Maestro for the Evening

Conduct The Stars and Stripes Forever with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra at the March 29, 2020, Azalea Festival Pops concert! The winner of this auction item will receive complimentary Priority seats and of course the great opportunity to conduct the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra on the Wilson Center stage! Winner will have the opportunity to rehearse with the Orchestra the week of the concert.

Proceeds from this silent auction will fund WSO's Music For Youth programs including the Artist-in-Residence program, music for the Youth Orchestra and Junior Strings ensembles, and need-based scholarships for our Youth Orchestra and Junior Strings families.

Founded in 1971, the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra (WSO) provides symphonic music at the highest degree of excellence through performance opportunities for regional musicians and educational programs for our community's youth. WSO performs its concert series in Downtown Wilmington, NC at the Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College.

Through its Music For Youth initiative, the WSO provides a set of six unduplicated youth education and outreach programs, impacting the lives of 2,500 young people in Southeastern North Carolina each year. The Music For Youth education programs include the Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra and Junior Strings ensembles, an annual Free Family Concert, the Richard R. Deas Young Artists Concerto Competition, Tickets for Students, and Artist-in-Residence.

Music For Youth programs:
1. Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra for 9th through 12th grade students.

2. Junior Strings program for 6th through 8th grade students. (4th and 5th grade students with consultation).

3. The Artist-in-Residence program showcases the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra's special guest artists, performing educational concerts for children throughout the community in schools and community youth centers.

4. The Richard R. Deas Young Artists Concerto Competition with approximately 20-25 qualified applicants from which a three-judge panel selects winners in three age-group divisions to perform as soloists accompanied by the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra. Performing as a soloist in front of a live audience at the Wilson Center, accompanied by an experienced orchestra, is life-changing for our young musicians.

5. A Free Family Concert performed by the Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra and Junior Strings ensembles. The spotlight is on a peer group of young performers for the very young children in the audience.

​6. Tickets For Students: the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra provides school group tickets to select Masterworks concerts at the Wilson Center.

For more information about this auction item or about the WSO, please call (910) 791-9262 or send an email to development@wilmingtonsymphony.org.