Orchestras

Students participate in All-State, Javacya recitals, private recitals, concerts, and competitions on a local, state, and national level. Students are also encouraged to attend national and international music camps and provide outlets for performance year-round. Javacya students are heavily involved with the Sphinx Music Organization.

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Join an Orchestra

There's an orchestra for everyone and every age!

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All FSYO students participate weekly in workshop style classes, recitals, outreach performances, as well as monthly masterclasses, lectures, and group classes, presented by renowned faculty-artists from the States and abroad, plus local graduate students.
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Leander A. Kirksey Youth Orchestra (LAKYO), led by violinist Patrice Floyd, provides string orchestra training to predominantly elementary school-aged student musicians who read music and have at least two years of playing experience on their instruments. Masterclasses presented by renowned faculty-artists from the States and abroad, local university professors, and local graduate students provide mentorship. Weekly rehearsals focus on technique, ensemble performance skills, and standard introductory string repertoire. The LAKYO season includes two performances at local venues. These young artists rehearse weekly on Tuesdays from 5:45 – 7:00 pm.
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Senior Conductor and Assistant Director Ralph Jean-Paul, Conservatory Director Patrice Floyd, and guest Conductor-In-Residence Dr. Julian E. White continue the decades-old tradition of providing advancing students of all ages opportunity to hone their skills while performing alongside music industry professionals, university professors, and graduate students, the most diverse and technically challenging orchestral repertoire in the region.

Baroque, classical, and exciting new works by contemporary composers are among the Orchestra's typical repertoire. The annual seasons feature collaborations with pianist Joanna Sobkowska, trumpeter Longineu Parsons, "The Mad Violinist," tenor Darryl Tookes, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, baritone Marcus Rhodes, soprano Althea Kilgore, Lililita Forbes, and Mark Butler.

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Through works from a variety of composers, the Javacya Symphony Orchestra’s mission is to:

  • Fund the operations of the Javacya Arts Conservatory
  • Enlarge the performance platform for Black and Latinx classically trained artists and feature soloists and ensembles from all ethnicities with the orchestra
  • Perform music by composers from the African Diaspora
  • Collaborate with rising and prominent Black and Latinx composers from all continents
  • Perform all genres of music
  • Feature rising and prominent guests’ conductors from the States and abroad
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Southside Orchestra & Cultural Arts Project (SOCAP) is a program of Javacya Arts Conservatory, in collaboration with FAMU DRS, that strives to meet the needs of the whole person of each developing student. The program targets beginning, intermediate, and advanced music and dance students from Tallahassee's Southside communities. Additionally, those who demonstrate a commitment to artistic excellence receive mentoring and academic tutoring from members of the Javacya Elite Chamber Orchestra, a flagship orchestra of JAC. In partnership with FAMU DRS, SOCAP is based at the institution and actively seeks students from diverse backgrounds who are underrepresented in the classical music field and provides full-tuition scholarships to all students from the Southside community of Tallahassee. The program is supported through local community grants and generous donors. Leon Cares of Tallahassee supports twelve students from the Southside Orchestra project, and, during the summer months, a grant from the Children's Services Council helped to expand services to FAMU DRS and SOCAP students. SOCAP is led by Artistic Director Patrice Floyd.

The Harmony Youth Orchestra consists of all the Southside Orchestra & Cultural Arts Project ensembles, FAMU DRS ensembles, and Javacya ensembles combining to perform together.

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