South Florida Youth Symphony Orchestra practices via Zoom and gives virtual concerts

South Florida Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Ariana Rojas, 17, worked diligently to raise funds so she could perform with her group in South America, but the pandemic shattered her plans. “It was sad, but safety comes first,” said Rojas, who attends School for Advanced Studies. “I did not want to put anyone at risk. It was better not to go. It could have been complicated.”

The South Florida Youth Symphony Orchestra was scheduled to fly March 21 and return March 28 to perform in Argentina and Uruguay, but COVID-19 canceled plans. However, the group continues to rehearse and will perform using the latest technology. The orchestra has been practicing using Zoom in hourly group sessions.

A virtual concert dropped recently on Facebook and YouTube. Another two virtual concerts are scheduled — one coming up this week, and one on July 1 that will feature musicians from Miami-Dade College and Panama, Spain and Italy.

Like other members, Rojas had found different ways to raise funds to pay for the long-planned trip in March. Rojas, a violinist, held a cocktail party, at which she performed, at a home to which friends and family were invited. She also used money saved up from her quinceañera, a celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday. All in all, she had paid about $1,700 toward the trip.

The South Florida Youth Symphony also contributed $29,000 toward students’ travel fees. However, the travel company will now reimburse only some of the monies. Thirty-three students were to take the trip, which also included sightseeing. A few members of the Miami-Dade College’s Orchestra had also planned to attend.

The youth symphony, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 1964 by Carmen Nappo — former conductor of the Miami Ballet, the Miami Metropolitan Symphony and the Founder/conductor of “Holiday on Ice” — who saw a need for children and youths to learn and perform the great masters of the musical world. The orchestra empowers student musicians from ages 3 to 22, without regard to race, orientation, gender or religion. The yearly school year fee is $450 per student. A summer camp is also offered. The orchestra has also performed in Nicaragua, the Czech Republic and other nations.

Using technology, Hialeah Miami Lakes High School band teacher and former South Florida Youth Symphony member Kevin Segura is working with Executive and Musical Director Marjorie Hahn to produce the virtual concerts. Students record themselves performing using iPads, computers or smartphones. Using iMovie and Garageband, Segura compiles the videos and produces about a virtual concert that’s about six minutes long.

“We have a very fine working relationship in our program and educational system that serves families and all children equally, and it’s important for families to see and hear this at this time,” said Hahn, who is the step-daughter of Nappo.

The group started the Zoom classes in early April.

“It felt weird,” Rojas said. “I was accustomed to seeing my friends and hugging them, follow up on news and seeing them on camera. It hurts because these are my people.”

Before the pandemic, the group practiced on Sundays at the Pawley Creative Arts Center at the Miami-Dade College North Campus.

Harold Rivas, 18, said that aside from raising funds, the group had worked hard on its performance and that the cancellation of the trip in March had been a blow: “It was concerning because of all the hard work and all of the rehearsals, being early to setup the percussions and getting ready to go. We put in a lot of hard.”

Hahn said the Zoom practices will continue.

The South Florida Youth Symphony Orchestra also canceled their season finale concert. Ticket concert sales assist the organization.

A “GoFundMe” charity site has been set up online: https://www.gofundme.com/f/student-musician-scholarships?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet

This story was originally published June 21, 2020 at 6:00 AM.