Link Up Program

Children’s Link Up Program
in partnership with Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute

Music is one of the most precious gifts we can give our children, who are, after all, our future dreamers, doers and decision makers. Originated in 2010, NMSO’s partnership in the Carnegie Hall Link Up Education Program has provided critical cultural and intellectual enrichment for thousands of students in the region. Link Up allows students to be embedded in the orchestra, to study and understand the structure and process of the orchestra; they also learn to sing songs in English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, as well as to play the recorder and to understand rhythm and movement.

The yearly program culminates in a concert which allows the students to join with the orchestra in performance by singing along or playing the violin or recorder from their seats in the audience. In addition to musical accomplishment, Link Up facilitates student skills in self-analysis and self-assessment, which, along with the ability to cooperate “harmoniously” in every sense, are important not only to student development but also to long-term career success in a global market that requires collaboration and an agile skillset. Since 2010, Link Up has expanded to serve Pontotoc, Fulton and New Albany, while students from Oxford and Cleveland have also participated.

NMSO Junior Symphony

The NMSO believes that music can make a meaningful difference in everyone's life and play an essential role in our development as human beings. We strive to bring the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience and starting at an early age. Students participating in the North MS YOUTH Orchestra experience music education in both an independent setting and group coordinated study. After annual blind auditions, students are given music to prepare in anticipation of two day-long rehearsal camps under the direction of Maestro James Weil and at least three professional instructors, culminating in a live, full orchestral concert for their community. Students learn about and gain an appreciation of classical music through an introduction to, and study of, the orchestra, which offers a perfect example of the concepts and practices of working together with others. And perhaps, most importantly, they learn self-analysis and self-assessment.

Sensor Friendly Concert

In 2018, the NMSO presented our first ever sensory-friendly concert; a performance made especially for children and adults with special needs and their families. The North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Association embraces a commitment to citizens of all ages in Tupelo, Lee County, and the region, to provide positive musical experiences and further enhance the quality of life of the North Mississippi region. The NMSO recognizes that there are families with children or adults who have special needs that may limit them from attending a typical orchestral concert. By offering a sensory-friendly concert and giving special considerations to those needs, we hope to offer families the opportunity to attend a concert together. Accommodations will be made to light, sound, length of concert and formal setting of the performance. A special quiet room will be available during the concert and we are partnering with the Autism Center of North Mississippi to have therapists on-hand to assist.

This annual and free concert will 1) provide an opportunity for children and adults with special needs and their families to:

• experience a live orchestral performance in a safe and comfortable environment

• provide a first-ever, sensory-friendly concert to citizens of north Mississippi

• educate and create awareness of the needs and sensitivities of children and adults with special needs and sensory disabilities

• promote inclusiveness in the community

• provide noise-reducing headphones

• serve as a model for effective community partnerships throughout the state, region, and nation.