets by Gustav Holst
Chamber
Recommended Reading
Nurtured By Love by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth (read my book review here)
First, Learn to Practice by Tom Heany
The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle (read my book review here)
Jocelyn Francis, Cellist 