Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Celebrates Donation with Free Community Concert

“Shoppers at the Galleria Dallas were surprised with a free concert this weekend,” reports Alanna Quillen in Monday’s (3/26) NBC 5 (Dallas-Fort Worth, TX). “Students from the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra … put on a jazz performance in the mall’s thoroughfares. It was all to celebrate a $10,000 donation from Ovation TV for the Stand for the Arts Awards. GDYO was one of 10 organizations in the country to receive the award. Performing students included Dylan Shaw on piano, Justin Rydberg on baritone saxophone, Cody Giancolla on bass, Jackson Iseneker on trumpet and Gabe Gerth on drums. ‘The Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra is thrilled and honored to be an award recipient’ …  said Cathy Havicon, GDYO executive director. ‘It’s a validation for all our efforts over the past 51 years to bring music education to the North Texas community and beyond.’… GDYO is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing music education and performance opportunities that foster musical excellence, cultivate learning, encourage creativity, inspire self-motivation, and develop social skills. They also offer an extensive scholarship program to ensure that all students who are offered positions are able to participate. Approximately 20 percent of GDYO musicians receive scholarships.”