HCYO becomes ARYO!

HCYO becomes ARYO!
By Gillian Smith

Following an invitation from the Acadia University School of Music, the Horton Community Youth Orchestra program (HCYO), presently located at Horton High School, will be moving to the Acadia University School of Music as of September 2018, and will be known going forward as the Acadia Regional Youth Orchestra (ARYO). ARYO will be operating alongside the Annapolis Valley Honour Choir, and the Acadia Youth Band, both of which are very successful ensembles which use the Acadia School of Music facilities as well.

ARYO will have the use of the Festival Theatre and surrounding classrooms. These facilities will provide a wonderful home for the program. ARYO will offer the same string program that has been offered at HCYO. Gillian Smith will continue as program director and conductor of the junior and senior orchestras, as well as instructor for the violin/viola clinic, and Elizabeth Sircom will continue as outreach and collection coordinator, and instructor of the cello clinic. We will continue to offer a fiddle group open to all ages as well.

The ARYO program will take place on Tuesdays starting in September 2018. The violin/viola clinic, cello clinic, and bass clinic, will run from 3:30-4:30 pm (*start time 3:45 for high school students); the junior orchestra, beginner orchestra, advanced string clinic, and fiddle group will run from 4:30-5:15 pm; and the senior orchestra will run from 5:15-6:15 pm. The cost of the ARYO program will be $100 per student (20 instruction weeks per year, September-April). In addition, students will be able to rent instruments from ARYO at a preferred rate of only $100 per year.

We are very much looking forward to continuing our mission of offering the opportunity to learn string instruments and to play in string and full orchestras to as many students in the Annapolis Valley region as possible.

Contact: Dr. Gillian Smith, ARYO Program Director, gsmithvln@gmail.com