An Orchestra for All
The Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra is inspiring young people across Southeastern Wisconsin to pursue their dreams.
When Adela Ramirez first heard about the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO) , she didn’t know what a cello was. Her teacher at Milwaukee Parkside School for the Arts had nominated her for the orchestra, which offers dozens of performance ensembles and opportunities for nearly 1,000 students every year, ages 8-18.
“She gave me a piece of paper to fill out,” Adela says. “I didn’t know what a cello was, but I circled it anyway.”
The fourth-grader found her new cello at the MYSO introductory event – identifying it by the name on the label. Shortly after, she met her new private lesson teacher, Ravenna Helson, a graduate of both Juilliard and Yale, who began to teach her the basics of the string instrument. “I’ve always loved music, and being introduced to classical musical was game-changing to me,” says Adela, the first in her family to play a string instrument. “It ignited a passion.”
Adela is one of many students from Milwaukee who have thrived as musicians and students at MYSO since the organization was founded in 1956. The orchestra offers scholarships and financial assistance to help kids from all backgrounds access the ensembles, lessons and other music opportunities.
“Adela was seen for who she is, for what talents she has, for her leadership – and that was all nurtured into the remarkable person she’s become today,” says Carter Simmons, the Artistic & Music Director at MYSO.
Now a senior in high school, Adela plays cello in MYSO’s Senior Symphony, Chamber Orchestra, and the Bach Ensemble, a baroque chamber ensemble which has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, she won one of MYSO’s concerto competitions and was a featured soloist with her orchestra. And last year, she secured a spot with Sphinx, a national program that offers young people of color musical performance opportunities. She studied and performed at the Cleveland Institute of Music through the program.
“Sometimes there’s this perception that MYSO is only for affluent kids –we’re for all kids,” says Linda Edelstein, CEO at MYSO. “So many of our student musicians like Adela come from different backgrounds. They come here and discover not only music, but themselves.” And now Adela, who didn’t know what instrument she was signing up for a decade ago, is preparing to apply to conservatories, to study and perform music in college and beyond. “The MYSO community and staff is incredible,” she says. “They really shaped me. I’m surrounded by passionate people, and I’m inspired to challenge myself.”
Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra 325 W. Walnut St. 414-267-2950 myso.org