String auditions were held October 31, 1964, drawing students from across Northern Virginia, and wind auditions followed in December. Thus the first Northern Virginia Youth Symphony Orchestra, consisting of 51 musicians, one from as far away as Front Royal, was formed and began rehearsing in January 1965. Another 13 string musicians began rehearsing separately as the String Training Ensemble. Weekly Saturday morning rehearsals took place in the new music section of Annandale High School with band director John Farris as the host. The first public concert was held at the Jefferson High School auditorium on May 23, 1965, featuring works by Handel, Haydn, Bartók, Bach, Sibelius, and Saint-Saëns. In the audience were proud families and friends, and even prouder members of the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and its board.  

The youngest musician, second violinist Patty Edwards, was 10 years old. Among her colleagues were some future professional musicians: Jane Fair Fulcher, violinist and a future professor of musicology at Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and Eric Arbiter, future associate principal bassoonist in the Houston Symphony. Gerald Brobst, owner of Brobst Violins, a luthier and former NSO violinist, was the first conductor of the Youth Symphony, and Harold Rubenstein, an FBI agent and concertmaster of the Fairfax Symphony, conducted the String Training Ensemble.  

At the time, Northern Virginia public schools featured only bands. The first concert program explained, “The Youth Symphony was established to give talented young musicians the stimulation and inspiration that orchestral ensemble provides—primarily in Fairfax County, where there is little or no string instruction in the public schools.” In a 2024 interview, Maestro Brobst explained that while Arlington and Richmond public schools had string orchestras in the 1960s, Fairfax had none. 

Funding was an issue from the outset. The Fairfax Symphony provided some initial startup funding, and Maestro Brobst noted that when students arrived for rehearsal, they were admitted after handing over one dollar to a parent volunteer at the door. Maestro Brobst recalled that he was paid $20 per week for leading rehearsals. Gate receipts were modest, given the general admission price of 75 cents (50 cents for students) at the only concert in 1965. The program notes included, “At present these young organizations are supported entirely by the Fairfax Symphony and by Youth Orchestra membership fees, but the Board envisions future community support in the form of contributions from patrons, music groups, P.T.A.’s, and others.” 

The following 1965/1966 season Gerald Brobst handed his baton to Robert Holloway, a violinist with the NSO. At the start of the 1966/1967 season a Juilliard graduate, Mimi Rosenberg, took over the String Training Ensemble. By 1967 the Youth Symphony had grown by one to 52 seats, with another 27 in the String Training Ensemble. The May 7, 1967, concert conducted by Maestro Holloway offered works of Bizet, Mozart, Buonamente (by a brass ensemble), and Copland. In September 1967 James Christian Pfohl of the Reston Music Center was appointed conductor. During the 1967/1968 season, 12 members of NVYS toured with the American Youth Performs National Orchestra, performing in Constitution Hall and Carnegie Hall under the baton of Leopold Stowkowski. Of the 12, four were first chairs in the 110-member all-star orchestra. In the November 1968 concert NVYS accompanied noted soprano Joyce Mathis, then studying at Juilliard, in a rendition of Gershwin's "Summertime" from "Porgy and Bess". 

When Penny Farris was elected president of the Fairfax Symphony, she appointed fellow flautist Pat Rogers to manage the youth program.  Mrs. Rogers “received good support from parents as volunteers”, according to a brief history in the files, which allowed creation of a “middle” orchestra as well as an informal parent/community board. Thus in the third season an Intermediate String Ensemble was added for student musicians in need of more ensemble experience, with emphasis on ensemble fundamentals. By 1968 an annual membership fee of $20 was established for student musicians. 

In the 1970/1971 season the association supported two full orchestras, the Youth Symphony with 70 musicians plus the Workshop Orchestra, and the string ensemble, now renamed String Workshop. The February 1971 concert offered works by Handel, Telemann, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, and Brahms. By 1973, the Youth Symphony consisted of about 80 student musicians (plus an adult harpist when needed) augmented by the Workshop Orchestra plus the String Workshop ensemble. In 1975 the Youth Symphony was renamed Senior Orchestra, a Junior Orchestra was formed out of the Workshop Orchestra, and the String Workshop received some woodwinds, brass, and timpani, leading to its being renamed Training Ensemble. Guido Mansuino, an NSO violinist, and Dr. Wiliam Wright, an NSO clarinetist, took over the Youth Symphony and Intermediate Orchestra, respectively. The Junior Orchestra scheduled two concerts per season during the 1970s. 

