The Tallahassee Youth Orchestras (TYO), led by Dr. Alexander Jiménez, is the premier orchestral training program of Florida’s Big Bend area.  The TYO believes that one of the best ways to ensure that classical music is a thriving part of our community is to win over the hearts and minds of young people.    

Our goal is to provide high quality music education programs that cultivate the next generation of musicians and patrons of the arts. The activities of the TYO are meant to help transform our community into one that more fully recognizes the power and importance of musical literacy, and one that leads the state in its support of music education.  
    
The TYO offers five orchestras designed for various levels of playing ability, from beginning strings to an advanced symphony orchestra. Additionally, the TYO features four chamber ensembles (string quartet, woodwind quintet, brass quintet and percussion ensemble) and the Tallahassee Fiddlers, whose focus is on folk and ethnic music.
    
The TYO employs some of the area’s brightest music educators, including Dr. Alexander Jiménez, Head of Orchestras at Florida State University; Mr. Chris Miller, Head of Strings at Lawton Chiles High School; Ms. Michelle Hudson, Head of Strings at Montford Middle School; Ms. Colleen Manseau, string teacher in eight of Leon County’s elementary schools; Ms. Geralyn Ashburn, private string teacher; Mickey Abraham, local teacher and sought-after bluegrass artist; and Aisha Ivey, award-winning fiddler.  The TYO is also staffed by music majors from Florida State University’s nationally renowned College of Music, each of whom exhibit a deep commitment to music pedagogy.

The TYO offers partial scholarships for young students in need of financial assistance, made possible in part by funding from Capital City Bank Group, Publix Super Market Charities, the Walmart Foundation, and the Tallahassee Music Guild.  The TYO is also grateful for the assistance of its private donors and the in-kind support it receives from Beethoven & Company music store and the Florida State University College of Music.

2011-2012 SPONSORS