County youth orchestra raising funds for new home

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Baldwin County Youth Orchestra needs a new home.

The group, which has hosted more than 500 students from across Baldwin County in its decade of music making, lost its host organization when Hurricane Sally rolled across the coast and damaged the buildings at Fairhope Avenue Baptist Church.

Orchestra leaders had been considering an effort to secure their own location for some time. Covid-19 restrictions left the orchestra without a place to properly social distance, making rehearsals cumbersome and difficult. The hurricane left them with no place at all.

Last month the orchestra launched a $50,000 building fund in the hopes of either securing a two-year lease at an existing building or placing a down payment on an existing structure. Currently the orchestra has raised $2,800.

Orchestra Directory Leroy Hughes said the dream is that a landowner would donate several acres on which the orchestra could build their own complex.

The orchestra is important to children across the county, he said, because it “gives them cultural exposure.”

“They are more aware of their community and they are able to give back to their community through the orchestra,” he said.

The Baldwin County Youth Orchestra performs twice a year. This year’s Classical Christmas show will be held Monday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Daphne Civic Center. The evening includes a silent auction to help the orchestra raise money.

If you would like to donate to the silent auction or to the building fund, contact Hughes at 251-979-6834.