Young People’s Symphonic Orchestra to Perform at Music Educator Conference

The Community Music School's Young People’s Symphonic Orchestra (YPSO) has been selected to perform at the annual Missouri Music Educator Association (MMEA) conference at the Lake of the Ozarks in January 2023.

This is the second time the CMS will be represented as a performing ensemble at this highly-attended conference of Missouri music educators. The YPSO appeared at MMEA for the first time in 2020 – before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down public gatherings.

Not only is it an honor to be selected, it is also an opportunity to share with band and orchestra directors the amazing experience their students are receiving or could be receiving by participating in a full orchestra at the CMS. Last year, YPSO included musicians from 30 different public and private schools and home-educated students.

Established more than 40 years ago, the YPSO is the most advanced of the CMS orchestras. Conducted by Patrick Jackson, the YPSO performs a wide range of orchestral literature and gives high-level middle and high school musicians the opportunity to play on a weekly basis with equally motivated and talented peers from throughout the region.

The Missouri Music Educators Association is a federated association of the NAfME: the National Association for Music Education. It includes nearly 80,000 music educators dedicated to providing a comprehensive, well-balanced, sequential and quality education to every child in America.

In 2023, the Missouri Music Educators Association will celebrate 85 years of serving its membership with goals of teaching and learning by promoting a comprehensive music education program that furthers music-making by all.