GTCYS

06/05/2026

Happy birthday, Maestro! 🎉 What better way to celebrate than being on TV?

Tune in to Almanac at 7:00pm on TPT2 or on TPT's website to hear Maestro share about Symphony's upcoming tour to New Zealand and Australia, and hear Quartet Selene play!

05/31/2026

GTCYS is year-round, if you count summer camp ☀️

Spend a week making music, building friendships, growing confidence, and learning from incredible conductors and musicians—all in a fun, supportive environment.

With three camp levels, there’s something for every young musician ages 8–18.

📍University of Minnesota School of Music
📅 July 20–24
⏰ Registration closes June 9

05/29/2026

See you on June 11 at Ted Mann Concert Hall 🎺🎶 Ticket link in bio 🔗 buytickets.at/gtcys

05/27/2026

Congratulations to Symphony musicians Lucy Zhang, Lorelei Schoenhard, and Ariella Kim for being finalists for this year’s Karin Larson YourClassical MPR Prize in the Emerging Artist category! Watch their performances and hear their stories on YourClassical's website. 🎻❤️

05/22/2026

Conductor update 🎶 After four years with GTCYS, Sinfonia East conductor Brian Larson has decided to step down to prioritize work-life balance and spend more time with family.

We’re very grateful for Brian’s leadership and dedication over the past several years—his work has had meaningful impact, and students have truly enjoyed being part of his orchestra!

“Being part of the GTCYS artistic team has been a wonderful experience,” Brian shared. “I look forward to maintaining a connection to GTCYS in the years to come.”

We’re fortunate to have many excellent music educators like Brian in the Twin Cities to inspire our students, and hope to announce a new Sinfonia East conductor in mid-June.

05/20/2026

At Spring Festival, several Philharmonic musicians performed on restored instruments owned by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust. They played Symphony No. 1: "Forgotten Chants and Refrains" by Jewish composer Jonathan Leshnoff.

Before the performance, Philharmonic heard from Violins of Hope co-founder Avshalom Weinstein. He shared the history of each instrument—who owned it, where it came from, and how it came to Violins of Hope—and answered questions from musicians.

This moving day was made possible through partnership with the Violins of Hope global initiative, presented in the Twin Cities by the Minnesota JCC. We're honored that our musicians played a small part in keeping the music and memories alive.

05/18/2026

Submit your audition video by MIDNIGHT on Tuesday, May 19! With 11 orchestras and generous financial aid, there's truly a place for everyone. 🎶

05/16/2026

This could be you! Make sure to submit your audition video by May 19.

05/15/2026

Conductor update! 🎶 We’re thrilled to announce that Paxson Amy has been selected as Philharmonic’s conductor for the 2026–27 season.

Paxson’s dynamic leadership and ability to inspire high artistic standards stood out on the podium with Philharmonic during the audition process. He’s well-equipped to continue Philharmonic’s impressive artistic heights.

“Paxson Amy brings yet another strong artistic and pedagogical voice to the GTCYS’ conducting staff,” says Artistic Director Mark Russell Smith. “He is a musician of great integrity with a passion for sharing his musical insights with young musicians. I know he will do great things in his role as Philharmonic Conductor. We are all very excited to welcome him to the GTCYS family.”


🏷️ Vanderbilt Alumni, University of Minnesota, School of Music, Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music

05/14/2026

We're honored to partner with Violins of Hope while they're in the Twin Cities. Each instrument has a story like this one, and it was incredibly moving for our students to play a small part in this history. We'll share more from the project soon!

Northfield High School freshman Audrey Brien earned the rare honor of performing on a violin from the Violins of Hope collection at the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies Spring Concert on May 10, 2026 at Orchestra Hall. The instrument she played belonged to Sandor Fisher, a Romanian-born musician who brought his violin with him when he was interned at a N**i forced labor camp during the Holocaust.

Selected through an essay competition, Audrey extended her commitment beyond the concert hall by bringing the historic violin to Northfield, sharing its story with her orchestra classmates and transforming a personal honor into a lesson on historical awareness, the power of art and the importance of keeping memory alive.