An orchestra
The VYSO plays music. And we love it. We enjoy playing music we like. It's great to listen to your favourite composers, but even better to play them.
We rehearse once a week and put on concerts of a good standard. But we don't take ourselves too seriously. After all, while there are professional musicians amongst our ranks who enjoy playing with us, we are an amateur orchestra with many members who simply want to keep up their musical interests.
Good times
We are a social orchestra. We like to enjoy ourselves in and out of rehearsals, on stage and celebrating afterwards. We have regular social events, whether trivia nights, dinners, parties, or just going to the cafe or pub after rehearsal!
VYSO is all about a friendly atmosphere in which to enjoy good music.
A community organisation
We are a community orchestra. Membership is open to anybody who is young, or young at heart! Our concerts are local community events. We participate in and add to the local musical scene in Melbourne and more broadly in Victoria.
We collaborate with other Victorian musical organisations, and each year perform a concert in a rural location as part of our country tour. In this way we support cultural activities in rural Victoria.
A democracy
We are a completely independent organisation. We depend on no government department or student union for funding. We are entirely self-managed by our own players. We take no orders from above: all decisions are made entirely at the grass-roots level. By the players, for the players. Of course, we rely on sponsors and other fundraising activities for our survival. We are always looking for generous donors, sponsors or patrons to support us.
We are an independent orchestra, set up to provide quality musical experience for our members and to present the results to the public. The Orchestra is run by a committee, made up of playing members, and the activities of the Orchestra are determined by the committee.
And as listed in our constitution:
Our aims are:
- to provide concert and orchestral experience to improve the skills of all members;
- to provide a viable alternative for players, other than music students, whilst continuing to attract serious musicians;
- to provide a friendly, social, co-operative atmosphere for players;
- to be involved in community activities;
- to tour country and interstate areas;
- to provide experience for young composers, conductors and soloists.
Our goal is to raise the standard of the group and of each player to full potential whilst maintaining our policy of open access for players. We also believe that an orchestra such as ours can and should make a contribution to the community through its activities. Our concerts are part of that contribution.
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