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Why You Should Join The YLC

Why You Should Join The YLC

Applications are Open for the FWCM | ESO Young Leadership Council!



Are you between the ages of 18 and 32? Do you love music and the arts? Do you want to support the Winspear Centre | Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and earn free concert vouchers? If so, then the Young Leadership Council (YLC) is the right place for you!

Why join the YLC? Rhiannon Nelson, YLC Chair, joined because of her love for classical music, and because “I really wanted to see an inside perspective on how such a foundational arts institution in Edmonton runs. The opportunity to join a group of similar-minded students and young professionals who are all passionate about music is so truly incredible.”

Drew Delbaere, YLC Vice-Chair, enjoys the opportunity that the YLC provides for members to develop board and leadership skills. He works in the arts right now, and though he’s not a traditionally educated musician, he has always had an interest in orchestral music. “The YLC is skill-based volunteering: we each bring our own lived experience[s], interests, and skills, and that’s what makes us successful. We want that diversity of experiences and opinions.”

The YLC is a treasured part of the Francis Winspear Centre for Music | ESO family and has become even more so since the beginning of the pandemic. When our regular volunteer program shut down in the spring of 2020, members of the YLC stepped up to the plate and took on a wide variety of projects. Some projects included in-person opportunities like volunteering at outdoor concerts, making patron calls, and assisting with Musical Creativity classes, in addition to virtual opportunities like brainstorming promotion opportunities for upcoming concerts, supporting FWCM | ESO committees, and proposing and preparing content for social media strategies like #onthisday and #filmfriday. Some projects the YLC takes on are YLC-born, and others are brought to the YLC from the organization’s staff. About working with the YLC, Drew says “I really enjoy the open discussions surrounding ideas and projects – it's a very collaborative process.”

One of the YLC’s main goals is to diversify the audience at the Winspear Centre and specifically at Edmonton Symphony Orchestra concerts. “The younger demographic, specifically, isn’t always represented at ESO concerts,” says Rhiannon, “and we want to bring them in and introduce them to this incredible institution in the heart of our city.” Not only that: there are many upcoming projects that mean big things for the future of the arts in Edmonton, the FWCM | ESO, and the YLC overall. “While we continue to champion the work that the FWCM | ESO currently does, we’re also thinking about the future,” says Drew. “Some projects we have on the go are supporting the performing of new works by contemporary composers and sharing ideas that welcome diverse audiences to Edmonton’s home for music.”

Interested in joining the YLC?
You’re in luck – applications are open until November 30, 2021!


Learn more here, and submit your application to ylc@winspearcentre.com. We hope to hear from you soon!