South Florida

South Florida Youth Symphony Invited to Presidential Inauguration

Education doesn’t stop when kids leave the schoolhouse. Many dedicated student musicians, for example, learn to play in orchestras by spending their spare time after school rehearsing with non-profit groups like the South Florida Youth Symphony. Their parents move heaven and earth to give their kids that opportunity.

"Because they realize the benefits for the whole child, not just for musical development, for every skill level that they have," said Marjorie Hahn, musical director for the SFYS.

The South Florida Youth Symphony has been around for 52 years, taking all students regardless of family income. Now the group has been invited to play in a prestigious festival in Washington, D.C., and to attend the presidential inauguration.

"Everyone’s really excited, it’s something that everyone’s going to be tuning in to watch and the fact that we get to be there to perform, it’s quite a big deal," said Reina Suarez, a percussionist in the orchestra.

"We have the passion for music, we have the eagerness to learn, and this would be a learning opportunity for everyone in this orchestra," said cellist Benjamin Bush.

They sound terrific in rehearsals, but that alone isn’t going to get them to Washington. Many of the kids can’t afford the trip, so the symphony needs to raise money.

"Well yeah, it’s a very expensive thing, you know, so not many people have the money to do these things," said violinist Yosvani Rodriguez.

They have a proud tradition of churning out musicians from low-income neighborhoods, and this trip to D.C. is out of the financial reach of most of their families.

"Most of them are low-income, multi-child, single-parent families," Hahn said. "Many of them don’t get out of Dade County."

As of now, they’re about $20,000 short of their fundraising goal. If you’d like to be a patron of the arts and help young musicians live out their dreams, go to www.sfys.net and click on the Go Fund Me link.

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