Mansfield Symphony

Education Programs 2011-12

Operation Bridge-Building:
A Vision for Community Engagement in the North Central Ohio

May 2011 completed the third year of Operation Bridge Building, the Mansfield Symphony’s major education initiative. This program is designed to both enhance the K-5 classroom courses for local school districts, as well as supplement and support music education in our schools by engaging students and teachers alike with high quality performing arts programming and arts-integrated curricula.

The Operation Bridge Building program strives to “bridge” music and academic learning to fully engage students and achieve greater learning in the classroom, and served over 7,700 students in the 2010-2011 school year through in-school chamber performances and educational symphony concerts at the Renaissance. Other program components include professional development opportunities for teachers, as well as study guides with activities to aid teachers in integrating music with academic subjects.

All components of the Bridge Building program are FREE! To participate, call 419-522-2726, ext. 251 to speak to the Renaissance Education Director. Symphony concerts for the 2011-2012 Bridge Building program will take place from October 19-21, and seats are still available for the following concerts:

Grades K-2: World Pieces. Travel around the world with the Mansfield Symphony as we learn about different cultures!
Grades 3-5: Recycle This! Everyone recycles—even composers! See how recycling affects music and our lives.

Mansfield Symphony Youth Orchestra

The Mansfield Symphony Youth Orchestra is made up of North-Central Ohio's finest musicians, primarily in high school from Richland, Crawford, Hancock, Seneca, Wyandot, Wayne, Knox, Huron, Marion, Holmes, Sandusky, and Ashland counties. The MSYO is the only youth orchestra within a 65 mile radius of Mansfield. Nearly 100% of its members study privately. There are approximately 90 members each season.

The Orchestra rehearses Monday evenings (September through November, and January through April) 7:00-9:00 PM at Malabar Middle School in Mansfield. Two concerts are scheduled each year at the historic Renaissance Theatre. In addition, students from the Youth Orchestra perform in a side by side concert with the Mansfield Symphony.

There is an annual tuition fee of $50.00. For more information on the Youth Orchestra program, please contact Conductor Ettore Chiudioni at echiudioni@neo.rr.com.

See the Youth Orchestra page of the Mansfield Symphony Section.

Mansfield Symphony Youth Strings

The Mansfield Symphony Youth Strings was formed in 1992 to provide an additional performance outlet for young string musicians in the Mansfield area and to serve as a feeder program for the Mansfield Symphony Youth Orchestra. This orchestra experience not only complements the musical instruction young people receive in their school, but also provides a large ensemble experience to students who have no access to a school orchestra program. Youth Strings is currently comprised of 52 students, mainly in grades 6 through 10 from 20 schools in the Mansfield area, some coming from as far as 70 miles away.

Rehearsals for Youth Strings rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings from 6:15 - 8:00 PM at Malabar Middle School in Mansfield. Two concerts are scheduled each year, and auditions fro new members are held each spring.

For more information on the Youth Strings program, please contact Conductor Percy Hall at nashall@aol.com.

See the Youth Strings page of the Mansfield Symphony Section.

Chamber Summer Music Camp

Each summer in June and July the Mansfield Symphony Youth Orchestra and Youth Strings offers week long summer camp instruction for its member. For schedule and registration information contact Ettore Chiudioni at echiudioni@neo.rr.com.