Concerto Competition 
STUDENT MENTORS
Share your musical abilities, teaching skills,
and work with fellow musicians in the Conservatory.
Have you always wanted to gain teaching experience? Become a mentor at SDYS!
Are you looking for a way to share your musical abilities, teaching skills, and meet fellow SDYS or Community Opus Project students? Students in Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia, and Wind Symphony can apply to become a mentor in one of our many orchestras.
Teach, learn, and have fun being an SDYS Mentor
By enrolling, you can make new friends and get to know fellow musicians from SDYS by teaching together as a team of people. You will be able to work with Balboa Park ensembles on the weekend.
Our Mentor sessions begin in January each year. In order to receive year-end recognition in our concert programs, students will be required to mentor a minimum of 5 times (2 hours each time) throughout the season. Students who mentor 8 times or more will receive an SDYS certificate at the end of each season.
Mentors will be able to:
- Help teach and tune instruments
- Model within an ensemble
- Learn about becoming a music educator
- Fulfill high school volunteer hours
- Be recognized as a student mentor in year-end concert programs and receive an SDYS Certificate of Recognition upon completion
- Gain teaching experience as a mentor group
- Receive limited free SDYS concert tickets
For more information, please contact Tristan Akers at takers@sdys.org or call at 619-233-3232 x 4.
Each year, two high school students serve on the KeyNote Board of Directors as Youth Board Members (YBMs)—representing their peers, sharing their perspectives, and contributing to the governance and strategic direction of the organization. YBMs develop valuable skills in leadership, communication, policy-making, and nonprofit decision-making. They also gain a deeper understanding of how SDYS operates—and how youth voice can influence its future. Hear from past Youth Board Members:
"I had a lot of fun sitting in the board room and learning about what keeps SDYS afloat and running"
“It’s a great way to give back to the community while experiencing the real world.”
“I believe having foundational knowledge and experience in these areas would be helpful to the professional growth of any high-schooler.”
"This program has made me appreciate the effort needed to run SDYS and the other KeyNote programs, which has perfectly wrapped up my amazing time at SDYS."
"I would say go for it! It's such a great way to wrap up your time at SDYS."