Now in its 32nd season, the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestras (GNOYO) has filled a need in the city for high-quality orchestral experiences for school-age musicians. Begun in 1994 by a group of parents, interested Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra musicians and local music teachers, it offered membership by audition in its Sinfonia, an intermediate level string orchestra, and Philharmonia, a full orchestra for more advanced students on all orchestral instruments. The first performances in May 1995 were conducted by Carrie Telthorst at the University of New Orleans Performing Arts Center. The following season John Fairlie was appointed Conductor of the Philharmonia and Marta Jurjevich the Assistant Conductor as well as Conductor of the Sinfonia. In the fall of 1995, GNOYO became the “official youth orchestra” of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, accepted 75 students for its second season and hosted and performed a joint concert with the Midwest Young Artists Senior Orchestra from Chicago.
Having initially operated under the financial umbrella of the Greater New Orleans Suzuki Forum, GNOYO legally incorporated on February 26, 1996 as an independent non-profit arts organization in the State of Louisiana, achieved tax-exempt status as a 501(c) 3 organization and elected a board of directors. That year John Fairlie became its first Executive Director. The 1996 season saw GNOYO grow to one hundred participants, drawing students from as far away as Cut Off and Houma, Louisiana and Biloxi, Mississippi. Subsequent seasons included side-by-side performances with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the LPO’s Young Peoples’ Concerts Series and inclusion of GNOYO’s Instrument/Scholarship Program, an ambitious outreach program for aspiring young musicians of need. In March 1998 GNOYO collaborated with the New Orleans Ballet in a production of “Peter & the Wolf”.
In 1999 GNOYO’s Northshore Sinfonia began rehearsing in Covington under the direction of Kent Jensen and the Summer Festival celebrated its first season at the New Orleans Science and Math High School. In the fall of that year a new advanced full orchestra, the “GNOYO Symphony”, was added to the ensembles rehearsing in New Orleans and in January all New Orleans-based orchestras began rehearsing in the new NOCCA|Riverfront as an adjunct component of their Saturday classes. The Northshore Philharmonia and a new chamber music program began rehearsing in September 2002. In Spring of 2005, GNOYO once again collaborated with a local nonprofit, this time the Jefferson Performing Arts Society Youth Chorus. By the end of the 2004-2005 season, GNOYO was experiencing record participation, serving over 250 young people and performing to standing room only audiences.
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina drastically changed the lives of GNOYO’s participants. Realizing how necessary its programs were to the recovery of the community, GNOYO resumed activities in October providing a routine and stable creative outlet for the young people of the Gulf Coast. As families returned to the area enrollment grew slowly but steadily. A musical highlight of that first recovery season was the debut of Michael Rihner’s composition “New Orleans Suite” depicting musical pictures of New Orleans favorites – the streetcar, the bayou, and a second line parade.
To recognize GNOYO’s relevance post-Katrina, GNOYO was the 2006 recipient of the Governor’s Arts Award in the Arts Organization/Education Category and 1 of 13 winners in the 2006 Coming Up Taller Awards presented by the President’s Committee for the Arts and Humanities.
Music Director, Dr Jean Montès, brought his musical vision to GNOYO as well as a collaboration with Loyola School of Fine Arts in 2007 and has added a Young Artist Academy and enhanced chamber music opportunities to GNOYO’s programs. The Symphony, under the direction of Dr. Montès, performed in New York’s Carnegie Hall in June of 2009. Dr. Montès continues to lead GNOYO in exciting opportunities including an event in which the entire GNOYO orchestra performed with world-famous violinist, Midori, at the Mahalia Jackson Theater on January 10, 2010.
Also in the same year Dr. Montes added the SRCNOLA programs which is designed to give intensive sight reading lessons to 10 local high schools in the area, and the Explore Louisiana Program designed to bring orchestral performances across Louisiana. In 2010 GNOYO, in response to the Earthquake in Hati, raised money and collected instruments to help young musicians who lost everything. Dr. Montes still makes regular trips to distribute the instruments, and works with music programs throughout the country.
In 2011 GNOYO made it’s first international appearance when Dr. Montes took the GNOYO Symphony on a five-concert tour of France. Cities performed in include Caen, Chartres, Vernon, Dunkirk and Paris where the symphony played at the world famous La Madeleine Church. In 2012 GNOYO, under the direction of Dr. Jean Montes, once again expanded music opportunities. This time the entire GNOYO orchestra had a memorable residency with Grammy Awarding Winning Musician Mark O’Connor at Loyola University.
In 2014-2015, the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestras celebrated a big mile stone in our programs history- their 20th anniversary with an East Coast Tour comprising of a multi-city tour culminating with a Carnegie Hall performance featuring the tour orchestra in collaboration with a young piano soloist Caleb Borick from Charleston, South Carolina and a world premiere by New Orleanian composer Mike Rhiner.
To celebrate their 30th Anniversary, GNOYO received an invitation to return to Carnegie Hall. The 30th Anniversary tour was a highlight for current members and alumni as well. Their performance included another world premiere by Rhiner.
The 2025-2026 season included many collaborations and encounters with local and national artists including the 9 Horses, an improvising chamber ensemble featuring Joe Brent (formerly of Regina Spektor’s band) on acoustic and electric mandolin, 2018 GRAMMY nominee Sara Caswell (Esperanza Spalding) on violin and Hardanger d’amore, and Andrew Ryan (Kaia Kater) on bass. Alum Jeffrey Miller (trombone, Juilliard 2018) provided inspiration and education to the GNOYO orchestras during one of our spring rehearsals prior to his performances with Jon Batiste at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in April 2026. At Summer Fest 2026, Jason Marsalis ignited students’ creativity with composition and rhythm master classes.
GNOYO was selected as one of two orchestras in North America to participate in the 2026-27 Orchestra Residencies Program led by renowned violinist, Midori. The Midori ORP is an immersive experience designed to transform young musicians into accomplished artists through a five-day residency workshop, concluding with a final concert in Spring 2027 performance featuring Midori alongside the orchestras.