Maestra Marin Alsop guest conducting a DYAO rehearsal of the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra in 2004

The Denver Young Artists Orchestra (DYAO) was formed in 1977 under the auspices of the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Founders Betty Naster and Carl Topilow organized the orchestra as a means for Colorado’s most talented young musicians to rehearse and perform together under demanding professional standards. DYAO has operated independently since 1979, but has maintained a close relationship with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.

DYAO has become one of the leading youth orchestras in the United States, fostering the growth of young artists for 30 years. Its mission is to provide the finest possible youth orchestra programs, inspiring and educating young musicians through the performance of great works of music and offering valuable cultural opportunities to the community. The orchestra is conducted by Scott O’Neil, who also serves as the Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Past music directors include Carl Topilow, Charles Ansbacher, Jurgen deLemos, David Lockington, Thomas Cockrell, Horst Buchholz, Matthew Switzer, Lawrence Loh, and Adam Flatt.

Denver Young Artists Orchestra consists of three ensembles: DYAO, the Conservatory Orchestra, and the String Ensemble. The ensembles are composed of approximately 170 musicians representing 80 schools across the region. Some come from as far as Fort Collins, Steamboat Springs, and Colorado Springs. Competitive auditions are held each spring and musicians aged 8 to 23 are eligible. Repertoire for the DYAO includes full orchestral and symphonic works in their original form.

DYAO performs regularly in Boettcher Concert Hall (home of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra) in the heart of Denver’s city center. Additionally, DYAO has performed numerous international concert tours to England, Italy, France, Austria, Hungary, to the central European musical capitals of Munich, Vienna, and Prague, and to Argentina in June 2007. The orchestra has also been invited to play for many venue openings, including Gates Hall at the University of Denver’s Newman Center in 2003, the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver’s performing arts complex in 2005, and the intimate Hampden Hall in the Englewood Civic Center in 2006. Not only has the orchestra played in some of the best venues of the world, but it regularly has the opportunity to perform with some of the greatest performers as well. One such opportunity is the annual “side-by-side” concert with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in which DYAO members perform alongside professional symphony musicians. DYAO has also regularly featured as guest soloists young performers who are launching their own professional careers. Past soloists with the DYAO who have risen to international fame include Eugene Fodor, Yefim Bronfman, Shlomo Mintz, Joseph Swensen, Christopehr O’Riley, Dylana Jenson, and Christopher Taylor. Recently, DYAO has featured established performers as soloists, including cellist Wendy Warner and Van Cliburn Silver Medalist Antonio Pompa-Baldi. In January 2009, DYAO will feature world renowned bassist Edgar Meyer.

The DYAO performing on the Kathie Lee Gifford Christmas Special in December 1998

The League of American Orchestras has awarded the DYAO the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Youth Orchestra Award for Creative and Adventuresome Programming in Contemporary Music. The League of American Orchestras and Meet the Composer awarded DYAO with a composer residency grant with composer Belinda Reynolds in the 2007-08 season, one of eight orchestras to receive the honor. The DYAO has additionally commissioned and premiered five works for symphony orchestra, was featured in CBS’s nationally broadcast special Christmas Every Day in December of 1998 with Kathy Lee Gifford and ‘N Sync, and has performed family concerts for the Breckenridge Music Festival and for the Strings in the Mountains Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

DYAO was recently recognized by the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation as a Catalyst Partner grant recipient. An extremely competitive program, the award will serve as a catalyst for artistic, programmatic, and infrastructural growth through 2010.

Alumni of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra have matured into prestigious orchestral organizations across the country, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Boston Symphony, the Metropolitan Opera and of course the Colorado Symphony.