The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) provides students with an opportunity to play music with peers of a similar musical caliber and to learn from the musicians in the Cleveland Orchestra. Founded by Jahja Ling thirty years ago, COYO has had seven music directors. Its newest music director, Brett Mitchell, also holds the position of associate conductor for the Cleveland Orchestra.

Mitchell spoke of the special opportunities COYO provides for young musicians.

“One of the really great things about COYO is that we are not just a youth orchestra. We are a youth orchestra that is affiliated with and is run by one of the greatest orchestras in the world. . . . The young musicians in COYO . . . get to work on a pretty much weekly basis with mentors from the Cleveland Orchestra,” Mitchell said.

COYO also goes on international tours every three years. Last year, COYO performed in China. Though RHS junior Lily Sadataki started her first season with the orchestra this past August, she already enjoys the time she has spent with the organization. She plays percussion for COYO, along with four other girls from various schools.

“[We] get exposure to really good pieces and fellow musicians [with similar interests]. . . . The time commitment is really worth it because just being with fellow musicians who play like you and want to be there makes it a lot better,” Sadataki said.
Freshman Sam Rosselot from Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School also joined COYO’s percussion section this season. She finds that COYO helps her improve her musical skills.

“The expectation [for COYO] is very high, which pushes me to be a better musician,” Rosselot said.

Both musicians feel that Mitchell contributes to their positive opinion of COYO. Sadataki expressed that Mitchell’s previous work as a conductor helps him interact with his musicians.

“He has a lot of experience, so he is really good at communicating what he wants with musicians, but he is also able to do it in a way that teenagers will understand him. . . . He makes really good analogies with references teenagers will know, he shares personal stuff, [and asks things like], ‘Have you heard of the new Adele album?’  and stuff like that to make [rehearsals] fun,” Sadataki said.

Mitchell has worked with many orchestras and symphonies in the past, including the French National Orchestra in Paris and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. He has held the titles of associate conductor for the Cleveland Orchestra and music director for COYO for three seasons. He feels lucky to work with the students of the youth orchestra.

“I wish that I had the words [to describe them]. . . . It is a treat to be able to work with young people that work as hard as these young people do. . . . They are unbelievably talented and hardworking and committed young musicians, and I am the lucky one that gets to work with them,” Mitchell said.

COYO has three concerts a year. They performed together for the first time this year on November 22 at Severance Hall. COYO performs again on Friday, March 4 and Sunday, May 8 at Severance Hall in 2016.