Barbados National Youth Symphony Orchestra Project
In 2011, in a quest to enlist the support of youth, in fundraising efforts for a project aimed at youth development through the performing arts, our club conceptualized the Classical Best of Youth Concert, featuring the Barbados National Youth Symphony Orchestra (BNYSO) and The Saint Leonard’s Boys’ Choir - two hundred persons, musicians and choir, on stage at the same time.
Since that first concert, the Classical Best of Youth has evolved into a partnership between the Rotary Club of Barbados South and the BNYSO.
Over the last twelve years, the annual concerts and the proceeds raised from them have:
- Provided opportunities for countless talented young musicians and vocalists to showcase their musical gifts in a concert hall setting
- Enhanced the public's appreciation of classical music
- Commissioned and showcased musical arrangements from local arrangers
- Helped to raise funds for our club's many charitable activities
- Provided financial support to the summer workshops of the BNYSO that are vital to the development of musicians from ages as young as four years old, from a diverse range of family backgrounds.
We Persevered
The COVID 19 pandemic caused a temporary cessation of the concert series with the 2020 and 2021 events having to be deferred. However, the impact of the concert survived as the BNYSO continued to hold its workshops and rehearsals for young musicians, albeit online, and the charitable causes funded by the event reaped the benefits.