FSYO Announces First Annual Alumni Concert

For Immediate Release

December 11, 2013

Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra Alumni Concert at the Mead Botanical Garden Amphitheater

Orlando, FL- The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra is proud to welcome its alumni back to the stage in a concert on Sunday December 22nd at 4:00pm in the picturesque Mead Gardens in Winter Park. This first annual event honors alumni and their achievements at FSYO. The participating Alumni have graduated and gone to study at prestigious universities such as Stanford University and the Julliard School of Music, among others. Many FSYO graduates have gone on to enjoy successful professional music careers, while others have gone on to hold leading positions in medicine, law and business, with some even playing a role in FSYO today.

"The leadership, thoughtfulness and independence learned through music education will help guide our students throughout their lives. It is a great honor to welcome them back and have them share their experiences and accomplishments with our current students, helping them grow as developing musicians" - FSYO's Executive Director, Heide Evans Waldron.

This long-awaited event will feature 90 of FSYO's past musicians, with representation from the majority of its 57-year span. Alumni are coming in from all over the country, some even as far as Japan, to participate in what is sure to be an evening to remember! The program will include some FSYO Holiday staples such as "Sleigh Ride" and some traditional holiday pieces, such as movements from the Nutcracker Suite. Most significantly, the program will feature the worldwide debut of the piece "Solstice". This prominence of this debut is amplified as FSYO Alumnus and current conductor, John Dupuis, composed the piece for this event.

"Our vision for this event is to welcome all former FSYO members. We know music is an important and inspirational part of their lives, so we want to reconnect with them as part of this very special performance." – FSYO Music Director, Andrew Lane

This concert will bring everyone together for an afternoon picnic celebrating the entwining of past and present fine musicians in FSYO history and the beginning of a meaningful tradition for years to come. The concert will be held at the Mead Gardens Amphitheater, Sunday December 22 at 4:00pm. Tickets to this event can be purchased on the FSYO website, www.fsyo.org.

About the Mead Gardens:

Flourishing in Winter Park, amid homes, businesses and academic environments, is Mead Garden. Composed of walking and biking trails, green houses for the countless flowers and outdoor theater built under the shade of the trees perfect of all kinds of events, picnic tables, the Mead Gardens is a retreat amidst the city's chaos. Through leadership, passion and fundraising, the garden has been able to provide programs such as Summer Camps for children, 5K runs, and Weekend Adventures such as Eco Saturdays, and Community Outreach like the Duck Derby. The gardens daily goal is to challenge the intellect, engage the imagination, and celebrate the human spirit by connecting people with plants, the environment, and a full spectrum of the sciences and cultural arts. Previously known as the Friends of Mead garden, Mead Botanical Garden, Inc. a non-profit 501(c)3 whose mission continued to be one of protecting, preserving and restoring the garden. For more information please visit www.meadgarden.org.