After a child is admitted into the Intensive Community Program (ICP), the full ICP curriculum includes summer music lessons, summer camp, weekly lessons after school, and ensemble classes. Each student is also provided with an instrument to use during his or her time in ICP. After two to three years of study in ICP, students are typically prepared to audition for BYSO’s entry-level orchestra, the Young People’s String Orchestra (ages 8-12). They are expected to progress through BYSO system until they reach the Boston Youth Symphony, BYSO's premier ensemble.  Provided that an ICP student remains in a BYSO orchestra, BYSO will continue to provide support in the form of complimentary private lessons, use of an instrument, and need-based financial support. Major activities of the program are listed below.    

Summer Music Workshop

Each new season of 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 the summer. 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 conducted by Marta Zurad. 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. 

ICP students perform several times per year in both solo and ensemble recitals. Annual performances by the ICP ensemble include the Holiday Concert at Roxbury Community College and Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in collaboration with the Museum of African American History and Mayor's Office of Arts, Tourism & Special Events at Faneuil Hall. ICP students also perform with BYSO at Symphony Hall, Sanders Theatre at Harvard University and Tsai Performance Center at Boston University.  ICP has been featured at Symphony Hall 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 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.

Click here to read student insights about participating in these orchestras!