Founded by Walter Bitner, Tracy Silverman, and ten students in June 2007, Music City Youth Orchestra is now a 40-member string orchestra rehearsing its third season. MCYO’s musicians represent a broad array of backgrounds from across the metropolitan Nashville area; our current enrollment includes students grades 6–12 from thirteen different public and private schools as well as students from homeschooling families. Our students include some of the most talented and accomplished young string musicians in Tennessee, and many have won honors for their musicianship including acceptance to and leadership at Tennessee Mid-State and All-State Orchestras, String Crossings at Belmont University, and the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts.

Hallmarks of our program include a high-energy, joyful atmosphere for music-making and an eclectic approach to programming that includes classical masterworks, jazz and rock standards, and traditional music from around the world. During our first two seasons MCYO performed concerts at The Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, The Troutt Theatre at Belmont University, The Renaissance Center in Dickson, Tennessee, and The Nashville Shakespeare Festival, and recorded at famed Ocean Way Studios on Nashville’s Music Row.

We are now preparing for our 2009–2010 season which will feature performances throughout Nashville; for upcoming events please visit the Announcements page of this website

Welcome to MCYO: Nashville’s Eclectic Youth Orchestra.

“The students are superb musicians, and playing together challenges and inspires them to continue to grow and improve. The repertoire is imaginative and creative while still giving students a basis in the fundamental classical skills needed to play in an orchestra. Most importantly, the guiding principal of the orchestra is that music making should be fun!”

— Graham Mote,
MCYO Board President