The Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras, or MCYO, is a youth orchestra program in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area

Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area

The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is a combined statistical area consisting of the overlapping labor market region of the cities of Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle of West...

 founded in 1946 as the Montgomery County Youth Orchestras. Along with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...

 and the National Philharmonic, MCYO is affiliated with the Strathmore

Strathmore (Maryland)

Strathmore is a cultural and artistic venue and institution in North Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Strathmore was founded in 1981 and consists of two venues: the Mansion and the Music Center....

 music center. MCYO's programs include a harp ensemble

Harp

The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...

, several chamber ensembles

Chamber music

Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

, three string orchestra

String orchestra

A string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely or primarily of instruments from the string family. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass , the piano, the harp, and sometimes percussion...

s and three full orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

s. In total, MCYO consists of over 400 young musicians in grades 4 though 12.

In 1981, MCYO became the first youth orchestra to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center. They also performed at Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

 in 2002 and in 2011. They

The current artistic advisor for MCYO is Jonathan Carney

Jonathan Carney

Jonathan Carney is a violinist, violist, and conductor noted for his interpretations of Luciano Berio, Michael Nyman, Max Bruch, Johannes Brahms, Jean Sibelius, Felix Mendelssohn, John Cage, Bruno Maderna, Pablo Sarasate, Fritz Kreisler, Krzysztof Penderecki, Paul Hindemith, Philip Glass, Toru...

, the concertmaster

Concertmaster

The concertmaster/mistress is the spalla or leader, of the first violin section of an orchestra. In the UK, the term commonly used is leader...

 of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...

.

Orchestras

• The Preparatory Strings, a string orchestra
  String orchestra
  A string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely or primarily of instruments from the string family. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass , the piano, the harp, and sometimes percussion...
  
   for musicians in grades 3 through 5. Founded in 2010.
• The Chamber Strings, a string orchestra
  String orchestra
  A string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely or primarily of instruments from the string family. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass , the piano, the harp, and sometimes percussion...
  
   for musicians in grades 4 through 6. Founded in 1995.
• The Young Artists, a full orchestra
  Orchestra
  An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
  
   for musicians in grades 6 through 8. Founded in 1972.
• The Symphony, a full orchestra
  Orchestra
  An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
  
   for musicians in grades 8 through 10. Founded in 1964.
• The Chamber Orchestra, a full orchestra for musicians in grades 9 through 11. Founded in 2004.
• The Philharmonic, a full orchestra
  Orchestra
  An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
  
  for musicians in grades 10 through 12.