The Santa Barbara Youth Symphony

Daniel Kepl started the original Youth Symphony in 1963 while he was a student in High School. The orchestra was jointly sponsored by the Santa Barbara Recreation Department and the Santa Barbara Youth Theater.  He was assisted by Stefan Krayk, concertmaster of the Santa Barbara Symphony who acted as musical advisor.  In 1968, the Youth Symphony was conducted by Terri Boyes and met weekly at Santa Barbara High School.  It is unknown how many public performances were given.   By 1972 it was merely a reading orchestra, which met every two weeks under the direction of Richard Amshutz of the Santa Barbara Symphony.  Certain members were included in the S.B. Symphony to fill in at the monthly Children?s Concerts, but the Youth Symphony itself gave no concerts.

In the spring of 1974, a string orchestra, put together by a local teacher, performed at the local Bach Festival.  At that time it was felt that enough interest and talent was available to form a performing group.  With the encouragement of Ronald Ondrejka and Genevieve Fisher, Conductor and General Manager of the Santa Barbara Symphony, this was done. 

The first public performance of the present Santa Barbara Youth Symphony occurred in January of 1975 under the direction of Dr. Jack Ullom of the Santa Barbara Symphony.  For the first few years, only two concerts per season were given.  A Pops Concert was added in the early 1980's, which eventually included a performance of “Young Dancers with the SB Youth Symphony” which gave both sets of performers an opportunity to collaborate with other performing artists.  These continued until the early 1990's.   At about the same time the Dance concerts ended the Pops Concerts took a similar performing format to the Boston Pops in that the audience sat at tables and ate pastries while the orchestra played.  The concerts were then known as “Pops and Pastries”.  In 1996 a Saturday evening performance was added to the traditional Sunday afternoon performance.  A Chamber Orchestra was also started in 1996 and continued for 3 years.  One performance was given each season.  A free Children's concert prior to the Pops concerts was added in 2002.

This volunteer organization now serves the region by providing musical enrichment to young people through the venues of orchestral performance and instruction in the schools of our community.  This is accomplished through three venues. 

The SB Youth Symphony provides two orchestral venues for young people in Santa Barbara , San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties . The main Orchestra is 80 strong, conducted by Andrew Radford, our musical director.  Mr. Radford, bassoonist with the Santa Barbara Symphony, has a truly wonderful relationship with the students. These students, ages 12-20 all from our regional schools, are challenged with serious pieces, such as Beethoven's 8 th Symphony.  Each SBYS member is chosen by audition and no student is refused entry because of finances.  Students rehearse weekly on Sunday evenings during the school year at the Music Academy of the West.

Three major concerts are given yearly at the Lobero Theater and a free Children's Concert is given at one of our local performance venues.  The three Lobero concerts include a Winter Concert, Spring Concert, and Pops Concert.  The Spring Concert features SB Youth Symphony members, who by audition, perform as soloists with the Youth Symphony.

Most importantly, the SB Youth Symphony gives these young people a sense of accomplishment through steady musical and team effort.  They learn that others depend upon them to know their music and to play well.  They learn that it is important to be on time and to be prepared.  They learn to function as a team and that life is not always a solo performance but often a beautiful combination of group effort.  The SB Youth Symphony is a microcosm of real life, and as such, it prepares these young people well for their future roles in society.

Music Director Andrew Radford is the principal bassoonist with the Santa Barbara Symphony and has performed with many California ensembles, including the LA Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pasadena Symphony and the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra.  He is professor of bassoon at UCSB and with his wife, Amy Hagen, is founder and music director of the Ojai SB Youth Symphony.  Mr. Radford enjoys performing the full range of musical genres, appearing at the Monterey Jazz Festival and in concert with the Who, Moody Blues, Josh Groban and others. He has played in more than 700 performances of Phantom of the Opera and in productions of Carousel, Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast and La Boheme.  Also an active studio musician, Mr. Radford has performed on more than 200 film scores, including Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, George of the Jungle, The Family Stone, and Bambi 2.  

The SB Youth Symphony also has a Junior String Orchestra and a String Ensemble for the younger students, now about 25 strong, which prepares these musicians for entry into the SB Youth Symphony.  This group meets every Sunday afternoon under its own conductor, Marisa McLeod, to learn the art of orchestral playing. The fee for this is $125 but scholarships are available.

In addition to the two programs, the SB Youth Symphony String Workshop provides weekly after-school String Workshop program at local public schools to introduce young people to the study of string instruments. The current SB Youth Symphony Organization, in existence for 32 years is in essence the de facto provider of classical musical education for many of the Santa Barbara public middle and elementary school students through this outreach program.  Approximately 12 professional teachers, paid by the SB Youth symphony give 20 to 30 workshops per week throughout the school year to more than 120 students.  Classes are kept small and meet weekly either after school or during the school day at the various schools.  A recital is given at the end of each year. The SB Youth Symphony owns approximately 35 string instruments which are lent to students who need them.  Currently, these workshops are provided for all of the Goleta elementary schools. One of our goals is to expand this program as more resources become available. This program has become an indispensable part of an otherwise thin musical education program in the public school systems of Goleta. The String Workshop program is a continuation of a one-day workshop started in the 1980s under Elise Unruh. These were all day affairs for 4th through 8th graders. They consisted of morning coaching sessions with professional musicians and afternoon band and orchestra rehearsals culminating in a public performance for families and friends.  The current String Workshop program first begun in the Santa Barbara Elementary District through the existing school music classes starting in the 4th grades.

For more information or to support the Youth Symphony, please contact Amy Bassett at amy@thesymphony.org