Sydney Youth Orchestras has launched the Western Sydney Youth Orchestra based at Parramatta Riverside Theatres.

Sydney Youth Orchestras has announced the launch of its 2017 audition registrations with the news that they will be creating a brand new Western Sydney Youth Orchestra based at Parramatta Riverside Theatres. The new WYSO, led by James Pensini, is supported by Founding Partners Fort Street Capital with Dixon Advisory and Riverside Theatres, and aims to provide educational opportunities for musicians across Greater Western Sydney.

“Young Western Sydney musicians might have been dissuaded from auditioning for SYO because of the distance, so we have decided to bring an orchestra to them,” said SYO CEO Yarmila Alfonzetti. “We have people coming to SYO from as far as Wollongong. We know for a fact that one of the most significant barriers to participation in classical music is distance. Western Sydney is a huge area – it includes the Blue Mountains, the Hills District and Campbelltown.”

With almost a quarter of the State’s young people living in Western Sydney, Alfonzetti hopes the WSYO will encourage participation from musicians who might not be able to make it into Sydney’s CBD for rehearsals once a week. While she is full...