Welcome to Midwest Young Artists!
Midwest Young Artists (MYA) is the largest and most comprehensive youth ensemble music program in the Midwest. Founded in 1993 with one orchestra, MYA currently reaches over 600 students from 74 cities in the metropolitan Chicago area, with students ranging in age from kindergarten through 12th grade. MYA has grown into a full-curriculum music school with 5 youth orchestras, more than 60 chamber music ensembles, 3 choral groups, an all-inclusive jazz program, and classes in music theory and history.
Outstanding Educational Experiences
The educational goal at MYA has always been to provide the coaching and the learning environment that will enable the young person to develop fully as a musician. The rich and varied MYA curriculum and its talented teachers provide multiple avenues for this musical development. What this means is that young musicians are limited only by their imagination and willingness to work. Most students participate in more than one ensemble and all are strongly encouraged to take music theory classes. Typically, a member of an MYA orchestra will also perform in a chamber ensemble. A trumpet player in a jazz combo might also be a member of an orchestra and a violist in the orchestra might also be a soprano in a choral ensemble.
Amazing Performance Opportunities
Performing before an audience is essential for confidence and personal affirmation and MYA musicians are given multiple performance opportunities abroad and in major venues throughout Chicago including the Civic Opera House, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center, and Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Evanston among others. MYA’s 2006–07 Season concluded with a nineteen day tour to China and Korea with performances in premiere concert houses such as the Seoul Arts Center, Peoples Auditorium of Xi’an, the opulent Shanghai Concert Hall, and the Zhong Shan Concert Hall in the Forbidden City.
Supportive and Nurturing Environment
MYA is a place where serious young musicians come to learn and have fun! MYA thinks of itself as a second family for its students, who frequently enter the program at age 10 or younger and only leave upon graduation from high school - even then, they never really leave MYA, as many return to play in the Alumni concerts, to participate in the international tours, or to coach at the summer music camps. The parents of MYA musicians have played a huge role in MYA’s success over the years from planning fundraisers, tours, and potluck dinners to providing the legal and technical expertise critical to the acquisition of our wonderful building and home. MYA emphasizes camaraderie between students, respect and encouragement in the teaching relationship, and the continual pursuit of excellence in music performance. It is a program that accommodates the future "dedicated amateurs" as well as the students preparing for a future in the highly competitive world of music.
Quality Musical Experience
MYA is a place where students are able to grow with their peers in a competitive, yet friendly atmosphere while providing the highest quality music experience for young musicians nationwide. MYA graduates are accepted at the most selective conservatories, universities and colleges in the country.