When asked what made NVYSA orchestras so outstanding, Dr. Wright underscored the role of the sectional coaches, who were “absolutely” critical to teaching students how to play their parts, followed by consistent practice at home. Students who desired excellence practiced between rehearsals and had fun doing it; those who did not had to relearn technique every week. He commented that while the conductors needed knowledge of all instruments, they could really only coach students playing their instruments (in his case, wind instruments), reinforcing the need for sectional coaches. 

In December 1975 the Senior Orchestra performed Bizet's "Carmen Suite No. 1", Cowell's "Hymn and Fuguing Tune No. 3", Suolahti's "Sinfonia Piccola", and Berlioz's "Rakoczy March". The December 1976 concert offered Verdi's "Triumphal March" from Aida, Dvořák’s "New World Symphony", and Tchaikovsky's complete "Swan Lake".  The spring concert of the 1979/1980 season saw NVYSA host for the first time the Montgomery County Youth Orchestra in a joint concert at Annandale High School. 

The 1980s brought more growth. One of the NSO’s first violins, Luis Haza, was hired as music director and to conduct the Youth Symphony in 1983. In that same year Don Brubaker took over the Intermediate Orchestra and in December 1984 proposed it be renamed Junior Youth Symphony. The Junior Youth Symphony’s highlights under Maestro Brubaker included performing the first movement of Beethoven’s 6th Symphony using Beethoven’s original annotations (not a simpler arrangement, in other words), Schubert’s Symphony in C-major “The Great”, and Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony. One of Maestro Brubaker’s brass players, Rex Richardson, moved up to the top orchestra, and following study at Northwestern and Louisiana State Universities became a recording artist, taught trumpet at Virginia Commonwealth University for 22 years, and is now professor of trumpet at University of South Carolina. 

The 1984/1985 season brought another change, which focused on NVYSA’s growing reputation for excellence. The board minutes for September relate, 

“[Manager] Mrs. [Eleanor] Adams and [music director] Mr. [Luis] Haza asked the board to consider authorizing open auditions each year. All prospective members, including previous members, would be required to audition before being accepted. Mr. Haza stated that a member's loyalty, dependability and attitude as well as musical excellence would be factors in determining his or her selection.”

This shift to focus on excellence was a result of the rise of string orchestra programs in Fairfax County as well as other nearby counties’ school music programs. NVYSA’s added value was now to promote excellence in musicianship, not merely to provide an opportunity to perform symphonic music.  

In honor of NVYSA’s 20th anniversary in 1985, concerts were professionally recorded and a commemorative long-play record album was pressed and sold to parents. The cost of recording was recuperated by selling audio tapes of the concerts to the parents at $7.00 apiece, and the cost of pressing the albums was covered by the sales price. 

By the 1986/1987 season NVYSA boasted the Youth Symphony (103 musicians), Junior Youth Symphony (82), Training Ensemble (8), and String Ensemble (36) representing 80 schools in Northern Virginia. In 1984 a Summer Orchestra was formed for students wanting more practice over the summer holiday.  

The 1984/85 season included accompanying violinist Daniel Heifetz in Beethoven’s Concerto in D, Opus 61, and Heifetz and Luis Haza in Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D. In May 1986 the Youth Symphony accompanied solo pianist Sara Wolfensohn, at the time a student at Juilliard, and the Alexandria Chorale in Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy”. The Youth Symphony performed at the 1984 Independence Day Festival at the Old Post Office, in 1985 in Chicago at the Festival of Youth Orchestras, where it performed Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”, by invitation in 1986 at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, and in 1987 and 1988 at the Kennedy Center as part of an international festival. At its March 1988 concert, the Junior Youth Symphony performed Handel, Whear, Schubert, Bach, and Beethoven, while the String Ensemble offered works by Handel, Alfven, Keuning, Bach, plus Leroy Anderson's "Jazz Pizzacato". In September 1988 the Summer Orchestra performed at Wolf Trap with Bob McGrath of "Sesame Street". By the 1988/89 season, NVYSA had about 250 musicians. 

