Arts and Culture United States Project #38636

JOY is a kindergartener playing the violin.

by Yamhill Enrichment Society

Project Report | Mar 31, 2026
Joyful Notes: Momentum

By Amy Brunner | Joy Program Director

"Informance" where students taught family to play

Hello Friends of Joy,

The year is progressing, and momentum continues to build. Our After School Orchestra students held their first concert of the school year in January. A total of 185 students performed across four after-school sites for families and friends. Beginners demonstrated their progress by showing strong posture and performing a few simple songs. The Sinfonia and Chamber Orchestras successfully performed pieces featuring three to four parts played simultaneously. We continue to refine our curriculum to help students experience the greatest possible success.

Right before spring break, we hosted an “informance” for families at Edwards After School Orchestra. An informance is a type of performance designed to show what students are working on in class. Families were invited to attend the final 20 minutes of rehearsal and experience what a typical rehearsal is like. We set out 10 chairs, unsure how many family members would attend. When it was time for the informance to begin, about 20 people had arrived, ranging in age from 6 months to 60 years old. Siblings, parents, and grandparents all had the opportunity to sit in on the rehearsal and learn alongside their students. This experience helps families better understand the music-making process and how they can support their students’ practice at home. We aim to expand opportunities like this across our after-school programs as we continue fostering a strong sense of community.

In February, six of our staff members attended a 5th- and 6th-grade orchestra rehearsal led by Mac Mayer in Salem. Mac welcomed our team into his classroom and conducted the rehearsal as usual. We observed excellent warm-up strategies and effective classroom management techniques. In March, our staff gathered to discuss end-of-year K–1 concerts, share ideas for 1st-grade violin success, and further develop our cello-playing skills as a group.

At this point in the year, all of our kindergarten students are using real violins. The box violins used at the beginning of the year serve to teach our youngest students how to properly care for their instruments. Students practice transitioning from rest position to playing position using a low-stakes tissue box rather than a real violin. By the time they receive their instruments in January, they understand the importance of moving carefully and handling their violins with care. Our K–1 students are now preparing for their end-of-year concert, where they will perform pieces they have learned throughout the school year for family and friends.

The YES Honors Orchestra brings together 4th–8th grade students from across Yamhill County for a two-day event filled with rehearsals, sectionals, a pizza party, and culminating in a concert for families and friends. Students have received their music and are preparing for this intensive experience, which will take place at Newberg High School. This year, 30 students will have the opportunity to work with Ann Medellin, a middle school orchestra teacher from Vancouver, Washington.

The Joy Youth Orchestra is also preparing for its spring concert. Conductors Damian Berdakin and Sarah Barr are working with 46 students in anticipation of a musical performance at Newberg High School’s auditorium.

We are currently in hiring season, and the Joy name continues to gain recognition. We have already received several applications for the 2026–2027 school year. As our program expands, we have the potential to reach 1,600 students next year. Our vision remains the same: to create access to orchestral learning for all public school students in Yamhill County.

"Informance" where students taught family to play

1st graders prepare for concerts

Links:

Joy Website

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Dec 1, 2025
Harmony in Motion: Joy Youth Orchestra Launch

By Amy Brunner | Joy Program Director

Joy Prelude Strings dress rehearsal

Hello Friends of Joy!

Our first semester of the Joy Youth Orchestras ended with a beautiful concert that was performed for a large audience of family and friends. Our 4-12 grade students spent rehearsals throughout the fall working on listening, dynamics, musicality, intonation, and creating connections with each other in order to prepare for their first concert. A quartet from the Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival joined string students for a West Coast premiere of a commission by Kevin Day entitled “Overture to Springtime”. A personalized message to the audience and students from Kevin Day himself set the tone and gave the background about the piece. Students had their own part that accompanied the quartet. It was a beautiful moment of collaboration. The Joy Youth Orchestra season continues in February and auditions will be held in January to build numbers and to keep the momentum going.

Prior to the first concert, we held an event called “Behind the Baton” which facilitated a conversation about the youth orchestra’s launch and that afternoon’s concert programming. The directors of the Youth Orchestras, two of the four professional quartet members, and the Joy Program Director, had an interview style conversation in front of an intimate audience of community stake holders, board members, and local music educators. Participants were able to ask questions to the panel as well.

