Noah, FYO cellist.

On the topic of learning to read music and traveling the world, our beloved Jonathan May once said, “You can travel to any country and not be able to speak or understand their spoken language, but start playing with the musicians and everyone understands each other.” What a gift our children have been given here in our very own town of Palm Coast.

We are finishing up our seventh year with the Flagler Youth Orchestra!

Emma performing in May 2013.

My oldest child Noah is 12, and his experience has been quite unique. He has learned to read treble, alto, and bass clef. Talk about learning languages! Noah played the violin, viola, and is currently (final answer) on the cello. My youngest is Emma, age 9. Emma’s on the cello as well, after playing the violin for a couple years. Learning to play takes such dedication and discipline, and those are two virtues that I can say have crossed over into their everyday life. They tackle their school work and any challenges in the same way they take on learning their music. Being part of this orchestra has given both of my children a creative outlet, confidence, and a love of music that will last a lifetime.

Over the years, we’ve had opportunities to move to bigger cities and the FYO has always been a big determining factor for us staying. I’m so grateful for this program. It’s been an honor and a privilege having my children study with all of these talented instructors.

Looking forward to many more years of my children becoming fluent in their music languages.

~Diane Soto, Noah and Emma’s mom and FYO Volunteer