The Global Mission Church Youth Orchestra, a ministry of Global Mission Church of Greater Washington, was originally established in 1998 to cultivate superior musical talents of area students for the purpose of global music missions.
Founded with only 13 members and a passionate vision, the GMC Youth Orchestra (affectionately known as GMCYO) has now developed into a robust organization that is emerging as one of the area's premier youth orchestra programs.
Similar to other youth orchestras, GMCYO aims to carefully nurture individual musical talents. However, the aspect which makes this program so distinct is a sincere focus on spiritual devotion and in developing each student's heart for worship in music performance. In striving to express the heart of God through every musician and instrument, GMCYO brings an entirely different dimension to their music which transcends all languages and cultures.
In the early years, GMCYO ventured with their music in nearby states along the East Coast, such as New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and the Greater Washington area. Extending beyond the local region, GMCYO began to travel abroad in 2005 with their first overseas mission trip to Japan. Subsequent mission trips have included Mexico, Thailand, and Korea, to name a few.
As time passed, GMCYO was offered some wonderful worship opportunities. In 2007, GMCYO cooperated with the Milal Mission Team in a feature performance with internationally known Gospel singer, Rena Maria. In 2008, by invitation of the International New Praise Academic Support Society (INPASS), GMCYO performed as guest orchestra in a cooperative international praise music competition held at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Through the years, GMCYO's dedication to cultivating individual's musical gifts has produced exemplary student musicians who are currently members of the National Symphony Fellowship program and attendees of the Julliard Preparatory Schools. These former orchestra members are now musically active both regionally and internationally. Even more importantly, though, GMCYO is raising up a generation of young people who are desperate for an intimate relationship with the Lord, to truly find God's purpose for their lives, and to share the heart of God with everyone they meet through their words, actions and music.
These days, GMCYO meets every Sunday morning between 7:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Each rehearsal starts with a Quiet Time of sharing, praying and a short devotional in order to prepare our hearts and minds for the work God has set before us. Following QT, each ensemble takes on intensive music preparation through outstanding professional instruction and rehearsal.
Throughout the semester, GMCYO ensembles work towards preparing challenging music programs for 1-2 community outreach events as well as a more formal worship concert near the end of each semester. The conclusion of every season is a 10-14 day mission trip with the Emmanuel Orchestra in late June.
An additional educational benefit to joining GMCYO is the opportunity for students to earn community service hours (SSL) for each performance, as well as the summer mission trip. As students know, this is an outstanding way to earn SSL hours through doing something they love... music!
For further information or to set up an individual audition time please feel free to contact either David or Seunghee Kucharski on the contact page of our website. We would love to hear from you and welcome you to the GMCYO program!