Our purposes are twofold. First, and most importantly, MCYO seeks to provide the diverse children of greater Washington with an exceptional orchestral training program. Our region is rich with talented young children, who come from many social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds. Our goal is to bring them together in a program that spurs their musical talents to new heights. MCYO seeks to meet the need of serious young musicians, whose intellectual and musical development profit enormously from a serious ensemble playing experience. Research continues to show a strong link between the study of music and brain development in children. Students from our program demonstrate the point, going on to distinguished careers, often, but not necessarily in music. Many of them credit MCYO as a formative feature of their early lives, having given them skills and confidence to succeed in music or any discipline they choose. Our second purpose is to provide the Washington community with quality orchestral programs performed by an extraordinarily talented and diverse group of young people. MCYO's move into residence at the Music Center at Strathmore gives us the opportunity to present more music, inexpensively, to more people. From Strathmore, we also hope to send our five orchestras, particularly our elite and mobile string orchestra, Sinfonia, out into the community to provide music where perhaps it has not often been heard before.