As the 1990s dawned, the association reformed yet again, offering the Youth Symphony, Junior Youth Symphony, a Chamber Orchestra of "outstanding string players of 6th through 10th-grade levels", and the String Ensemble. In 1990 the Youth Symphony premiered Andreas Makris' "Symphony to Youth" at the Kennedy Center and at the Aberdeen International Youth Festival in Scotland. In 1991 the Youth Symphony performed with NSO assistant concertmaster Lev Pekarsky and his son, NSO violinist Pavel Pekarsky. In the 1992/1993 season, concerts included works by Shostakovich, Beethoven, Ravel, Fauré, Rachmaninoff, Vivaldi, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, and at the May concert, Vivaldi's "Concerto for Two Trumpets" with guest soloists Arturo Sandoval and Adel Sanchez. The Youth Symphony also performed with the Virginia Ballet Company in 1991 and 1992 in “fully staged productions of Coppelia, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty, all of which were met with praise and applause.”  

In 1993 the Youth Symphony was renamed American Youth Philharmonic (AYP), in part because the board of directors had voted to begin admitting outstanding music students from across the metropolitan area, and not to limit it only to residents of Northern Virginia. AYP was invited to present the 1993 "World's Largest Concert", co-sponsored by the Music Educators' National Conference and the Kennedy Center, which was broadcast nationally on PBS.  

Also in 1993 Beverly Winder was hired to conduct a new String Orchestra for middle schoolers, which she did for four seasons. In 1997 Maestro Haza insisted that the String Orchestra be upgraded to a full symphony; Maestro Winder declined to conduct that and so was succeeded by Peter Dabrowski in what ultimately became the American Youth Concert Orchestra when wind instruments were added. 

In the 1996/1997 season, highlights included guest appearances by Manuel Barrueco and Daniel Heifetz, as well as a guest conducting appearance by Leonard Slatkin. In 1998 AYP went on a 10-day tour to Russia to perform at the National Rachmaninoff Festival in Novgorod, as well as at various locations in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Laura Cahn Wallace, currently conductor of the Debut Orchestra and String Ensemble, was an AYP violist then and recalls, “It was an incredible trip and an experience of a lifetime.” Through the 1990s AYP performed annually at the Kennedy Center. 

By this time another name change occurred: the Junior Symphony was labeled Virginia Youth Symphony. The Training Ensemble was merged into the String Ensemble. In the final year of the millennium, the String Orchestra was renamed yet again, to Junior Orchestra, since it had acquired wind instruments. Washington Post music critic Joseph McLellan wrote in 1996 that AYP "probably ranks higher among student orchestras than the NSO among the world's major orchestras. Its 100-plus players perform consistently at the level of a good, professional adult orchestra, and many American cities would be lucky to have it as their resident symphony."  

In 1998 NSO violist Tsuna Sakamoto began coaching AYPO strings, and a quarter century later continues to lay the foundation for the high reputation of AYPO’s string sections. She has also soloed on stage with AYP, notably in the January 2016 concert in Rossini’s William Tell Overture and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major. 

In 2000 AYP participated in the National Youth Orchestra Festival in Sarasota. 

In March 2000, as the association marked its 35th anniversary, the entire association changed its name, initially by adopting the new "doing-business-as" name of American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras, Inc. (the association officially changed its name with the Virginia State Corporation Commission in 2008). The orchestra names changed yet again in the 2001/2002 season: while American Youth Philharmonic remained the top orchestra, Virginia Youth Symphony changed to American Youth Symphonic Orchestra, the Junior Orchestra became American Youth Concert Orchestra, and the String Ensemble became American Youth String Ensemble.  

In addition, on the recommendation of Maestro Bianchi, Doug Wallace, the percussion coach, began directing a percussion ensemble. As Maestro Bianchi explained, percussionists often wait through a symphonic piece for a single clash of the cymbals at the end. A percussion ensemble created greater opportunities for percussionists to practice, rehearse, and master techniques. 

Highlights of the double-aughts included performance in 2002 of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor with French pianist Christie Julien and Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" Suite.  The Washington Post’s music critic wrote,  

“The strings are at the heart of much of this music, and this orchestra has an enormous string section -- more violas and cellos than the NSO or the Berlin Philharmonic, which give a mellow tone to its midrange. They played precisely and with good tone. The percussion section and brass were well exercised in parts of ‘Swan Lake,’ but particularly in ‘Stars and Stripes Forever,’ which was played as an encore. In this, too, the piccolo section covered itself with glory.” 

