About Us
Since 1968, the Lima Area Youth Orchestra has brilliantly showcased the talent of our region’s most accomplished young musicians. The Lima Noon Optimists and the Lima Symphony Orchestra share a common passion regarding the development of young musicians and have co-sponsored the Lima Area Youth Orchestra for more than 40 years.
Mission |
Vision |
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The Lima Area Youth Orchestra and Chorus provides students with a high quality music education, instills an emotional connection with and lifelong passion for music, fosters a diverse community of musicians, and offers outstanding symphonic performance opportunities for students to share their musical gifts with the community.
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Instill life-long values of responsibility, accountability, teamwork, problem solving, creativity and cultural appreciation in students from all economic and social backgrounds.
-Develop the next generation of professionals and community leaders through achieving excellence in the study and performance of symphonic music. -Support music education in the Lima area through collaboration with local music educators, school music programs and arts organizations. -Partner with our schools by requiring students’ concurrent participation in the respective in-school music education programs when possible. -Strengthen the foundation of our community by enriching the quality of life and adding to the vibrancy of arts in the Lima area. |
Meet the Staff
Our staff is dedicated to providing the best education and experience to our performers. They are hard at work prepping audition and performance materials all they while educating students full-time in our communities.
Join us in thanking and welcoming the staff for the 2023 season.
Join us in thanking and welcoming the staff for the 2023 season.
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Joseph MacBennJoseph MacBenn is the co-director of the Lima Area Youth Orchestra. As an educator in the Lima City SChool District, Joseph has been a valued member of the string orchestra faculty since 2001 and works with string orchestra students grades 5-12. Mr MacBenn has an extensive history of musical study and performance including over 40 years of violin and over 25 years on a variety of brass instruments.
A lifelong learner, MacBenn has pursued higher level musicianship through study with celebrated chamber musicians like the Miró, pianist Roman Rudnystky, and has attended masterclasses with the famed American violinist Darol Anger. Mr MacBenn received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Mount Union in 2001 and continued on to earn a Master’s degree in Education from Ohio Northern University in 2005. He returned to the University of Mount Union in 2015 to successfully complete a Master of Educational Leadership. Joe lives in Lima with is wife, Melissa, their daughter Megan, and two cats: Snickers and Reecie. He is proud to once again work with so many great musicians from the area and is thankful for the opportunity. |
FUNDING OUR NONPROFIT
In the United States, there are many youth orchestras for students to participate in. However, most of them function on a "pay to play" basis. The Lima Area Youth Orchestra is one of the few youth orchestras in the country that does not use a "pay to play" system. All of our students have the opportunity to join this group due to the generous funding of our local businesses, affiliates, and donors.
Please read through the document below, and consider donating to the Lima Area Youth Orchestra. All of our money is housed through the Lima Community Foundation, as we do not have our own tax accounts. The majority of the money that we spend every year goes toward facility rental, as we do not get our spaces for free.
Checks should be made payable to: Lima Community Foundation, with LAYO in the memo line. Please contact us to let us know of a donation, as the Lima Community Foundation will not contact us directly to let us know. Our address is: PO Box 1086, Lima Ohio 45802-1086. You can also send us mail at: LAYO Treasurer, PO Box 428, Lima Ohio 45802.
Please read through the document below, and consider donating to the Lima Area Youth Orchestra. All of our money is housed through the Lima Community Foundation, as we do not have our own tax accounts. The majority of the money that we spend every year goes toward facility rental, as we do not get our spaces for free.
Checks should be made payable to: Lima Community Foundation, with LAYO in the memo line. Please contact us to let us know of a donation, as the Lima Community Foundation will not contact us directly to let us know. Our address is: PO Box 1086, Lima Ohio 45802-1086. You can also send us mail at: LAYO Treasurer, PO Box 428, Lima Ohio 45802.
Have a Question?
The History of the Lima Area Youth Orchestra
Lima Area Youth Orchestra: A brief history by Charles Eichelberger
In 1968, Maestro Joseph First of the Lima Symphony Orchestra and Mr. Walter Lawson, Jr.of the Lima Noon Optimist Club met and discussed the idea of forming an orchestra of youth in the Lima and surrounding areas.They agreed to do so and the Lima Area Youth Orchestra was off and running. It was sponsored by the Lima Symphony Orchestra and financially supported by the Lima Noon Optimist Club.
Maestro First was the first conductor. Auditions were held in the fall of 1968 and the first concert was held in Memorial Hall Christmas, 1968. In April of 1969,The Youth Orchestra played for the elementary students in the Lima City schools at South Jr. High School and also in Memorial Hall during the school day. Over 6,000 students attended the first of many concerts performed for the elementary students. That concert was held through 2019 and was not held in 2020 or 2021 because of the COVID pandemic.
The following year, Mr. Bert Blair who was the assistant conductor of the Lima Symphony Orchestra, was hired as the conductor. He served for three years. Joel West, band director of Shawnee Schools was hired to replace him. West served for two years carrying the traditions of performances for the elementary schools as well as being on the subscription series of the Lima Symphony Orchestra as it is today.
