The Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras (CSYO) is one of the leading youth orchestra programs in the state of South Carolina. Affiliated with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO), the youth orchestra program currently holds two orchestras: the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO) and the Charleston Symphony Youth Sinfonietta (CSYS). We provide young musicians with life-changing musical opportunities with the highest quality education.
Our purpose is to deeply enrich our students’ lives through musical excellence. We extend the students’ experience outside of the classroom with meaningful rehearsals, performance practice expertise, and unique concert opportunities. Our dedicated and passionate staff commits to providing the best instruction to better prepare our young musicians for collegiate and semi-professional orchestras. The CSYO and CSYS programs will offer: multiple concerts hosted at the Gaillard Center, a side-by-side performance opportunity with the core musicians of the Charleston Symphony, a concerto competition, masterclasses, and student-centered community events. Music is our passion, and we endeavor to provide incredible experiences to better the foundation of young musicians in our community.
Youth Sinfonietta
Christine Arroyo, conductor
Youth Sinfonietta (CSYS) is an intermediate string and symphonic ensemble led by Ms. Christine Arroyo. This orchestra is designed for advancing musicians to further develop their ensemble and performance skills in preparation for the Youth Orchestra. Sinfonietta students will perform strings and symphonic repertoire throughout the season. Students are expected to have the excellent position, left-hand skills, and right-hand skills, with strong reading skills to perform various rhythms with good intonation. CSYS rehearses weekly on Sundays from 2:30-4:30 pm at the Allegro Charter School of Music and activities include four concerts throughout the season.
Youth Orchestra
Youth Orchestra (CSYO) is a full symphonic experience comprised of highly skilled middle and high school musicians led by Ryo Hasegawa. Students perform the great symphonic masterworks. CSYO rehearses weekly on Sundays from 2:00-4:30 pm at the Allegro Charter School of Music and activities throughout the season include the concerto competition, regular sectionals with CSO musicians, community events, and five performances. In collaboration with the Dance Conservatory of Charleston and the Charleston Gaillard Center, the CSYO will perform in an all-student-led production of Scenes from the Nutcracker for an audience of young school children. The CSYO will also perform Brahms Academic Overture on the Masterworks stage alongside the musicians of the Charleston Symphony led by world-renown conductor, Gerard Schwarz.
All enrolled members receive complimentary tickets to CSO Masterworks performances!
*2023-24 season rehearsal schedule and location subject to change
Auditions for 2023-24 Season
The Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra program is now accepting audition videos for the 2023-24 season on a rolling basis, based on availability!
Please prepare an audition video and submit it through the online application along with your $15 application fee.
MEET THE CSYO TEAM
Christine Arroyo began playing violin in 6th grade in middle school. A native of Columbia, South Carolina she continued enthusiastically to be a part of the public school orchestra program from middle to high school in Richland 2 (Columbia, SC). Inspired by her strings teachers (Mrs. Becky Leonard and Mr. Phillip Pagal), Ms. Arroyo remained very resolute in her quest as an Orchestra Director.
Ms. Arroyo earned a Masters of Music in Music Education with a Conducting Specialization from Colorado State University (Ft. Collins, CO) under conducting teachers Professor Wes Kenney (master teacher), Dr. Rebecca Phillips, and Dr. James Kim. For her undergraduate study, Ms. Arroyo attended the University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC) where she earned a Bachelor of Music Emphasis in Education, Summa Cum Laude. During this time, she participated actively as a member of the University of South Carolina String Project under the direction of Dr. Gail Barnes.
Ms. Arroyo is currently the orchestra director at Moultrie Middle School. Ms. Arroyo has taught in Charleston County School District (Haut Gap Middle School, Johns Island, SC) and Greenville County School District (Ralph Chandler Middle School). Under the direction of Ms. Arroyo, her orchestras have received Superior Ratings at SCMEA Concert Performance Assessment.
Ms. Arroyo has served as a conductor for the Greenville County Youth Orchestras (GCYO) and has served as the conductor of the Honors Orchestra and Lead Teacher for the Charleston County District Orchestra. In addition to teaching, Ms. Arroyo has served as a clinician for Region Orchestra and All-County Orchestras. She has also shared presentations at the South Carolina American Teachers Association (ASTA) and has had the opportunity to co-present at the National ASTA Conference.
Outside of music, Ms. Arroyo has a variety of hobbies including hiking, improv acting, and enjoying the outdoors.
An up-and-coming young conductor and versatile arts advocate, Ryo Hasegawa currently serves as Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Peabody Symphony/Concert Orchestra, and the Peabody Youth Orchestra, and Chair & Founder of Mudita Corporation. Under the mentorship of the world-renowned conductor, Marin Alsop, Hasegawa has performed at numerous concerts in the U.S, Europe, and Asia and launched several projects to promote interdisciplinary collaborations and advocate diversity in music and art education.
In recent years, Hasegawa has been serving as an assistant/cover conductor for his mentor Marin Alsop with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, and São Paulo Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, Hasegawa made his American debut with the Charleston Symphony and served as the conducting intern and the cover conductor of the symphony.
Hasegawa’s engagement with music education has had an impact on young music students across the world. Hasegawa was a volunteer music instructor at Vanessa Grant Girls’ School in Rongai, Kenya. In addition to being an assistant conductor of two youth orchestras, he is a frequent guest lecturer at Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music, Bangkok, Thailand to explore the possibility of new roles as a conductor with the students.
Hasegawa holds his Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting and is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University where he received the Peabody Georgie Awards: Champion of Multiculturism in 2021. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Rollins College, which recently granted him the 2022 Alumni Achievement Award.
Mitsuko Flynn is the Director of Education and Business Operations t for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in Charleston, South Carolina. Prior to her position with the CSO, Ms. Flynn worked for the Paterson Music Project, an El Sistema-inspired music program in Paterson, NJ with a mission to provide music education for children from underserved communities. She was also a faculty member at the John J. Cali School of Music Preparatory Division at Montclair State University, where she taught cello and served as coordinator of the chamber music program.
In 2016, Ms. Flynn participated in the League of American Orchestra’s Essentials of Orchestra Management Seminar, an immersive ten-day program in Los Angeles.
Mitsuko holds a BM and an Artist Diploma degree in Cello Performance from the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University, where she studied with cellist Nicholas Tzavaras and the Shanghai Quartet. Ms. Flynn is currently completing a Masters in Business Administration in Arts Innovation through the Global Leaders Institute.
Ms. Flynn is passionate about local community engagement and the current global movement of social change through music. She is driven to help the CSO become more relevant to the community by eliminating barriers and creating opportunities for people throughout the Lowcountry to have meaningful musical experiences. Outside of CSO, she enjoys time with her husband, two young children, and miniature dachshund, Winston!