JOY is a kindergartener playing the violin.

Hello Friends of JOY!

The 2023-2024 JOY season wrapped up with concerts for families and friends that were consistently packed with enthusiastic listeners. Students beamed as they shared their growth throughout the year. To wrap up the after school orchestra school year, students held a fundraiser at Kopitos in Newberg and played for family and friends.

In early June, the JOY Program Director and a teaching artist were able to represent JOY at the El Sistema USA National Symposium at Butler University in Indianapolis. Additionally, three JOY teaching artists were able to attend via virtual seminars. Seminars ranged in topic from building strong programming, inspiring students, and creating ways to help teaching artists hone in on their craft. Networking with other ESUSA programs was a highlight and being able to share the great work that JOY is doing was a special treat.

The 2024 JOY Summer Camp is currently underway. The two week camp began at the beginning of August and allows students to work with JOY TAs on a variety of musical and collaborative activities. Students who are going into 3-6 grade have the opportunity to participate in Summer Camp and we have opened up the camp to all of Yamhill County for this year. Camp is being held at Edwards Elementary school in Newberg. There are forty seven students participating, four teaching artists, one assistant teaching artist, and two middle school volunteers. This year, activities include music theory, ensemble performance, sectionals, musical games, drumming circle, a visit from a composer in residence, the return of two beloved guest teachers, and two performances. To conclude camp, students have two performances, one will be for our donors at Stoller Family Estates and for families at the Chehalem Valley Cultural Center. Students have been enthusiastic for this Summer Camp experience. 

In Fall of 2024, JOY will be expanding to three more elementary schools in Yamhill County and add the after school option in McMinnville SD. McMinnville SD has been so supportive in planning for the after school orchestra and is helping to transport students from one school to a second school in order for the two schools to combine at one site. JOY will be at the following schools and grade levels for next year: Edwards (K-5), Sue Buel (K-2), Newby (K-2), Grandhaven (K-1), Wascher (K-1), Antonia Crater (K-1), Joan Austin (K), Memorial (K), and Willamette (K). The expansion is exciting and we are currently in the hiring phase for more JOY TA’s. With this growth, we anticipate reaching 1,055 students in Yamhill County in the 2024-2025 school year!

Thank you for your ongoing support of JOY. It is with your support that we have been able to reach so many students over the past seven years. We are excited to continue to grow the program and welcome many more students. If you have not already done so, please sign up to give recurring donations through GlobalGiving on our project page “JOY is a Kindergartener Playing the Violin.”

Hello Friends of JOY!

JOY is moving into its busy concert season and we are excited to spotlight our students. Every Kindergarten and 1st grade JOY program will perform for their families. These performances tend to be packed with excited supporters eager to take videos and pictures and ready for an adorable photo opportunity. Students dress up and get to take the stage with their classmates. JOY TA’s lead their students in song demonstrating their skills they’ve learned this year. This varies from the “Parts of the Instrument Song” to “Froggy in the Meadow” to the “String Naming Song”. 

The JOY After School Orchestra at Edwards has its end of year concert for families in May. The After School Orchestra has three different levels of orchestra. The Concert Orchestra is composed of first year players, the Sinfonia Orchestra has second year players, and the Chamber Orchestra has third and fourth year players. Students have been working on instrumental technique, posture, tone, ensemble skills, and their ability to read music has vastly improved this year. They will share their progress with families in a beautiful venue; George Fox University has generously donated the use of the beautiful Bauman Auditorium for this night.

Throughout this school year, guest musicians have been invited to our K-1 classes with the goal of having one guest visit per a school. El Sistema programs are meant to be very “porous” in the sense that we bring the community in to play with our students and our students go out into the public to play for the community. Some community guests have been violin instructors who have taught a lesson and we have been able to use their visit as an opportunity for our Teaching Artists to observe different teaching techniques and ideas. At two of our schools, musicians came in to demonstrate the violin, viola, and cello to prepare. This was to get the 1st grade students excited for their opportunity to sign up for the after school orchestra as 2nd graders. Still to come, we have a guest harpist and potentially a string quartet visiting two more JOY sites. 

In March, the students of Edwards Elementary School were lucky to have a school wide assembly with Aaron Meyer. Aaron is a rock violinist and music education advocate. To start the assembly, he got students clapping along to an Irish Jig and then “rocking out” to Vivaldi by the end of the assembly. Afterschool, he worked with the Concert Orchestra to talk about his journey as a musician and to play along with them. This opportunity was made possible as a partnership between the Edwards Volunteer Organization and JOY and proved to be a great opportunity for everyone. 

The first YES Honors Orchestra is happening in a few weeks. Guest conductor, Connie Lorimor, will work with 43 4-8 grade Yamhill County students in a two day event to prepare for a concert for families. Newberg School District has donated its space at MVMS for this event to take place. Students have received music already and are preparing their part in anticipation for the event. It would be exciting for events like this to be more readily available for students of Yamhill County and we are excited to offer this YES Honors Camp as the first opportunity. 

Thank you for your ongoing support of JOY. It is with your support that we have been able to reach so many students over the past seven years. We are excited to continue to grow the program and welcome many more students. If you have not already done so, please sign up to give recurring donations through GlobalGiving on our project page “JOY is a Kindergartener Playing the Violin.”