What people say about YPCO
"Our son played violin for a couple of years when his violin teacher suggested he try YPCO. He went to try it out in the summer, and then quickly joined once the fall semester started. Rem is so warm and supportive and has built such a positive community of young musicians with a range of experience and ability.
In four years of playing in YPCO, my son never said he didn't want to go. On the contrary, he was excited every Saturday morning and came home energized by the music they were playing. He has really grown as a player under Rem and Ben, and even had the opportunity to play a few concertos. We couldn't be more grateful for the experience he has had in YPCO!"
Young People's Chamber Orchestra (YPCO) was founded in 1982 by beloved music teacher Ellen Mindell. The YPCO philosophy is to provide a musical learning experience for young musicians in the community - which has grown to include participants from all over the bay - Berkeley, Albany, Kensington, Oakland, Alameda, Lafayette, Richmond, El Cerrito, San Pablo, Marin, Santa Clara and San Francisco.
Rem Djemilev has been the Music Director and Conductor for YPCO since 1998, and under Rem’s gifted leadership, the orchestra has further solidified its reputation as a nurturing environment where young musicians can build their ensemble playing skills.
Cooperation
As a teaching orchestra, YPCO promotes a non-competitive and cooperative philosophy, welcoming the skills and talents of all our members with equal warmth.
Through the transition from individual lessons and practice to ensemble playing, students develop their abilities to cooperate, focus, communicate and work towards a common goal. What differentiates YPCO is students develop a love of music, practice with zeal, and are motivated to develop new skills including technique, rhythm, intonation, dynamic control, interpretation and expression.
Mentoring
There are several different levels of skill and experience within the chamber orchestra, and each section in the chamber includes a coach.
Coaches provide support, whether it is tuning, training on a specific technique, providing help to interpret a difficult segment of a piece, or providing motivation.
This provides many more opportunities to learn for each of the students in the orchestra, peer leadership opportunities for our more experienced members, and a greater overall experience for learning and loving music.
History
Our Conductors
When we meet
Chamber Orchestra - meets Saturday mornings from 10-noon. This is a good first orchestra experience through middle school.
Advanced Ensemble - meets Monday evenings from 6:30-8:30pm. Designed for older, more experienced musicians.
In the summer session -
Chamber rehearses from 9-10:30am
Advanced rehearses from 10:30-noon.
Please Request a Rehearsal Visit or email manager@ypco.org for additional information.
