SCE Grant Will Help Local Young Classical Musicians

News release from Alana Joos, president of Inland Valley Symphony:

Southern California Edison awarded a $5,000 grant to the Inland Valley Symphony during a Murrieta City Council meeting held May 7.

The check was presented to two of the organization’s board members: Jeffrey Hitch, executive vice-president, and Diana Cunningham, vice president of development, by Jeremy Goldman, Region Manager-Local Public Affairs for Southern California Edison Company. 

The Inland Valley Symphony is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation, currently in its 18th season, primarily serving southwest Riverside County. IVS is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of volunteers, community leaders and musicians from the organization. IVS provides cultural enrichment through orchestral performance and education, fosters musical development and arts awareness for youth and promotes the appreciation of music for the greater community. To that end, IVS established Inland Valley Youth Symphony in 2008.

The Youth Symphony program consists of three major components: IVYS (advanced youth symphony), Attacca (intermediate orchestra), and Prelude (beginning strings). The purpose of Inland Valley Youth Symphony is to enrich the lives of student musicians with outstanding educational and performance opportunities for all levels, in a nurturing and challenging environment, without discrimination.  Working together with parents, private and school music instructors, IVYS provides the finest possible training with rehearsal and performance opportunities to enable the students to develop, share and further enrich their lives through the power of music.  IVYS believes that music is proven to enhance student performance in all academic areas.

Southern California Edison’s grant will provide the funds needed to offer numerous students scholarships for tuition and private instruction who could otherwise not afford to be part of the organization. IVYS is a tuition-based program that runs from September through May that includes referrals to private music teachers who are associated with the symphony. 

The youth symphony programs provide the following education:

• Concentrated study of orchestral repertoire;
• Direction by a professional conductor and music educator;
• Solo and chamber music opportunities; and
• Performance in concert in an orchestral setting.

The total number of students who currently participate in the youth symphony program average approximately 60 children, whose ages range from age 6 to 21 with a demographic including students of all financial and cultural backgrounds, with a diverse ethnic mix.

The program is currently instructed by the Inland Valley Symphony’s Maestro, Anthony Parnther, including Krystin Cowan (local music educator) and Lois Leyva, principal violinist/concertmaster of the Inland Valley Symphony.

For more information about the Inland Valley Symphony or the Youth Symphony programs please call 760-318-0460 or visit InlandValleySymphony.org or InlandValleyYouthSymphony.org.