South Florida Youth Symphony
The Gold Medal and Emmy Award-winning South Florida Youth Symphony will bring their talents to Sunny Isles Beach with a free holiday concert. The nation’s leading youth music organization will present “Holiday in the Park” on Dec. 12 at the Gateway Park Amphitheater, 151 Sunny Isles Blvd.
The concert will be sponsored by the City of Sunny Isles Beach and begins at 6 p.m. The outdoor venue recommends but does not require masks.
“Holiday in the Park” will feature two wonderful solo performers, world-renowned Montreal soprano Kimy McLaren, famous local soprano Leticia Jack, and all levels of the South Florida Youth Symphony’s award-winning program.
“Our two soloists are simply outstanding, and the audience will love them,” said Marjorie Hahn, SFYS executive and music director. “In addition, we’ll be performing a wide variety of pieces featuring something for everyone’s taste.”
Now in its 57th consecutive year, the South Florida Youth Symphony has performed all over the world throughout the last five decades. The SFYS’s mission is to empower student musicians ages 3-22 without regard to race, orientation, gender, disability, or religion. The organization provides a dynamic music education experience, develops confidence-building skills, fosters collaboration, instills a passion for instrumental music, and displays their artistic excellence through public performances.
Locally, the symphony organization of over 250 students a season, including five training classes and three levels of orchestra, performs over four community concerts each season from August through May. Alumni of the orchestra, renowned local musicians, and visiting professionals, teachers, and conductors all come together to coach the orchestra. SFYS has hosted 23 years of musical summer camp programs for predominantly underserved children in both North and South Miami-Dade County, and Broward County.
In recent years, the organization has won a Gold Medal at the prestigious Heritage Music Festival in Washington, DC. They performed at Carnegie Hall in 2018 and won Gold at the Young Bohemia 2019 Music Festival in Prague, Czech Republic. Even when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the talented musicians to practice via zoom and restricted them to virtual concerts, they managed to win a prestigious Suncoast Emmy for their third online concert.
The South Florida Youth Symphony is sponsored with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, The Children’s Trust (through public referendum improving the lives of families and children making strategic investments in their future), the Miami-Dade County Mayor and County Commissioners, Miami-Dade County Office of Management and Budget, State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Publix Charities, The Kirk Foundation, and Nancy Friday Foundation.
For more information on the “Holiday in the Park” concert, contact the South Florida Youth Symphony via email at MakeMusic@sfys.net or phone at 305-238-2729.
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Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.
