When I was in seventh grade, my pop tried to convince me to take up the saxophone. I sat through two lessons before I started hiding the reeds to avoid practicing at home. In eighth grade, my mom took a crack at it and signed me up for piano lessons. After a couple weeks the teacher said I might be better off playing the drums or "something else that required less practice." Finally, in my senior year of high school, I managed to pick up a guitar and not feel completely inept. It's taken me almost all my life to figure out where I live within the world of music and instruments, but for other talented individuals, the calling to play in the orchestra pit is innate from the time they pick up a bow or play a single note on a Steinway. The Central Oregon Youth Orchestra is a local nonprofit organization that strives to provide world-class education and mentorship for aspiring and committed young orchestral musicians in the region.
In preparation for the upcoming 2023 Winter Concert on Dec. 13 at the Tower Theatre, Mike Tucker and Jeff Poteet, two current members of the board for COYO, sat down with me to talk about the realities of what helps a youth orchestra run.
"It's really important that you engage children with music at those impressionable years," lifelong percussionist/singer and fresh board member Jeff Poteet said.
"And it's our winter performance, which alone is exciting," bespectacled ex-band promoter Mike Tucker chimed in. Tucker currently pulls double duty as a parent of a child in the orchestra as well as being a motivated four-year member of the board.
On the flip side of that energy, both board members expressed concern when talking about the difficulties school administrators face when it comes to allocation of funds. Often times low enrollments and/or struggling finances within school districts can lead to the gutting of music programs, an already harsh reality that has been made worse by the after-effects of the pandemic.
"There are still some areas in Central Oregon that don't have full programs for music, and we want to make it accessible for the younger kids," offered Poteet. "I think of COYO as helping to fill some gaps in some of the different school districts that maybe don't have a robust music program."
Though facing the economic challenges of many other local nonprofits, COYO remains optimistic and committed to its pivotal role in providing exceptional training in ensemble performance.
"I think we are really wanting to see ourselves as a program that OSU or University of Oregon is looking at for those students," Tucker added, "I feel like there was some anxiety during COVID — that worry, and that anxiety isn't there anymore. I'd say that was the first hurdle. I know we're working the new string quartet and having a small group that plays throughout the year... the big thing for me and for us is finding the funding," Tucker admitted. "What they're doing on such a small budget is phenomenal."
While the orchestra continues to look for anchor sponsors and donations, both men gleamed with pride when talking about the organization's current state of engagement with the local community, a tenet that lies at the heart of the program. "When the performance is over and we see the families and the kids coming off stage and talking, for me that's one of the greatest things. To be there, to watch what that's like for them and their families, to be able to see and know that it's making an impact for those kids, it's everything," Poteet remarked.
The Central Oregon Youth Orchestra is directed by Dr. Travis Allen and conducted by Youth Philharmonic Conductor Jonathan Moore and Concert Orchestra Conductor Sara Ruzicka. The organization has sent talented musicians to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2015 and has helped to produce notable alums such as professional violinist, John Fawcett.
More information about the orchestra is available at coyomusic.org.
