GTCYS at a Glance
For more than 50 years, GTCYS has transformed students and enriched the community.
Mission
In the conviction that music nourishes the body, mind, and spirit of the individual and enriches the community, the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies provides a rigorous and inspiring orchestral experience for young musicians.
About Us
Now in our 55th season, the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS, pronounced git-seez) is the largest youth orchestra program in the country, serving more than 1,300 students through our 11 school-year orchestras, camps, and community initiatives. GTCYS’ programs provide a musical pathway for students from across the region ages 7 – 18, of all backgrounds, and musical levels.
Committed to both excellence and access, our educational programs break down barriers, inspiring students to excel musically and build lifelong skills which serve them in school and beyond. Rather than turning students away, GTCYS continually expands its programming to meet growing interest and community needs. To increase access and address socio-economic barriers, GTCYS provides more than $300,000 in need-based scholarships for tuition and private lessons.
GTCYS students learn the importance of community engagement and understand that music is most powerful and life-changing when it is shared. Students share their talents and bring live music to diverse audiences at 30+ mostly free orchestra concerts at Twin Cities schools, senior centers, and community locations, Orchestra Hall, and Ted Mann Concert Hall. In total, GTCYS engages more than 25,000 children and adults each year through our educational activities, concerts, and free livestreams.
With more than 16,000 students in our history, GTCYS alumni include leaders in every field who use the lifelong values of teamwork, discipline, and community engagement developed during their GTCYS experience. Explore our website to learn more!
History
Since its founding in 1972, GTCYS (pronounced “GIT-seez”) has provided high-quality orchestral programs for beginning to pre-professional music students from across the region. In 2012, Artistic Director Mark Russell Smith joined GTCYS, providing dynamic leadership and artistic oversight of our programs. Using a comprehensive approach to music education focusing on both access and excellence, our programs provide enriching opportunities which inspire students to excel to the highest levels of musicianship and develop lifelong skills that benefit them in school and beyond. Renowned for its rich international touring history, GTCYS’ flagship orchestra, Symphony, tours biennially, including to New Zealand and Australia (2026) Southern France and Barcelona (2024), Southern Italy (2022), Eastern Europe (2018), Argentina (2016), and Spain (2014).
Notable historical highlights include: performing at the Schools Promenade Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London (1978) and performing at the Super Bowl pre-game show (1992) under founding artistic director Dr. William Larue Jones, recording “Classics for Kids…By Kids” cd (2000) under the leadership of Paul Zdunek, launching Harmony strings program (2016), and recording a music video at the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit (2022).