About Us
Our Mission
To provide the structure and resources for the advancement of youth and adult orchestral and symphonic opportunities in the small towns, cities, and outlying rural areas of Northern Utah.
Our History
In 1996 the Lincoln Youth Symphony (LYS) was originally formed as an outreach of the Lincoln Center, an after-school program in Brigham City, UT. It successfully developed into an audition-level symphony orchestra for youth, 13-18 years old, from throughout Northern Utah. By 2014, the LBSS Board of Directors felt that we had entered into a new era of vitality and expansion, and the decision was made to change the name of our orchestra to reflect the wide geographical region of Northern Utah in which our youth live. In the 2014-2015 season, the Lincoln Youth Symphony officially became the Northern Utah Youth Symphony and has continued its tradition of performing the many wonderful symphonic works written by great composers, past and present.
In 2004 the Lincoln Youth Chamber Orchestra (LYCO) was formed as a preparatory string orchestra for youth, ages 9-16, who need to develop stronger playing skills before entering into the Lincoln Youth Symphony. During the 2014-2015 season, the Lincoln Youth Chamber Orchestra’s name was changed to the Northern Utah Youth Chamber Orchestra. NUYCO has many goals: (1) to train the youth in the art of ensemble performance; (2) to advance their playing skills; and (3) to develop their knowledge of the string orchestra repertoire.
In 2022 the Northern Utah Youth Wind Ensemble(NUYWE) was formed under the direction of Abigail Erikson. The goal of the Wind Ensemble is to prepare woodwind and brass players to play Symphonic music. The performers learn how to play confidently and gain an understanding of how each individual part is important. The age range of this group is typically from 11-16.
The Northen Utah Youth Preparatory Strings(NUYPS) is comprised of our emerging musicians. It was founded in 2022 by Elizabeth Marsh. This group teaches youth how to take what they have learned in lessons and use that knowledge to perform in an ensemble setting. This group is meant for musicians in their first to second year of playing their instrument.
In 2025 the Lake Bonneville Symphonic Society decided to unite all of our ensembles under one banner. The name Northern Utah Youth Ensembles(NUYE) was decided as the umbrella name for all of our groups. As we keep expanding our organization, each member will be a part of NUYE, helping to create a cohesiveness among all of our groups.
Conductors
Symphony
Dr. James McWhorter, 1996 - 1998
Dustin Williams, 1999 - 2002
Cindy Petti, 1999 - 2002
Dallin Hansen, 2002 - 2004
Gayle Mansfield, 2002 - 2005
Cory Jensen, 2005 - 2007
James Arbizu, 2006 - 2008
Dr. John Findlay, 2007 - 2010
Robert Bott, 2010 - 2012
Samuel Runolfson, 2012 - 2013
Conrad Dunn, 2013 - 2025
Dr. Ghyas Zeidieh, 2025 - 2026
Caleb Saunders, 2026
Dr. Ghyas Zeidieh, 2026~
Wind Ensemble
Abby Erickson, 2022 - 2024
Jacob Page, 2024
Sarah Kateifides, 2024 ~
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Chamber
Diane Austin, 2004 - 2005
Grover Wilhelmsen, 2004 - 2006
Dr. John Findlay, 2005 - 2008
Gayle Mansfield, 2007 - 2009
Charles Thompson, 2009 - 2011
Amanda (Kippen) Poland, 2011 - 2016
Susan Wilcox, 2016
Amber Taylor, 2016
Nathan West, 2016 - 2023
Dr. Ghyas Zeidieh, 2023 - 2025
Jaquell Hubner, 2025 -2026
Caleb Saunders, 2026~
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Preparatory Strings
Elizabeth Marsh, 2022 - 2023
Jaquell Hubner, 2024 ~
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Vocal Ensemble
Caleb Saunders, 2026~