How ORYSO Originated

The Oak Ridge Youth Symphony Orchestra (ORYSO) was established in 2009 based on a proposal that Roddy Lee, an Oak Ridge High School student and violin player, presented to two ORCMA  Board members. The ORCMA Board agreed to bring ORYSO in as a member organization. ORCMA Board Member Seaira Stephenson became executive director of ORYSO. Rachel Grubb, a University of Tennessee conducting major, was selected as the first conductor. She auditioned high school students from around East Tennessee. Some 50 students from six counties were chosen to form ORYSO and the Junior Symphony, which present two concerts a year and also perform music for assisted living and nursing home facilities. Rachel, a UT graduate in 2010 and music director of the Oak Ridge Summer Conservatory, is studying conducting as a graduate student at Northwestern University in Illinois.