Youth orchestra back together after K-W Symphony ceases operations

After the Kitchener-Waterloo (K-W) Symphony ceased operations on Thursday by filing for bankruptcy, conductor Matthew Jones is not letting the youth orchestra go quiet.

“This was a dire situation for all of us who love symphonic music in the community,” he told CityNews 570 of last week’s bankruptcy announcement. “We’ve all looked for the kinds of things we can do to help.”

In an attempt to create a new community youth orchestra, Jones has invited those who were members of his senior youth orchestra to participate in weekly rehearsals, which began Sunday at Wilfrid Laurier University.

“The youth orchestra only lost one rehearsal in the midst of all of this chaos, which is partly due to the generosity of these community partners,” Jones said.

The orchestra’s goal is to perform two concerts this year. For now, though, Jones said they’re taking the process one step at a time, adding that the first step was getting their first rehearsal.

Many of Jones’ colleagues from the K-W Symphony have also stepped up in an attempt to help him save the youth orchestra. Jones and other organizers will eventually offer spaces to other younger ensembles of the youth orchestra.

“The youth orchestra eventually feeds the professional orchestras of our communities,” he said. “In our own small way, preserving this piece of our musical heritage serves to restore symphonies such as the K-W Symphony.”

The conductor described last week’s announcement as “heartbreaking.” However, by allowing the youth to continue, it will potentially allow these students to have a future in music, whether it’s a university program or professional career.

“Symphony orchestras are telling our stories, they’re messy but so are we. They can be inspiring at times, and so can we. They are there for us and most of the time, orchestras do a fabulous job of looking after us. But, right now, it seems that we have to help and look after our orchestras.”