AYP concertized in February 2003 with Nurit Bar-Josef, concertmaster of the National Symphony, and violist Daniel Foster in works by Atterberg, Hindemith, Saint-Saëns, Berlioz, and Mussorgsky. The Washington Post's music critic wrote in 2007,  

"Luis Haza led the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra in selections from suites arranged from Bizet's 'Carmen' and Tchaikovsky's 'Sleeping Beauty.' Both are well-worn symphonic chestnuts, but exhilarating to hear so expertly performed. And they are overflowing with solo and small-ensemble opportunities for many instruments -- most strikingly the flute and trumpet. Under Haza's expressive baton, the musicians etched the character of each selection with finesse, as in Bizet's sultry and enticing 'Habanera.' Under conductor Carl J. Bianchi, the American Youth Symphonic Orchestra tackled some challenging samples from Wagner's operas, showing no lack of exuberance and dedication. Playing offstage, two horns -- treacherously unstable instruments at times -- and other solos were polished and well timed."[1]

During this first decade of the new millennium AYPO expanded to over 400 seats across all its orchestras and ensembles. By this time AYPO’s office was in the Fred Packard Center, but it occupied only one room on the ground floor. Growth of paid staff led to expansion to the current second-floor office suite, and the ground floor space became the music library. In 2009 AYP conductor and music director Luis Haza retired, ending 26 years of musically guiding AYPO and its predecessor, NVYSA.  

In 2010 to launch the new decade AYP under the baton of Daniel Spalding performed John Carbon’s “Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra” with guest artist and future Grammy award winner Doris Hall-Gulati, principal clarinet in The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Ocean City, NJ Pops Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Philharmonic Orchestra. The composer was also in attendance. In March 2011 an AYPO group performed for the first time at Strathmore Hall, when AYP accompanied soloists Jonathan Rance, principal timpanist of the Washington National Opera Orchestra, and AYPO director of percussion Doug Wallace in performing Philip Glass’ Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra. The percussion ensemble was selected twice in this decade (2012 and 2015) and once in 2024 to appear at the Music for All National Percussion Festival. 

In 2012 AYP alumna Laura Wollen Cahn rejoined AYPO, this time as conductor of the String Ensemble. The following year she founded the Music Buddies program as a means of outreach to an underserved community.  

In 2013 Fairfax Symphony Orchestra conductor Christopher Zimmerman began also to conduct AYP, which he continued through the 2016/17 season before transitioning to become principal guest conductor. Maestro Zimmerman’s tenure was notable for a large number of guest artists he invited to perform with AYP, including soprano Amanda Opuszyski and tenor Benjamin Werley for excerpts of Verdi and Wagner operas. Maestro Zimmerman opened the 2015/2016 season with a tribute to Jean Sibelius on his 150th birth anniversary featuring violin soloist Janet Sung. That season also included Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major with Ieva Yakubavicinte, as well as Christopher Rouse’ Trombone Concedrto with soloist Jaime Morales-Matos. The following season AYP accompanied saxophonist Russell Peterson, AYPO’s percussion director Doug Wallace, and pianist Matthew Schultheis in Yoshimatsu’s Cyberbird Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra.   

In January 2017, Maestro Zimmerman conducted AYP and AYPO alumnus solo violinist Alexander Kerr, professor of violin and the Linda and Jack Gill Chair in Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and former concertmaster (at age 26) of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) in Amsterdam, in Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 and Barber’s Violin Concerto Opus 14. Later that season AYP performed with solo cellist Yumi Kendall in Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor. 

Kathy Thompson conducted the Concert Orchestra for the 2013/14 season before passing the baton to Glenn Quader, who led AYCO through the 2015/16 season. He in turn passed the baton to J.D. Anderson, who conducted AYCO through the 2020/21 season.  

A 2015 survey of AYPO alumni yielded this testimonial from a clarinetist who did not pursue a career in music:  

“I think as a musician, you develop a type of discipline that extends to whatever you end up doing long term. The discipline to practice on your own for even just an hour a day directly translates to a work ethic that can really help you do anything you want to do. In addition, I just feel like music making of any kind is an incredibly important, transcendent experience that cannot be overvalued.” 

AYP kicked off the 2017 concert season featuring AYP alumna Jennifer Montone, principal horn, Philadelphia Orchestra, and a collaborative performance of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” with BalletNova. Sylvia Alimena, conductor of Brass for Peace, conducted AYP for that season.  At the end of the 2016/17 season Carl J. “Jeff” Bianchi retired as conductor of the American Youth Symphony Orchestra, ending a quarter century of close affiliation with AYPO. Timothy Dixon, professor of music at Messiah University, began conducting AYP and Glenn Quader returned to AYPO to conduct AYSO beginning with the 2018/19 season. 

