The regions first center for musical youth and the permanent home of ESYO. Located at 45 MacArthur Drive in Scotia-Glenville.
The Center for Musical Youth will foster creative collaboration and musical discovery, with acoustically designed spaces that invite innovation and inspire joyful music-making.
It will be the only one of its kind in upstate New York.
Artist depiction of the rehersal room
In March 2022, ESYO purchased the 8-acre campus at 45 MacArthur Drive in Scotia-Glenville, impressed by its natural light, large classrooms, gymnasium, office suites and small, commercial kitchen. The entire facility is all one floor, making the movement of percussion instruments a breeze, and offering an exceptional layout to ensure child safety and ADA compliance for accessibility. The project includes:
As of Janurary, 2023 ● Full Image (Opens in new window)
At a time when the US Surgeon General has identified a mental health crisis among our youth, our Center will offer students a lifeline. Ample studies point to music’s positive impact on mental health and well-being. The largest investigation on the effect of music and youth brain development was conducted by James Hudziak and his team at the University of Vermont in 2014. Using MRI technology on 232 children ages 6-18, Hudziak concluded that playing music:
ESYO's proposed music center will provide new and innovative ways to make music training more widely available to youths, beginning in childhood, and will expand access to high quality music instruction for young people outside of the school day.
Specialized lighting
Specialized acoustics
New HVAC System
To ensure the health and safety of our youth, the Center’s music spaces will protect hearing and eyesight strain with specialized acoustics and lighting. Additionally, the new energy saving HVAC system will provide high efficiency filtration to capture indoor air contaminants before they are introduced into spaces.
ESYO empowers youth to lead, both in and out of the rehearsal space. Whether it is a discussion about repertoire, the promotion of an upcoming performance or how best to create greater equity across the organization, our members are at the table.
The Center's meeting spaces have been designed to empower our youth to explore their musical interests collaboratively. Whether it be in our new recording studio, percussion practice room, student lounge or on the outside terrace, youth will have a place to share ideas, laughter and inspiration. With a membership spread across the region, the Center will facilitate meaningful connections between diverse communities.
The Center will also have a positive economic impact, with more than 600 families traveling to the Center each week, the business improvement corridors of Schenectady and Scotia/Glenville. The Center will provide:
ESYO seeks to remove barriers to music engagement, education and performance in variety of ways:
While we have made great strides in fostering equity and inclusion, a physical Music Center will be a game changer:
The ESYO Center for Musical Youth made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Contact Becky Calos at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.for more information
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Empire State Youth Orchestra
45 MacArthur Drive, Schenectady, NY 12302
Phone: 518-382-7581 | Fax: 518-382-0254