About
Founded in 1972, the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing music education and performance opportunities that foster musical excellence, cultivate learning, encourage creativity, inspire self-motivation, and develop social skills. GDYO has grown from a single orchestra of 35 members to a program of over 470 talented musicians, ages 6 to 18. GDYO ensembles include the flagship ensemble: Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, Philharmonic, Sinfonietta, Dallas String Ensemble, Young Performers Orchestra, Wind Symphony, Flute Choir, Clarinet Choir, the GDYO Jazz Combo and the GDYO Jazz Orchestra. GDYO students come from over 150 different schools from 50 different communities. GDYO offers many enrichment opportunities in addition to the high-quality ensemble training, including a partnership with the DSO Young Strings program, engagement programming with DISD, and the Share the Magic program, which offers hundreds of complimentary tickets to concerts at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center each season.
GDYO is committed to providing musical experiences to young people throughout the area. While participation in GDYO ensembles is tuition-based, the organization has a long-standing commitment to making its programs available to all qualified musicians; financial assistance is available, and no qualified student will be denied an opportunity to participate because of financial need.
For more than 50 years, Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra has provided wholesome, challenging opportunities for this special group of young musicians who, in turn, enrich the cultural life of our city and carry the cultural riches of Dallas wherever they travel.
