Staff:
The CRAYO staff is committed to having a quality program and providing the students with a beneficial experience that will enrich their musical studies.

Lisa Zeller , Symphony Orchestra Director

We welcome the return of Director Lisa Zeller for the 2008/2009 season. She is also the elementary orchestra teacher for the Willmar Public School district, teaching grades 4-6. An active musician herself, she is a member of the Willmar and St. Cloud Symphony Orchestras where she plays violin.

Marie K. Nelson, Chamber Orchestra Director and Assistant Symphony Director

A very active musician, Ms. Nelson is currently the principle cellist with the Willmar Area Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly with two area ensembles. Ms. Nelson also teaches private string lessons and has taught school orchestra programs.

History:
The planning of the Crow River Area Youth Orchestra began in September, 1997, when several local string teachers approached the parents of their students with the idea of starting a youth orchestra program. The need for a program of this kind existed because area schools had discontinued their orchestra programs in the early eighties. Lengthy travel discouraged and limited participation in other youth orchestra programs that were available outside the area.

An organizing committee of parents was formed and they began researching other youth orchestra programs, secured the services of a fiscal agent, hired a music director and obtained funding through a grant and solicitations to the orchestra's Founders' Fund. The committee was replaced by a Board in April, 1998.

Initially a string orchestra program, CRAYO began Sunday afternoon rehearsals in January, 1998, with seventeen members. As the foundation of string musicians grew, the program was expanded to a symphony orchestra program in January, 1999, with forty-one youth participating. Since then CRAYO's membership has steadily increased.

CRAYO established a Music Camp Scholarship Fund in October, 1999. This fund is intended to encourage and assist orchestra members to attend camps or workshops. Opportunities like these offer valuable instruction that enhances a participant's musical studies. The first scholarships were awarded in the Summer of 2000.

In 2001, two new music opportunities were introduced. CRAYO's first Concerto Contest took place and the winner performed during our Spring concert. With eighteen string students sharing their talents, the Chamber Orchestra program began meeting in February on Saturday mornings. The Chamber Orchestra also performed as part of the Spring concert.

In 2002 CRAYO’s programming continued to expand. In the spring of 2002, the CRAYO String Ensemble was introduced for less experienced students and in July the first ever CRAYO Summer String Camp welcomed 58 students, both the young and the young at heart, to a week of music and fun.

CRAYO's membership continues to increase as word of the program spreads. Over one hundred-twenty youth participated in CRAYO programs during the 2001-2002 season. Members have represented about thirty area communites in a sixty mile radius of Hutchinson; ranging from the western-metro area to the east, Willmar and Olivia to the west, the Buffalo/Maple Lake area to the north and Winthrop to the south.

In addition, CRAYO has become an international experience through the participation of several foreign exchange students.