Intensive Community Program
After a child is admitted into the Intensive Community Program (ICP), the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) provides the student with summer music lessons, summer camp, weekly lessons after school, ensemble classes, and the use of an instrument. After two to three years of study in the ICP, students are typically prepared to audition for the BYSO’s entry-level orchestra, the Young People’s String Orchestra (ages 8-12). They are expected to progress through the BYSO system until they reach the Boston Youth Symphony, BYSO's premier ensemble. Provided that an ICP student remains in a BYSO orchestra, the BYSO will continue to provide support in the form of complimentary private lessons, use of an instrument, and tuition scholarship support. Major activities of the program are listed on the following page.
Summer Music Workshop – Each new season of the ICP begins with a Summer Music Workshop. Designed as an intensive but enjoyable day camp, this workshop meets all day Monday - Friday for two weeks in August. New students learn the basics of music and have the opportunity to try each string instrument. At the end of camp, students are allowed to choose the instrument they enjoy the most for study in the fall. More advanced students use this time to reinforce the skills they learned throughout the previous year. On the final day all students hold an open recital for their family and friends.
Intensive Instrument Study – After the Summer Music Workshop, students continue studying during the academic year in 90-minute weekly four student group classes at the Roxbury Community College in Roxbury, MA. BYSO has chosen this group lesson format because student camaraderie acts to motivate young musicians, and group lessons are the most efficient use of instructor time. The most advanced students who have played for approximately four years receive private lessons as opposed to group lessons.
Large Ensemble Rehearsal – All ICP students will also meet once per week on Sundays to play together in a larger ensemble at BU directed by the ICP Artistic Director, Bonnie Black. The group rehearses at the same times as the other BYSO ensembles, allowing ICP students to interact with older musicians and hear the orchestras in which they will eventually play.
Performances – ICP students perform several times per year in both solo and ensemble recitals. The ICP ensemble joins the BYSO’s two older string orchestras at least twice per year in the Boston University Concert Hall and Tsai Performance Center, and presents additional performances in community venues. Most recently, the ICP ensemble joined a local chorus for a “Holiday Concert by Children for Children” at Roxbury Community College. Other annual performances include a Martin Luther King Day celebration at the Museum of African American History and the Symphony Hall stage at WCRB’s “Cartoon Fest.”
Membership in BYSO Orchestras – After two to three years of intensive study as outlined above, students will audition for one of the BYSO’s orchestras, starting with the Young People’s String Orchestra. ICP students receive no special treatment in auditions, and they will be reviewed by the same independent group of judges as all BYSO students. If admitted into a BYSO orchestra, students will receive private or semi-private lessons with the most qualified teachers in Boston. Students continue to be eligible for ICP scholarship for lessons, instrument rental, and BYSO tuition fees until they graduate from high school.
