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The Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra
traces its history to 1958, when the Western New York Youth Orchestra was
formed by Dr. Robert Mols of the University of Buffalo Music Department.
This orchestra was the outgrowth of four orchestral workshops which had
been held annually since 1954 under the joint sponsorship of the University's
music department and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 1973 the orchestra ended its relationship with the Community Music School and came under the sponsorship of the Youth Orchestra Foundation of Buffalo, Inc., at the same time changing its name to the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra. In 1983 a second orchestra was formed, the present-day Greater Buffalo Youth String Orchestra. Providing an orchestral opportunity for less-experienced string players, the group is conducted for the sixteenth season by Dennis Lell. A measure of its success as a training orchestra is the fact many of the string orchestra members go on to win places in the larger youth orchestra. Players in both ensembles are accepted on the basis of competitive auditions each spring. Since 1977 the Youth Orchestra Foundation has sponsored an annual Concerto Competition in the fall for seniors within the ranks of the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra. The winners become soloists with the orchestra later in the same season. The concerto competition was expanded 10 years later in 1987 to include the biennial GBYO Piano Competition, co-sponsored by the Forum for Piano Teachers. For the past eleven seasons, the Youth Orchestra has launched its concert year with a fall weekend camp for its members at a site outside Buffalo. Coming together for two days of intensive rehearsing, as well as socializing, gives orchestra players a running start on the season. The GBYO has successfully completed international tours in Italy & Spain, and regional tours to Rochester, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Toronto, Baltimore and Boston. |
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| The ensemble informally merged with the Community Music School in 1963 | ||
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Fax: 834-2272 E-Mail: mehandley@aol.com |
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