In 1973 Robert Billups, a professor from Bluffton College, was employed as the conductor. He served for 2 years and then Allan Drake of Ohio Northern University became the conductor. Ed Williams, a professor at Ohio Northern University, was employed in 1976. Dr. Williams was instrumental in securing several new venues in which the orchestra could perform. The most notable of venues was the Freed Center of Ohio Northern University. Williams was the conductor until his untimely death in 2007. Lloyd Butler became the conductor at that time.
Following Mr. Butler’s tenure, Dr. Sarah Waters took the baton for one year with David Stein as her assistant. Then, Erin Grim was appointed the conductor for several years. She increased the size of the orchestra and made other changes, giving awards for first chair players as well as the seniors in the orchestra. She also began a web site for the orchestra which was used to organize auditions and to give information to the members. The orchestra began to rehearse at Lima Senior High School. Mrs. Grim began real efforts to raise funds for the orchestra, sending letters to various businesses and prominent people in the community and parents of the players. Her assistants were David Stein and later, Jazz Blum .In 2016, Travis Jurgens became the conductor and led the orchestra in a Christmas Concert performed at Lima Senior High School. During Jurgen’s tenure, parents were added to the Youth Orchestra Committee.
Dr. Sarah Waters from Ohio Northern University and Joseph MacBenn are the conductors at present. The Orchestra had come full circle as Dr. Waters was a member of the orchestra herself.
In 2022, Anthony Taylor, Director and Shay Bolton, Accompanist, founded the Lima Area Youth Chorus. They gave their inaugural performance at the Christmas concert in December 2022.
During the long tenure of the Lima Area Youth Symphony Orchestra performed for about 153,000 youth, having a concert for elementary students from Lima, Allen County and surrounding counties and about 15,000 during the Lima Symphony Orchestra’s subscription series. Venues for rehearsal and performance included Lima City Schools South Junior High School, Memorial Hall in Lima, Bath High School, Lima Senior High School and the Lima Allen County Memorial Civic Center. Because of funding from the Lima Noon Optimist Club and the support from the Lima Symphony Orchestra, The Lima Area Youth Orchestra has remained a staple in the artistic culture of Northwestern Ohio.
In 1968, Maestro Joseph First of the Lima Symphony Orchestra and Mr. Walter Lawson, Jr.of the Lima Noon Optimist Club met and discussed the idea of forming an orchestra of youth in the Lima and surrounding areas.They agreed to do so and the Lima Area Youth Orchestra was off and running. It was sponsored by the Lima Symphony Orchestra and financially supported by the Lima Noon Optimist Club.
Maestro First was the first conductor. Auditions were held in the fall of 1968 and the first concert was held in Memorial Hall Christmas, 1968. In April of 1969,The Youth Orchestra played for the elementary students in the Lima City schools at South Jr. High School and also in Memorial Hall during the school day. Over 6,000 students attended the first of many concerts performed for the elementary students. That concert was held through 2019 and was not held in 2020 or 2021 because of the COVID pandemic.
The following year, Mr. Bert Blair who was the assistant conductor of the Lima Symphony Orchestra, was hired as the conductor. He served for three years. Joel West, band director of Shawnee Schools was hired to replace him. West served for two years carrying the traditions of performances for the elementary schools as well as being on the subscription series of the Lima Symphony Orchestra as it is today.
In 1973 Robert Billups, a professor from Bluffton College, was employed as the conductor. He served for 2 years and then Allan Drake of Ohio Northern University became the conductor. Ed Williams, a professor at Ohio Northern University, was employed in 1976. Dr. Williams was instrumental in securing several new venues in which the orchestra could perform. The most notable of venues was the Freed Center of Ohio Northern University. Williams was the conductor until his untimely death in 2007. Lloyd Butler became the conductor at that time.
Following Mr. Butler’s tenure, Dr. Sarah Waters took the baton for one year with David Stein as her assistant. Then, Erin Grim was appointed the conductor for several years. She increased the size of the orchestra and made other changes, giving awards for first chair players as well as the seniors in the orchestra. She also began a web site for the orchestra which was used to organize auditions and to give information to the members. The orchestra began to rehearse at Lima Senior High School. Mrs. Grim began real efforts to raise funds for the orchestra, sending letters to various businesses and prominent people in the community and parents of the players. Her assistants were David Stein and later, Jazz Blum .In 2016, Travis Jurgens became the conductor and led the orchestra in a Christmas Concert performed at Lima Senior High School. During Jurgen’s tenure, parents were added to the Youth Orchestra Committee.
Dr. Sarah Waters from Ohio Northern University and Joseph MacBenn are the conductors at present. The Orchestra had come full circle as Dr. Waters was a member of the orchestra herself.
In 2022, Anthony Taylor, Director and Shay Bolton, Accompanist, founded the Lima Area Youth Chorus. They gave their inaugural performance at the Christmas concert in December 2022.
During the long tenure of the Lima Area Youth Symphony Orchestra performed for about 153,000 youth, having a concert for elementary students from Lima, Allen County and surrounding counties and about 15,000 during the Lima Symphony Orchestra’s subscription series. Venues for rehearsal and performance included Lima City Schools South Junior High School, Memorial Hall in Lima, Bath High School, Lima Senior High School and the Lima Allen County Memorial Civic Center. Because of funding from the Lima Noon Optimist Club and the support from the Lima Symphony Orchestra, The Lima Area Youth Orchestra has remained a staple in the artistic culture of Northwestern Ohio.