The Walla Walla Symphony believes no child with a love for music should be deprived of the opportunity to experience and learn about music due to socioeconomic status, rural limitations, or other barriers. We seek to fulfill our mission of “providing live orchestral performances and opportunities for learning about music” through a variety of free and low-cost music education programs that emphasize depth (how profoundly was each child’s life impacted?) as well as breadth (how many youth can we impact with this program?). We also partner with local school districts to support the important work they are already doing in their public school music programs.
For more information about these programs call the Walla Walla Symphony office at 509-529-8020 or email info@wwsymphony.org.
Instrument Lending Library
The Walla Walla Symphony’s Instrument Lending Library helps foster music literacy and performance skills in young people by providing free access to musical instruments. In addition to community support through instrument donations, this program is made possible with generous support from individual donors.
Do you have any unused musical instruments in good, working condition? Donate them to the Symphony!
Donors receive a tax receipt for the fair market value and the assurance that it will go to a worthy musician-in-training in our community.
"Thanks so much for my instrument! It means so much to me to be able to play at school!!! And I just wanted to tell you that what you guys are doing is making a huge difference to everyone you help. So thanks!!!"
— Lending Library Participant, 2021
Walla Walla Symphony Youth Orchestra (WWSYO)
Formed in the fall of 2008 with the help of a generous grant from the Sherwood Trust, the Walla Walla Symphony Youth Orchestra (WWSYO) is a free program that provides young musicians in grades 8 - 12 with a unique opportunity to rehearse and perform in a large ensemble alongside other musicians from across eastern Washington and northern Oregon.
The WWYSO is directed by Bruce Walker, who is an Associate Professor of Music at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, WA.
The WWSYO season is usually divided into two sessions, one in fall/winter and the other in winter/spring, with rehearsals taking place on Wednesday evenings and a concert at the end of each session. Auditions are held annually each fall for all new and returning musicians.
Supported in part by
“I am incredibly grateful for the existence of the SPARK! Program. Professor Kristin Vining has been a wonderful mentor, and has taught me so much about symphonic composition. I feel that my composition abilities have been stretched further with every SPARK! session I have attended thus far. It has been lots of fun!"
— SPARK! Participant, 2022
SPARK! Composition Course
SPARK! is a free online composition course offered by the Walla Walla Symphony. Geared toward brand new through advanced young composers in grades 3-12, this program is designed to empower participants to find their own creative spark through music composition, and to share and encourage musical creativity in a supportive online community.
Throughout each session, participants meet for private lessons with professional composer Kristin Vining to develop an individual project, and as a class to explore improvisational and compositional techniques together. By the end of the course, the participants will have at least one musical composition ready to share!
In Summer 2022, eight young composers submitted fully orchestrated original compositions to be considered for the first-ever “SPARK! Premieres" at the 2022-2023 season opening night concert on October 4. Each composer worked virtually with teaching artist Kristin Vining to realize their piece, and to explore the musical opportunities afforded by an orchestral instrumentation.
One piece was selected randomly from the beginner/intermediate cohorts, and one from the advanced cohort. Click here to learn more about the two students selected and the others who submitted pieces.
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Youth & Family Concerts
The Walla Walla Symphony began providing free concerts for school children in 1953. In 2016 we deepened our collaborative efforts with area 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders through Link Up, a music education program provided by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI). Link Up is a highly participatory program that pairs orchestras across the country with schools in their local communities, inviting students to learn about orchestral repertoire through a yearlong, hands-on music curriculum. Each year focuses on specific concepts, including rhythm, melody, tempo, orchestration, and composition. Utilizing materials provided free-of-charge by WMI, teachers guide students in exploring music through a composer’s lens, with students participating in active music making in the classroom; performing repertoire on recorder, violin, voice, or body percussion; and taking part in creative work such as composing their own pieces inspired by the orchestral music they have studied.
At the end of the program students have the opportunity to sing and play the recorder or violin along with the Walla Walla Symphony at a free live performance. This performance often serves as students’ first concert experience and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied. The Symphony also performs the program for families at the Free Family Concert & "Foodraiser”. Before this event, the community has the opportunity to try out the instruments of the orchestra in the lobby, including strings, brass, winds, and percussion. Admission is free with a non-perishable food item donation.
Supported in part by
Rock Camp
Since 2009, the Walla Walla Symphony has partnered with organizations in the community each summer to present a free Rock Camp designed to give students entering grades 7-12 the experience of preparing for and producing a Rock concert.
During this 1-week intensive music experience, young musicians interact with professional musicians in a real-life production setting. Topics explored during Rock Camp include:
Instrument and ensemble coaching
Song writing and arranging
Marketing and promotion
Music recording and live sound production
At the end of the week, participants perform a free, live concert for friends, family, and the community.
Registration for Rock Camp 2023 is now open! Click the button below to learn more and register.
For general questions and concerns please contact the Walla Walla Symphony office at rockcamp@wwsymphony.org or 509-529-8020.
"I loved the atmosphere that Rock Camp provides to everyone and the support that is given."
—Rock Camp participant, 16 years old
Summer in the Parks
Summer in the Parks is a series of short, informal concerts featuring small groups of Walla Walla Symphony musicians performing at parks and other outdoor spaces around Walla Walla. Summer in the Parks was launched in 2021 as a way to gather community members together to enjoy music after a year of being isolated from one another.
Traveling Instrument Petting Zoo
Modeled after the Walla Walla Symphony’s annual Free Instrument Petting Zoo, the Traveling Instrument Petting Zoo (TIPZ) program takes the hands-on experience of trying orchestra instruments out of Cordiner Hall and into the community. Families and children attending community festivals, farmer’s markets, community centers, and other public gathering places will have the opportunity to try string instruments, as well as a variety of handheld percussion instruments. The goal of this program is to ignite a passion for music in the youth of our community and to build positive relationships.
The Traveling Instrument Petting Zoo is supported in part by Wildhorse Foundation and Sunny Day Foundation.
Lullaby Project
Every year, nearly one million American women deliver babies without receiving adequate prenatal medical attention. Expectant mothers in challenging life circumstances are under tremendous stress and often need additional support and motivation to bond with their child.
The Lullaby Project pairs professional musicians and teaching artists from the Symphony with parents/guardians/caregivers to write personal lullabies for their babies and young children to help support maternal health, aid child development, and strengthen the bond between parent and child.
Participation in this program is free and no experience or musical background is necessary!
Call 509-529-8020 for more information.
Click below to listen to a song from the Lullaby Project Team:
Made possible in part by
Musicians in the Schools
Through the Musicians in the Schools program, guest artists and Symphony musicians visit local classrooms to offer performances, masterclasses, and clinics for students. Recent visits have included:
Music Director and Conductor Yaacov Bergman with the Wa-Hi Orchestra and Walla Walla Valley Academy Orchestra
Mexican fiddling sensations The Villalobos Brothers performing for students at Pioneer Middle School
Jazz musicians Clairdee (voice), Ken Peplowski (clarinet), Greg Goebel (piano), Gary Hobbs (drums), and Dave Captein (bass) performing for students at Blue Ridge Elementary
American pianist Simone Dinnerstein presenting her education program “An Honest Guide to Bach’s Inventions: Bachpacking to School” to public school 4th and 5th graders
If you're interested in having a musician or small ensemble visit your classroom, please contact us.