HISTORY OF THE CLEVELAND YOUTH WIND SYMPHONY

      The Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony (CYWS) was founded in 1989 by Dr. Gary M. Ciepluch and Robert
McAllister. The group is now in its seventeenth season. 1995-96 marked the initial season for the Cleveland
Youth Wind Symphony II. Sponsored by the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve
University, the CYWS was established to provide a musical venue for the most outstanding high school
woodwind, brass, and percussion musicians throughout Northeast Ohio.

      In addition to the concerts performed each season in Kulas Hall and Severance Hall, the groups have
performed numerous times at conventions and festivals and in concert halls throughout the United States and
abroad. In 1992, the CYWS was invited to perform at the Music Educator's National Conference held in New
Orleans, Louisiana. In June, 1994, the group took their first international trip to Germany and the Czech
Republic. During the summer of 1996, the CYWS performed in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. In the
summer of 1998, the third international performance tour took the ensemble to Germany, Switzerland, and
Italy. During June of 2000, they participated in a two-week performance tour to Australia, and in 2003, the
group toured Ireland and France. Most recently, the CYWS participated in a performance tour to England and
Scotland during the summer of 2005. The CYWS I has performed at Ohio Music Educator's Association
State Conventions in Cleveland (1991), Dayton (1996), Columbus (1998, 2004), and Cincinnati (2002).

      The CYWS rehearses from mid-September through early May, each Saturday morning in Kulas Hall at
the Institute and in Denison Hall at Case.