Amadeus Mozart, world renowned composer.  Stuart Malina, Tony Award-Winning maestro.  Herman Makosky, aspiring professional musician.  All of these things relate to the Harrisburg Symphony Youth Orchestra (HSYO).

According to their website, the HSYO’s purpose “is to enrich the lives of young people within a musical community. We provide the finest possible training, practice and performance opportunities, enabling our students to learn, share and enjoy the power of music.”

The Carlisle Area School District is represented in the HSYO through juniors Herman Makosky and Michaela Price and middle school students Lillian Sweeney and Xeni Makosky.

Playing in the HSYO can change a musician’s life. When asked about the importance of playing in the symphony, Herman Makosky said, “Playing in the HSYO has allowed me to play high caliber repertoire with the highest caliber players in the region.”

The HSYO is comprised of 150 young musicians that make up two orchestras. One being the Harrisburg Symphony Youth Orchestra and the other being the Junior String orchestra. Over twenty different public, private, home, and cyber schools are represented in the organization.

The HSYO has caught the attention of many members of the community for having an exceptional reputation for talented youth in the music world, in much the same way as the Central Penn Youth Ballet has within the ballet community.

This region is becoming known within the arts community for having skilled, talented, and professional local artists.
Recently, the Harrisburg Symphony Youth Orchestra shared the stage at the Hershey Theatre with national artists such as comedian Christina Bianco, painter David Garibaldi, pianist Joey Alexander, and rising country artist Jessica Lynn for “The Really Big Show,” a fully produced show sponsored by Morgan Stanley, benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region.

Maddie Young, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters, had this to say about the HSYO: “We were so excited to bring HSYO to the stage. Tony award winner Maestro Stuart Malina of the Harrisburg Symphony arranged the piece that the HSYO played for the finale of the show. The caliber of the musicians in the HSYO is exceptional, and we were honored to have them participate in this event.”

Malina believes strongly that playing in the HSYO could change a young musician’s life.

“The experience of playing with a first-rate youth orchestra is one that will stay with these students for the rest of their lives,” said Malina. “Not only do they get to perform some of the greatest music ever written, they also learn the values of discipline, study, collaboration and friendship. The HSYO program is one of the Harrisburg Symphony’s proudest achievements.”

The HSYO has an upcoming winter concert on Feb 22 at 7 pm and a Mother’s Day performance on May 8 at 3 pm. Both performances will be held at The Forum (directions available here).