Anyone do DC Youth Orchestra and live in upper NW? How's that commute for you?

[Anonymous]

I have a kid too young to take public transit alone, which means it is all on me to get him from AU park to Eastern High in rush hour traffic multiple times a week.

I'm sold on the program already. But it's as if kids from our neck of the wood(wind)s are practically discouraged from participating, given the location at the far one side of the city and the times of day.

Am I missing something here? Is there a transportation option from a dcps that I don't yet know about?

[Anonymous]

I do this commute for work. Down Mass Ave/Rock Creek Park, by the Tidal Bassin and then onto Indep Ave is your best bet. If you're headed against traffic it's not bad but you need to watch out for the traffic reversals on Rock Creek Park and along the Kennedy Center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do this commute for work. Down Mass Ave/Rock Creek Park, by the Tidal Bassin and then onto Indep Ave is your best bet. If you're headed against traffic it's not bad but you need to watch out for the traffic reversals on Rock Creek Park and along the Kennedy Center.

Yes, so at 5 pm commute time (lesson time), none of this will work due to lane reversals.

Argh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do this commute for work. Down Mass Ave/Rock Creek Park, by the Tidal Bassin and then onto Indep Ave is your best bet. If you're headed against traffic it's not bad but you need to watch out for the traffic reversals on Rock Creek Park and along the Kennedy Center.

Yes, so at 5 pm commute time (lesson time), none of this will work due to lane reversals.

Argh

If you live or your school is near the Red Line it's worth considering the Red Line to Metro Center, then the Blue or Orange Line to RFK, Eastern sits right outside. Metros are very frequent at that hour.

[Anonymous]

We did DCYO for 4 years, but our string class was on Saturdays. I hope you can figure out the commute. It's well worth it.

[Anonymous]

Why? what are the positives?

[Anonymous]

Metro is much less stressful. Check it out!

[Anonymous]

We did the Saturday strings for a while, but I found the commute too much for us. Perhaps look at the Montgomery County one?

I don't think anyone's trying to eliminate NW DC kids! They have to put the location somewhere, don't they?! We can't have it all!!

[Anonymous]

There's no DCPS transportation option. One reason that made DCYO so attractive to the relocation prospect was that it was adjacent to Metro. Also maybe your route maybe wrong, try various routes.

[Anonymous]

I was thinking of signing up my almost 5 year old for violin. I don't know anyone who has done the program so I'd love to hear from parents who have signed their kids up and can provide some details into how the classes are run. Can you come and watch a practice before making the decision to join? Are the parents in the room when the kids are practicing? In general, how many kids tend to be in the classes? Is the overall atmosphere friendly/fun while learning to play or is it more on the serious side?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Silly question, but does DCYOP provide the kids with the instruments or are parents supposed to buy/rent the instrument? If DCYOP provides, do you take the instrument home to practice and then just give it back to them at the end of the session?

[Anonymous]

I also live in upper NW and am skeptical of how I am going to manage the commute. However, I would like to point out that DCYO was in NW DC for numerous years with the NE and SE participants having to make a similar cross-city trek with limited transportation options.

[Anonymous]

DCYOP has some instruments available, but many kids rent or buy elsewhere. My daughter played violin with DCYOP for 4 years. The move to Eastern HS was a mixed blessing. The facilities are so much nicer than Coolidge, but the commute was much worse for our family. We ended up dropping out, mainly because of the commute and overall time sink. Several of our neighbors in NW stayed in though. If you do join, you may be able to carpool with neighbors. That said, if I had to do it again, I'd start my kid with private lessons and only join DCYOP when she was skilled enough to play in one of the orchestras. In my opinion, that is the coolest thing about DCYOP, and the conductor of the beginning level orchestra, Ms. Cuffy, is simply phenomenal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCYOP has some instruments available, but many kids rent or buy elsewhere. My daughter played violin with DCYOP for 4 years. The move to Eastern HS was a mixed blessing. The facilities are so much nicer than Coolidge, but the commute was much worse for our family. We ended up dropping out, mainly because of the commute and overall time sink. Several of our neighbors in NW stayed in though. If you do join, you may be able to carpool with neighbors. That said, if I had to do it again, I'd start my kid with private lessons and only join DCYOP when she was skilled enough to play in one of the orchestras. In my opinion, that is the coolest thing about DCYOP, and the conductor of the beginning level orchestra, Ms. Cuffy, is simply phenomenal.

Aren't private lessons much more expensive? I've also thought my kids would enjoy starting out with a group. I would think you'd start with a group and if the kid liked it, move on to private later. (I'm another NW parent who's thinking about enrolling my young kids --but dreading the commute.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCYOP has some instruments available, but many kids rent or buy elsewhere. My daughter played violin with DCYOP for 4 years. The move to Eastern HS was a mixed blessing. The facilities are so much nicer than Coolidge, but the commute was much worse for our family. We ended up dropping out, mainly because of the commute and overall time sink. Several of our neighbors in NW stayed in though. If you do join, you may be able to carpool with neighbors. That said, if I had to do it again, I'd start my kid with private lessons and only join DCYOP when she was skilled enough to play in one of the orchestras. In my opinion, that is the coolest thing about DCYOP, and the conductor of the beginning level orchestra, Ms. Cuffy, is simply phenomenal.

Aren't private lessons much more expensive? I've also thought my kids would enjoy starting out with a group. I would think you'd start with a group and if the kid liked it, move on to private later. (I'm another NW parent who's thinking about enrolling my young kids --but dreading the commute.)

Yes, it's indeed a lot more affordable. And I think it's also a motivator to learn in a group and to advance from level to level, more so than private lessons would be. Plus, even the youngest ones play in a group from the very outset. So they learn to listen to others, something that's of course designed to prepare them to play in the beginning orchestra, which is really amazing. What one does have to consider is that the violin groups are really big. If you can get your child to pick the viola, it's more personal. Same goes for starting a little later for an instrument like the cello or a lot of the wind instruments. Ages and programs are listed here: http://www.dcyop.org/program.jsp

Yes, you can sit in. Currently, DCYOP is not in session though. If you want to try it out before enrolling, the summer program is a good idea. But there is also a regular "instrument zoo" and showcasing day in the fall, just about when school starts. So you can attend that and look around some model classes to make up your mind.