CHESTERTOWN, MD—The Washington College Department of Music has announced a new opportunity for young musicians, the Eastern Maryland Youth Orchestra, or EMYO.  The orchestra is designed to provide a stimulating musical environment where gifted young musicians from across eastern Maryland and Delaware can develop their music reading, technical abilities, and listening skills, while also expanding their capabilities for artistic expression. Open primarily to students in grades 9-12, the EMYO is the only year-round community youth orchestra on the Eastern Shore. 

Beginning in early September, the Eastern Maryland Youth Orchestra will rehearse Saturday mornings from 9:00-11:30 in Washington College’s light-filled Hotchkiss Recital Hall, Gibson Center for the Arts. Parents will be encouraged to drop off their children and head into the center of Chestertown to enjoy the Farmer’s Market and other shopping and cultural activities. In addition to full ensemble rehearsals, time will be dedicated to sectionals, master classes, chamber music, and opportunities to interact with special guest artists. The fall semester will culminate on December 13 with a showcase performance, which will be free and open to the community.  

Zack Stachowski is artistic director and conductor of EMYO.

EMYO Artistic Director and Conductor Zack Stachowski hails from Annapolis, where he directs the choirs at St. Andrew’s on the Bay and maintains a private studio of violin, viola, piano, and guitar students. With a strong background in youth education, he also actively pursues orchestral, chamber and solo opportunities throughout the United States. While an undergraduate student at Butler University in Indianapolis, he served as concertmaster of the Butler Symphony Orchestra, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra and the New Millennium Philharmonic. Since completing his Masters of Music in violin performance from the University of Maryland in 2011, Stachowski has led workshops in ensemble and string technique at Loyola University (Baltimore), St. Catherine University (St. Paul, Minnesota), Broadneck High School (Annapolis) and various other venues. 

Composer and professor John Leupold is managing director of EMYO.Affiliated with the educational outreach wing of the Washington College Concert Series, students will also have access to top-notch concerts and educational opportunities provided by the series. John Leupold, managing director of EMYO and assistant professor of music at Washington College, says he and his colleagues are “thrilled at the prospect of connecting these talented college-bound students with Washington College and its music program. We are proud of our accomplished applied faculty and our state-of-the-art facilities, and these students will be some of our best ambassadors as we continue to grow the Music Department brand across the region, and even nationally,” he adds.  

The Eastern Maryland Youth Orchestra will be a full orchestra, consisting of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. All students in grades 9-12 are invited to join and perform with the group. Students in grades below 9th may join the ensemble with a teacher recommendation and/or live audition for the artistic director. A semester fee of $150 covers music, professional coaching and all rehearsals. More information on the orchestra and how to register can be found at www.washcoll.edu/emyo.

 Students will rehearse and perform in Hotchkiss Recital Hall.