For young people who enjoy playing musical instruments, the Bangor Symphony Youth Orchestra and Ensemble, which has been around for some 34 years, affords the experience of performing with other youngsters.

“It is a fun group,” said Kathy Bailey of Brewer, president of the orchestra and ensemble since 1997. She said the young musicians take the group seriously. “They spend two hours working hard every week,” she said of the Sunday afternoon rehearsals.

While the group does not meet during the summer, rehearsals are held eight times in the fall and eight times in the spring. The fall concert is held just before Thanksgiving. This year’s spring concert will be at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 13, at Minsky Hall, Class of 1944 Building, at the University of Maine in Orono. The concert is free and open to the public.

Donations are accepted, and Ann Blanke, treasurer for the orchestra and ensemble, said that what is received in donations probably comes close to the amount that would be expected from ticket sales.

“We have to say thank you to the University of Maine for supporting our youngsters,” she said.

A math faculty member at University College in Bangor, Blanke is now in her 13th year of affiliation with the orchestra. Her two grown daughters, a violinist and a cellist, played with the group as youngsters. Blanke has continued as treasurer “because I think it’s an important group,” she said.

And, since about 1993, each of Bailey’s five children has participated in the orchestra, and three of them still do so.

But the ability to play an instrument does not guarantee a position in the orchestra and ensemble.

“They have to audition. Audition gets you in,” Blanke said. Auditions are in September and January. The conductor decides what chair, or position, a young person will hold. Practice is essential, Blanke said. The consequences of insufficient or last-minute practice may mean placement in a lower chair than previously held, she said.

On the other hand, if a young person is good enough, he or she may be able to play for both the youth orchestra and the University of Maine Orchestra, Blanke said.

Bangor Symphony Youth Orchestra and Ensemble are actually two groups, Blanke said. The ensemble tends to have upper middle school and early junior high-age students, whereas orchestra members are typically high school students.

“We want students to grow and not feel frightened or overwhelmed,” Blanke said. But she has seen pupils as young as 9 and 10 who have played in the orchestra.

“So it’s by ability. Not necessarily by age,” she said.

The point is to augment a school experience, or to provide a place for strings to play in a group, Blanke said. Some schools do not have opportunities for students to learn and play stringed instruments, she said, “so this is what we’re trying to fill in.”

And while participants are usually from Penobscot and Hancock counties, Blanke has seen students come from as far away as China Lake and Presque Isle.

Scholarships are available for the young musicians. The Robert C. Collins Scholarship of $100 is awarded to a college-bound graduating high school senior. Four Azure Dillon Scholarships of $50 go to younger musicians. The scholarships were named for young Bangor Symphony Youth and Ensemble harpist Azure Dillon, who died two years ago.

The Charles Palmer Memorial Scholarship of $500 is awarded to a violist or high school senior who has shown a deep interest in pursuing music on some level in college.

Typically, 34 to 40 young people participate in the orchestra, which is now conducted by Arnold Poland of Dover-Foxcroft. Ensemble members, conducted by Cassandra Lovett of Eddington, tend to range from five to 20 or more, occasionally reaching the number of a full orchestra.

Alyssa Budden of Bangor, a 15-year-old ninth-grade student at Bangor High School, is a violinist. She began playing the violin in the second grade and has been playing with the orchestra since fourth grade.

“I like the big group, all the different instruments, and playing with a conductor,” she said. She plans to continue playing through college. “One of my goals is to get into the Bangor Symphony Orchestra.”

Nick Pappas of Ellsworth, a 15-year-old ninth-grader at MDI High School, plays percussion. Like Budden, he has been with the orchestra for five years. He began playing percussion instruments at age eight, getting lessons from his dad.

It’s “something else to do,” he said of participating in the orchestra. “I really enjoy it.” He, too, plans to continue playing in college.

Participants in the 2004-2005 Bangor Youth Symphony Orchestra and Ensemble are:

Katy Anderson, Alyssa Budden, Zel Bowman-Laberge, Olivia Stowe and Elizabeth Sturm, Bangor; Anne Campbell, and Margaret Campbell, Belfast; Axl Wallington, Bernard; Kyla Bailey, Stu Bost, Anna Brown, Koby McVey, Erik Rae, Keegan Rae and Ashley Stinson, Brewer; Michele Nutter, Bucksport; Katherine Beske, Katherine Lyons and Nick Pappas, Ellsworth; Kristin Dillon, Exeter and Danielle Iverson, Exeter; Zac Riitano, Glenburn; Ariel Eaton and Kortnee-Ann Schreiber, Hermon; Jennifer M. Eckert and Taylor Jones, Lamoine; Bradley McLaughlin, Lee; Daniel DeLorenzo and Mary DeLorenzo, Levant; Norah Bird and Mariah Curtis, Orono; Marjorie Freimuth and Emily Peake, Penobscot; Kate Goodness, Stillwater; James Van Kirk, Veazie; and Sarah Marshall, Waldo.

The group is looking for more members, players of all instruments. Strings, in particular, are needed.

This fall, Bailey will finish her term as president and hand the position over to Genie Dillon of Exeter.

For information on Bangor Symphony Youth Orchestra and Ensemble, or for information on any of the scholarships, contact Kathy Bailey by e-mail at katmom54@yahoo.com.