Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra   

The Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO) recently wrapped up its summer 2025 tour to Poland and the Czech Republic. With this biennial trip, young musicians – 89 this year – achieve a milestone: their first international performance.

But the tour is just one movement in MYSO’s broader symphony. As the nation’s largest after-school youth orchestra, MYSO provides 6,000 hours of instruction each year, presents 115 performances, and serves 1,000 students – many of whom would not have access to music education otherwise. “Since our inception nearly 70 years ago, we’ve never turned away a student due to financial need,” says Linda Edelstein, MYSO’s CEO. In fact, more than $630,000 in financial assistance will be distributed this year alone.

Access is a pillar of MYSO’s mission. Of all MYSO’s musicians, 45% receive financial aid; 76% of students in Community Partnership Programs – which include beginning strings, band and steel-pan programs – receive aid that funds their music education.

MYSO brings together young people from across southeastern Wisconsin – students from a wide range of communities, life experiences and income levels—all united by a shared commitment to music. Nearly half of MYSO’s students are youths of color. While every program welcomes students from many walks of life, the Community Partnership Programs focus on those who often face the greatest barriers – reaching kids from Milwaukee’s most under-resourced neighborhoods and families with limited financial means.

Yet MYSO is more than music education. Beyond musical skills, MSYO develops confidence, resilience and empathy in its students. “They become brave, tenacious and emotionally healthy while they’re learning this discipline,” Edelstein says. “They work together to find new ways to express themselves, and it’s a really unique opportunity for them to develop sensitivity to those around them.”

Starting next month, MYSO is leading a statewide initiative: Violins of Hope-Wisconsin. The five-month residency will showcase violins that Jewish musicians played during the Holocaust, serving as symbols of resilience and resistance. The residency is connecting 100 community partners and schools. The instruments will be featured in concerts, exhibitions, and educational programming across Wisconsin to bear witness to the stories the instruments tell.