Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra Selected as Signature Charity for Heart of Canal St.

For the first time, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO) has been designated as a 2017 Signature Charity of Potawatomi Hotel & Casino's Heart of Canal Street nonprofit charity program. MYSO was selected by WISN12, a media partner of Heart of Canal Street, and is one of ten selected Signature Charities this year. The campaign period stretches from August 2017 through December 2017, and proceeds will be distributed in December.

MYSO has been a grateful beneficiary of generous support from Heart of Canal Street in 2012 and 2007, as a recipient of the random drawing process, as well as having received random drawing proceeds in multiple years prior to 2007. These gifts provided crucial program funding during a period where MYSO was strategically focused on extending its services for area youth facing increased barriers of access and equity in music study. MYSO's expanded community outreach services to these students has been the core of our program growth over the last twelve years, increasing student enrollment by 50%. Today, 33% of its students require financial aid for membership and ALL MYSO members are supported by the generosity of the community, with membership fees covering less than one third of the true cost.

Through the generosity of the Heart of Canal Street program, funding this season will help support 1,000 of the area's most talented young musicians, as well as impacting an additional 5,000 youth with its Community Concert Series. Research surrounding MYSO's work has substantiated the significant ways in which program participation results in the social, emotional, and cognitive growth of student participants.
About Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
Since 1956, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO) continues to nurture, challenge, and inspire generations of students through music, profoundly changing lives and our community for the better.

MYSO has grown from one orchestra and 30 students to become, by several measures, the largest and one of the most respected youth orchestra programs in the nation. We serve 6,000 students during the academic school year who come from more than 215 schools in up to 14 counties throughout southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. In addition to classical music, MYSO's repertoire includes jazz, steel pan, and percussion ensembles.