The SPYO
Two Years of Growth and a Generation of Change Tristan Willcox Volunteer
In 2019, the Spartanburg Philharmonic Youth Orchestra was officially launched as a program intended to help grow the musicianship, repertoire, and musical maturity of some of Upstate South Carolina’s best young players. They currently have over one hundred members across two orchestras (a Junior and a Senior division) and are still growing. With an upcoming concert planned as early as October and rehearsals already underway, these student musicians certainly have an excitingly full season ahead of them! And of course none of the events nor any of the rehearsals would be possible without the extremely involved staff members on hand, including conductors, managers, music librarians, and gracious volunteers. However, the SPYO wasn’t always the same expansive, welloiled machine that you know today. They had their
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beginnings four years ago in a strategic plan meeting with the Board of Directors not as an orchestra, but as an idea — and as a promising possibility. As soon as the plans for the youth orchestra’s creation were set in motion, the Philharmonic staff immediately reached out to high school band and orchestra directors across the community in order to discover ways that the SPYO could support their education programs and judge interest in the existence of a youth orchestra. It wasn’t long after the motion was officially passed before several passionate, local volunteers jumped at the chance to help. One of the most prominent members of this group was Mrs. Helen Tipton. In 2018, Helen joined her first three year term on the Board and quickly became a major player in the youth orchestra’s actualization. Alongside her, Bob
