Midwest Young Artists Conservatory (MYAC) is a youth music and jazz organization based near

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It is the largest youth ensemble music program in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. MYAC was founded in 1993 in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, by Dr. Allan Dennis and consisted of a single

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

. Since then, MYAC has grown considerably; it now includes six youth

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

orchestras, 65+ chamber ensembles, a jazz and big band program, four choral groups, and an entry-level early childhood music program for very young children. MYAC also has a sizable

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

program. The organization is based at the MYAC Center in Fort Sheridan in Highwood, Illinois. As of 2017, enrollment is around 1000 student musicians from 78 cities throughout the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

. MYAC performances are held at Harris Theater and Jay Pritzker Pavilion in

Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in July 2004, is a prominent civic center near t ...

Symphony Center Symphony Center is a music complex located at 220 South Michigan Avenue in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO); Chicago Symphony Chorus; Civic Orchestra of Chicago; and the Institute for Learning, ...

in Chicago, Pick-Staiger Auditorium at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, the

Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is a primarily outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September in a wide variety of musical genres from classical to pop. The first orche ...

and the Hot House jazz facility. In 2007, Midwest Young Artists Conservatory became the first youth orchestra ever to perform at the Civic Opera House in Chicago. Each year, Midwest Young Artists Conservatory hosts the Walgreens National Concerto Competition, for young soloists, and the Discover National Chamber Music Competition, for young string, brass, percussion and wind ensembles. In March 2019, MYAC was named the 2019 Youth Orchestra of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, the fourth time in the organization's 30-year history.

Ensembles

Midwest Young Artists Conservatory has six principal orchestras, ranked by skill level and age: *Reading Orchestra *Cadet Orchestra *Concertino Orchestra *Philharmonia Orchestra *Concert Orchestra *Symphony Orchestra MYAC has four main jazz ensembles, as well as a number of smaller jazz combos. *Big Band *Jazz Orchestra *Jazz Workshop *Jazz Ensemble MYAC has 3 choral ensembles *Maestros *Voices Rising *Vocal Point

References

External links

Midwest Young Artists ConservatoryMYAC Summer Music ProgramsMidwest Young Artists Conservatory NewsMidwest Young Artists Conservatory on YouTubeMidwest Young Artists Conservatory on SoundCloud
{{authority control American youth orchestras Classical music in the United States Musical groups established in 1993 Music organizations based in the United States Music schools in Illinois Highwood, Illinois Education in Evanston, Illinois Orchestras based in Illinois 1993 establishments in Illinois Youth organizations based in Illinois Articles containing video clips