To inspire excellence in individual students and enrich our community by providing young people with opportunities to participate in, and gain greater understanding of, music and its performance.
Music is a profoundly powerful force, one of the most fundamental and transformative of human experiences. Research consistently shows that studying music shapes young people in lasting ways, strengthening academic performance, social-emotional development, communication, confidence, and teamwork. The discipline of learning an instrument builds focus and resilience, while the collaboration required to play in an orchestra builds teamwork and community.
Youth Music Monterey County (YMMC) is committed to making high quality music education and performance opportunities accessible to all students, regardless of experience or financial means. Our programs, including our Junior Youth and Honors Orchestras, South County Strings, Orchestra in the Schools, and Chamber Ensembles, serve over 250 youth from nearly 48 schools across Monterey County.
Furthermore, YMMC is dedicated to providing our students with additional enrichment through collaborations and partnerships with other local arts organizations through side-by-side performances, masterclasses, sectionals, and community outreach performances.
Over the last two years in OITS, our son, Scotty, has grown tremendously as a musician. He went from never having touched a string instrument and learning the fundamentals of holding a bow to mastering the skills that allowed him to successfully audition and join YMMC’s Junior Youth Orchestra (JYO) onstage for their final concert of the 2025–2026 season. Every step of the way, he was guided and developed by the dedicated, compassionate professional musicians who teach these students. While teaching him the mechanics of the cello and musicianship was always their primary goal, it was the cultivation of intangible life skills—responsibility, discipline, perseverance, and teamwork—that makes the OITS and JYO programs the gold standard for enrichment activities in Monterey County and well beyond.
- Kendall & Gordon McElroy, Monterey
