METROPOLITAN YOUTH ORCHESTRAS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA

We posted a video every day for a month in honor of Alabama Gives Day and explaining the magic of Scrollworks. Check it out! (We've had over 13,000 views!)

MYOCA was founded in 2007 to provide transformative experiences for youth musicians in socio-economically diverse music ensembles.

Because so many children in the metro area have lost access to instrument instruction and thus can't participate in orchestra, the Scrollworks program was begun in 2008 to give all children the opportunity to learn an instrument.

Scrollworks currently teaches free music lessons to almost 200 students from the inner city, suburbs and rural communities on Saturdays at Highlands UMC. We provide music books and loan instruments. In addition to lessons, students take music theory and are required to attend live music performances in the community.

We offer opportunities tailored for the performance level and maturity of musicians ages 5 to 18, from free lessons (after a $25 registration fee) on many instruments, to an evolving family of ensembles currently including two levels of choir, a jazz ensemble, a drum circle, two levels of wind and string ensembles and youth orchestra.

Young musicians who currently play an orchestral instrument can join Scrollworks at any time. Auditions for students who already play an instrument are by appointment. All classes offered at Scrollworks are designed to help students develop fundamentals of music in a positive, structured, yet fun atmosphere.

If you are looking to further your musical development, Scrollworks also offers private lessons on violin, viola, cello, voice, guitar, trumpet and piano through the Academy. These lessons have a per lesson fee based on income and family size on a sliding scale of $5-$25.

Young people of diverse racial, social, cultural, and economic backgrounds are encouraged to explore and cultivate their musical talent and contribute to Alabama's musical culture.

For more information about Metropolitan Youth Orchestras of Central Alabama and the Scrollworks Youth Music Program, please visit our website at www.myorch.org or call us at (205) 908-8843. You can also reach the Director of Scrollworks, Caroline Nordlund, at cnordlund@myorch.org for additional information.

We teach violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, tuba, French horn, percussion, piano, drum set, voice, guitar.

Many of our teachers are music or music ed majors from Birmingham-Southern, Samford, Montevallo, and University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Our students come from the following cities: Adamsville, Alabaster, Bessemer, Birmingham, Calera, Chelsea,Eastlake, Fairfield, Gardendale, Hamilton, Hayden, Helena, Homewood, Hoover, Hueytown, Irondale, Leeds,Maylene, McCalla, Moody, Mountain Brook, Mulga, Pinson, Pleasant Grove,Vestavia, Warrior, West Blocton

Our students come from the following zip codes:
35004,35005,35007,35020,35022,35023,35040,
35064,35071,35073,35079,35080,35094,35111,
35114,35118,35126,35127,35180,35184,35203,
35204,35205,35206,35207,35208,35209,35210,
35211,35212,35214,35215,35215,35216,35217,
35218,35221,35222,35223,35224,35226,35234,
35235,35242,35244,35570, 35201

Other keywords: band, youth development, underserved youth, El Sistema, classical music