The After School Orchestras are currently serving 195 2-5 grade students at four different sites across Yamhill County. We currently have eleven teaching artists on staff and five assistant teaching artists. Teams meet weekly to talk about lesson planning and how to best accommodate student needs. As we grow, we are continuing to build strong connections with our local universities to help foster a connection with the next generation of music educators. Currently, we have two students from George Fox University and one student from Linfield University on our staff.

Comfort Smith has taken on the role of K-1 Curriculum Specialist. Comfort is a seasoned Joy K-1 teacher and respected Suzuki instructor in the county. She is doing an amazing job in aligning our K-1 staff with common goals and gathering resources to aid in achieving those goals.

As our staff grows, we continue to share our knowledge with one another. This year, we have been able to gather twice in person and plan to do a “field trip” for our next meeting. After School Orchestra staff will travel to Lake Oswego or Salem to observe a 5th or 6th grade orchestra. Here we hope to gather ideas on classroom management and ways to keep students engaged. Our students come to the After School Orchestra after a full day of school and are often tired. Joy Staff have a common goal of keeping the bar high while making learning an orchestral instrument exciting and accessible. We continuously fine tune our offering to make it age accessible and successful for the most amount of students.

We look forward to hearing our students progress throughout the winter season.

2nd Grade Joy ASO students show off new shirts

Joy Symphony dress rehearsal for the Fall Concert

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Aug 5, 2025
JOY Crescendos into Fall

By Amy Brunner | JOY Program Director

JOY and BRAVO Perform at GFU in 50th Jubilee!

Hello Friends of JOY!

We had a very successful and busy spring concert season with a combined thirteen concerts for our two after school orchestra programs and nine K-1 violin programs. A highlight of the concert season was the first ever Jubilee concert that combined the Oregon El Sistema programs JOY and BRAVO. The Jubilee concert was a celebration of El Sistema turning 50 years old! We combined our students with students from BRAVO in a two day event. One night, JOY hosted at George Fox University in Newberg, and the next, BRAVO hosted in Portland. At the George Fox University concert, JOY and BRAVO students combined for the final piece and there were 95 students performing on stage all together! In true El Sistema fashion, students had parts that were adjusted to different difficulty levels so that everyone could successfully participate. After the success of the event, we look forward to potentially getting together with BRAVO on a future collaboration.

We are preparing for the fall term by working with principals to finalize K-1 scheduling. We will have nine schools for the K-1 in school and four after school orchestra sites that serve six schools. In these programs alone, we plan to serve 1,200 students.

In the Fall, JOY launches its JOY Youth Orchestra program for 4-12 graders. This program will meet once a week and combine students from all over Yamhill County. Auditions took place in May and fifty two students will be joining this season. These students are split into two levels. The JOY Prelude Strings is meant for 4-8 grade string players with at least two years of experience and the JOY Symphony is meant for 7-12 graders who are ready for a more difficult caliber of music. We were excited for a competitive candidate pool for the JOY Youth Orchestra conducting positions. The conductor for the JOY Symphony is Damian Berdakin. Mr. Berdakin joins JOY with years of experience in the HS symphonic realm. He is currently the high school director at South Salem High School and will continue that role while conducting the JOY Symphony. The conductor for JOY Prelude Strings is Sarah Barr. Mrs. Barr has taught orchestra at the MS and HS level in Newberg, led both JOY K-1 and after school orchestra classes, and is currently the music teacher at Newby Elementary School. We are proud to have these excellent directors joining our staff.

This week, we are in the middle of our JOY Summer Camp. We are serving 70 3rd-6th grade students in this 8 day summer camp. Filled with games, review of orchestral skills, challenging new pieces, and guest artists, the JOY Summer Camp has become a highlight of summer for our students. This year we had Fear No Music’s Dr. Kirsten Volness. Dr. Volness talked about improvisation and the steps to composition. Students enjoyed experimenting with different sounds on their instruments in a writing workshop.

Led by a fantastic JOY Summer Camp staff, we are excited to share our students’ hard work with families and friends at the end of camp performance. Additionally we have a brand new concert event entitled “Sounds of JOY”. JOY teaching artists, JOY Summer Camp students, and renowned Concert Rock Violinist Aaron Meyer will perform in a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere at Newberg’s Chehalem Cultural Center. Community members and sponsors of YES will savor local wine, non-alcoholic beverages, and delicious eats from on-site food trucks as we celebrate the power of music and community.

We remain excited about what lies ahead for JOY.

Fear No Music's Dr. Kirsten Volness visits JOY

JOY Summer Camp students compose their own music

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