As AYPO transitioned to the third decade of the century, Laura Cahn Wallace conducted the String Ensemble at the National Youth Orchestra Festival in Orlando where it earned the title of 2020 National Grand Champion. The percussion ensemble premiered Doug Wallace’s string- and percussion ensemble commissioned work, “Chimera No. 3”, at that festival. In that same year AYP was honored to be invited to perform a side-by-side rehearsal with the NSO on the Kennedy Center stage in March, following which Maestro Gianandrea Noseda was to have rehearsed AYP alone on June 1st, then to have held a Q&A session with the students. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, these were cancelled, and adding injury to insult, all concerts through the end of the season were cancelled as well. Public performances went virtual and consisted of posts to YouTube. 

The COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020/2021 season presented special challenges due to the need for social isolation to contain spread of the virus. The rehearsals as well as all board meetings moved online. Doug and Laura Cahn Wallace spearheaded the effort to create concert videos, and Doug was hired for the duration as the digital media technician. Both the artistic- and administrative staff learned to operate remotely and all became adept at video conferencing. The March 2020 AYPO Newsletter noted, 

“Dr. Timothy Dixon, Conductor of AYP, enjoyed a collaborative Zoom meeting with Conductors Glenn Quader, AYSO, and J. D. Anderson, AYCO. All musicians were asked to attend, like a normal rehearsal night at 7:00 pm. Dr. Dixon led the first Zoom call one week prior, to discuss with AYP the Mahler Symphony No. 5, he shared with the musicians recordings from rehearsal and a special Mahler focused Spotify playlist for the musicians to listen to. On a similar thread AYCO Conductor J. D Anderson shared with his musicians an interactive guide to Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 and the story and history behind Bellini's Norma. 

“In this week's remote rehearsal, the discussion focused on free music resources that musicians can enjoy, including but not limited to the Berlin Philharmonic's free digital concert hall subscription for 1 month and podcast Sticky Notes, by Joshua Weilerstein profiling Great works of the orchestra repertoire The conductors also discussed searching for the best recordings of the final concert music. This included a new perspective on YouTube searches, which included translating the piece into the different related languages, thereby finding new recordings not accessible before. The conductors look forward to holding weekly meetings on a variety of performance and educational topics.” 

As the pandemic receded, during the 2021/2022 season both rehearsals and concerts resumed.  Doug Martin joined AYPO as conductor of AYCO, and Adrienne Caravan conducted the first season of a new string orchestra, the Sinfonietta. This senior-level string orchestra, the Sinfonietta, was added in 2021 to accommodate growing demand from string players desiring ensemble work. More generally, demand had increased for seats in the orchestras, as well as for opportunities to nurture very young musicians, so AYPO added another entry-level string orchestra to Laura Cahn Wallace’s Debut Orchestra of 50 members with creation of the Prelude Strings of 30 members, conducted by Kristen Gomez, in 2022. With this, AYPO expanded to seven orchestras, three of them senior (9th-12th grades) and four junior (3rd-9th grades). In addition, between five and six ensembles were formed each year for percussion, clarinet, flute, chamber music, and harp, and since 2015 the Summer String Academy, also run by Laura Cahn Wallace, has offered instruction over the summer recess.  

In the current season AYPO has set a cap of 552 musicians, which allows the conductors, directors, and coaches to focus on excellence, a hallmark of AYPO for 60 years, while drawing students from Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia.  

NVYSA/AYPO Conductors [2] [3] [4] [5] : 

Behind the Scenes 

Anybody who has organized events on stage knows that what the audience sees and hears on the stage is the tip of a very large iceberg of effort. The audience applauds the conductors and musicians, but those in the know realize that the performance could not succeed without a lot of help and support from people the audience never sees. 

