SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY

San Diego Youth Symphony (SDYS)San Diego Youth Symphony is the flagship of KeyNotes music education programs and, for nearly eighty years, has offered its youth orchestra programs in Balboa Park for young musicians, from beginning through advanced levels. Built on four levels of instruction in twelve ensembles, SDYS features weekly rehearsals and annual performance opportunities. To focus on the whole musician, SDYS extension programs also offer opportunities to participate in chamber music, concerto competitions, music theory and composition programs, individual and group lessons, student mentoring opportunities, and more. In 2025, SDYS reintroduced the SDYS Jazz program, offering two ensembles for intermediate and advanced level jazz students. In 2026, SDYS will complete its curriculum with beginning wind, brass and percussion programs that will better bridge our early childhood curriculum to the ensemble program. Community Engagement: The Opus ProjectWe are committed to giving every young person across San Diego the opportunity to receive quality in-school music education. As such, we collaborate with local schools, feeder patterns, and school districts to restore, enhance, and strengthen in-school music programs and arts-rich environments. With on-site access for every student as the ultimate goal, we launched The Opus Project in 2010 in partnership with the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD). In 2015, the success of this program resulted in a landmark $15M commitment to bringing arts teachers to every campus. Today, The Opus Project continues to thrive and we are now replicating, adapting and expanding this program with the San Diego Unified and Santee school districts. In addition to The Opus Project, we also offer limited assistance to schools through community partnership projects, through a program known as Opus Connect, to support music education efforts in elementary, middle and high schools across the county.Early Childhood: ChIMES and Music DiscoverySDYS supports the critical first phase of childrens growth from birth to age seven with programs that promote extended learning at home, support family bonding, and pave the way for future musical instruction and achievement. ChIMES is the first step of this curriculum. By encouraging ensemble-based learning from ages 0-5, we promote stronger pro-social skills, improved speech and language development, school preparation, and ensure that children from all backgrounds have access to quality music programs. The next program in our curriculum, Music Discovery, for children ages 5-7, turns the play-based learning of ChIMES into ensemble-based music literacy classes where children are introduced to the instrument families of the orchestra and, over the course of the two-year program, select the instrument they will ultimately pursue in an SDYS ensemble. Advocacy, Outreach and ServiceKeyNote continues to work throughout San Diego County to ensure quality access to music education, and to educate our audiences about classical music. Our students participate in a variety of community performances, as well as numerous events in Balboa Park. We also collaborate with multiple partners to gather and analyze data with regard to student learning and achievement through music. We partner with schools and school districts across the county to explore the effects of music on children.