General History | A Focus on Youth | Music By Moonlight Begins
A Focus on Youth
For many years the South Alabama Symphony Association sponsored three evening concerts a season as well as Youth Concerts the next morning, which were free to all area school children. Schools from north Florida as well as the surrounding counties have attended. Julie Holman was one of the first in the Symphony Association to manage the children’s concerts. She began the method of writing to the schools, planning the seating, and managing the children (about 2,500) and the buses that would bring them to the concerts. Her method has become a model that other organizations have used for their Youth Concerts in Dothan.
In recent years, youth programs have been taken directly to the Dothan City Schools. In 2005, the day after the February concert, ensembles from the Alabama Symphony Orchestra performed in all of the 11 Elementary Schools in the Dothan School System. Targeting the 5th grade classes with In-School programs, Music South has presented this format for five years. The schools welcome the programs with open arms and are thrilled to have the music offered to them.
