Dallas Asian American Youth Orchestra

Thousands of years ago in ancient China, Confucius declared music as one of the six major arts disciplines. Since then the Chinese people have always valued music as part of their cultural tradition and daily living. With the injection of western cultural influences into the Asian cultural tradition in the last several hundred years, many Asians, including the Asian-Americans in the United States, have studied and taken a great appreciation in western music.

This, of course, includes the Asian-American community in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. With the ever-increasing number of Asian-Americans in the area, the number of Asian-American youths has also increased tremendously, with a notable number taking up the study of instruments. Some have gained success and recognition in their local schools as well as in competitions. However, they were only able to play music form the western classical repertoire.

In light of the lack of information and environment available to cultivate the Chinese cultural music tradition, as well as music from other Asian countries, a group of music lovers, parents and concerned individuals organized the Dallas Asian American Youth Orchestra. Through participation in the Orchestra, they hoped to provide an environment for all youths in the community, not only those of Asian-American descent, to display their artistry and to inherit, learn and develop Chinese and other Asian musical traditions in order to promote them to the American community.

On October 10, 1998, the dream became reality. A well-organized concert of professional quality was presented at the Garland Performing Arts Center to rave reviews, providing reassurance that a quality youth orchestra was needed. After several months of organized reviews and meetings, the Dallas Asian American Youth Orchestra was officially formed. On December 10, 1998, the Orchestra officially became a non-profit tax-exempt arts organization in the State of Texas.

Information from the Orchestra's site

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  Ai-Kuang Sun: music director
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  Stacy Weill: conductor
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  Johnny Fuller: conductor
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  Barbara Gordy Fox: conductor

Youth orchestra formed to promote Chinese and other Asian musical traditions

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