As the program grew in complexity, formal support infrastructure became necessary. Initially it consisted simply of committees of parent volunteers, who organized absolutely everything. The January 29, 1967, concert program mentions the following committees: 

“Rehearsals and membership--Mrs. T. A. Rodgers; Finance--Mr. T. J. Twardy and Mrs. William Arbiter; Concert Arrangements--Mrs. W. E. Dakin; Programs--Mrs. Y. R. Jessee; Publicity--Mr. C. T. Gurley and Mr. E. W. Weinberger; Tickets--Mrs. R. W. McAleer; Box Office--Mrs. Wm. Clarke and Mrs. W. J. Smerker; Printing--Mr. Charles Boptie; Staging--Mr. Carlton Herrett, Mr. R. W. Feuer, Mr. Ivan Lebiszczak , Mr. Dominick Salemi; Ushers--Mrs. R. A. Belknap; Librarians--Mrs. J. C. Anderson and Mrs. P. F. King; Piano Auditions--Mrs. R. A. Baltzer; Artist--Mr. Gene Basset.  

“The assistance of many others in countless ways has made this afternoon, as well as the continuing weekly rehearsals, a reality and a success.” 

In addition to the paid conductors, in January 1968 NVYSA hired a part-time manager, Winnifred Geweke, who was paid $100 per month to handle logistical arrangements of the two orchestras and one ensemble. This begged the question of who would oversee the manager, raise money to pay the conductors and manager, and set policy when needed. At the end of the 1968/1969 season the parents elected a nine-member board of directors that adopted formal bylaws, though it remained subordinate to the Fairfax Symphony's board. The initial members were  

President: Mr. Robert H. Wood 

Vice President: Judge James Keith 

Secretary: Mrs. Clinton J.T. Young 

Treasurer: Mrs. Edward Saunders 

Miss Ellen Anderson 

Mr. J. Frank Barr 

Mr. Wilbert G. Fritz 

Mr. James K. Payne 

Mr. David Tilson 

The Board set four objectives: 

• Provide ensemble experience for young orchestra players 

• Challenge young musicians to strive for excellence 

• Complement the music education programs in the schools 

• Stimulate community interest in music and music education 

By 1970 Sally Trembly and Irl Hartness were the strings coaches and Harriet Nelson was the part-time music librarian. At the end of the 1970/1971 season, Mrs. Geweke and her husband moved to Wisconsin, and she was succeeded as manager by Frances Barnes through the 1972/1973 season. The following season Margo Essertier took over as manager, a position she held until being terminated in 1975. The board minutes indicate that she came into conflict with Youth Symphony conductor Guido Mansuino over her efforts to influence repertoire, which was not part of her job. The board resolved to dismiss her, but could not without the consent of the Fairfax Symphony’s board of directors. This brought to a head an issue that had been simmering since the previous summer. 

The minutes of the August 1974 board of directors meeting record, 

“Dr. Bowles reported on a meeting he had with Mrs. Doris Dakin, President of the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra Association. Mrs. Dakin, while affirming the good relationship always enjoyed between FSO and NVYSO ("parent" and "offspring" groups, respectively), brought up the possibility of NVYSO incorporating as a separate organization and thereby severing its ties with FSO. It might be that this situation would be of mutual advantage to both groups. FSO has encountered increasing difficulty in obtaining the state grant of $1,000 for NVYSO each year, and our organization might find it easier to obtain grants on its own. In addition, the two groups function separately and there is really no specific need or reason to continue jointly.”   

The research into this led in 1977 to the Northern Virginia Youth Symphony Association’s becoming an autonomous entity incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  In 1978, NVYSA obtained IRS status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, meaning gifts and donations were now tax-deductible.     

NVYSA went without a paid manager for two seasons, relying wholly on parent volunteers to organize administrative and support functions, but in 1977 Patricia Payne became NVYSA manager.  In the 1983/1984 season Eleanor Adams succeeded Pat Payne as manager for one season, then in 1985 Anthony Stark was hired as general manager. He was replaced by Marcia Perry, an NVYSA parent and former board vice president, in 1987. The list of managers, general managers, and as of 1994 executive directors is as follows: 

The AYPO board of directors currently consists of 22 volunteers, roughly half of them parents of student musicians, and the remainder civic-minded people who love music and support music education through their donated labor, time, and financial support of the organization. 

[1] Maestro Bianchi pointed out that the critic was in error—there is only one French horn offstage sounding Siegfried’s horn call during the Rhine journey.

[2] Youth Symphony Orchestra, Senior Orchestra, Youth Symphony

[3] Intermediate String Ensemble, Workshop Orchestra, Junior Orchestra, Junior Youth Symphony, Virginia Youth Symphony

[4] String Training Ensemble, String Workshop, String Ensemble, String Orchestra

[5] String Orchestra, Junior Orchestra