Dear Friends,
As the year draws to a close, we’re reflecting on the incredible growth Greensboro Youth Chorus has experienced over the past four years. In 2021, after more than a year without rehearsals due to the pandemic, just 15 students were enrolled in GYC.
Since then, we’ve expanded in exciting ways: we added an ensemble for grades K–2 and launched an advanced, auditioned chamber choir for grades 6–12. When we return from winter break in January, more than 65 singers will be making music with GYC each week.
We also introduced Summer Choir Camp in 2022. Offered in collaboration with Guilford County Schools, the camp now serves more than 70 students over two weeks each July, giving students who may be unable to sing with us during the school year an opportunity to do so in the summer. Altogether, GYC will serve more than 135 young singers this season—a far cry from where we were just four years ago!
Along the way, we’ve often heard a version of the same wonderful story. A parent will stop us after a Tuesday evening rehearsal, a concert, or community performance and say, “I’m so glad we found GYC. Our child finally found their thing!” When a young person discovers that sense of belonging and purpose, it changes more than their Tuesday night—it changes how they see themselves and their place in the world.
To support our programming, we rely heavily on contributions from the community. Tuition covers less than half of program expenses. The balance is supplied by sponsors, foundations, and most importantly, individual donors. I’m writing today to invite you to invest in the future of Greensboro Youth Chorus by making a gift to the GYC Scholarship Fund.
As music education has been deemphasized in schools, more families are seeking meaningful arts opportunities outside the school day. Through our programming, we try to fill that need, but tuition is a barrier for many students. That is where the Scholarship Fund comes in. So far this season, 15% of our students have received financial aid, with awards of up to 75% of tuition and an average scholarship of $246. As enrollment grows, we want to be able to offer more aid to more students, so that finances never determine who gets to sing.
This holiday season, we hope you’ll consider giving the gift of music to a young person with a donation to the Scholarship Fund. Your gift of any amount will have real impact on the life of a young singer in our community who might otherwise not be able to take their place in the choir.
Thank you for being part of the GYC family and supporting our young musicians!
Musically yours,
Jeffrey Carlson
Executive Director
P.S. You can learn more about Greensboro Youth Chorus and/or register the young person in your life still looking for “their thing” at greensboro-youth-chorus-home/#join.