It’s all about the doughnuts.

Why else would a bunch of teenagers get up in time for an optional 8:30 a.m. orchestra rehearsal on a Saturday?

The promise of a gooey, glazed morsel halfway through practice must be what lures them out of bed, instruments in tow, each weekend.

Right?

Well, maybe a little. But the young musicians in the Lawrence Youth Symphony are also feeding their love of music. The group is open to band and orchestra students from the city’s two high schools and four junior highs, where opportunities to play in a full orchestra are limited.

“I think it’s really fun to have the drums and percussion in with the orchestra, so it’s different than at school,” says violinist Jenny Loewen, a ninth-grader at West Junior High School.

Although the group has been around about 35 years – its exact age depends on whom you ask – Bruce Johanning says a lot of people don’t know it exists.

“It’s almost like a stealth music organization in town,” says Johanning, a board member of Friends of Music, which co-sponsors the symphony with the Lawrence school district. He also has three sons in the group. “We have an agreement: They do music until they graduate from high school. Hopefully they’ll have such a love for it that they’ll continue.”

The Johanning boys will join 42 other musicians when the symphony plays its Recognition Concert at 2 p.m. Sunday at Central Junior High School. Under the direction of Free State High School orchestra director Lynn Basow, the group will tackle the likes of Wagner, Bach and Sousa.

“It’s pretty heavy duty music,” Basow says.

In to stay

Larry Williams, then the orchestra teacher at Lawrence High School, founded the Lawrence Youth Symphony in “1973 or 1974.”

“It was for grades seven through 10 so that we could develop some leadership among the ninth- and 10th-graders,” says Williams, now retired and living in Lenexa. “When they went to high school, the players were so good there that they didn’t have a chance to compete.”

Students never have been required to audition for the group, but it generally attracts musicians who are either very talented or really love playing their instrument – or both.

Ludwig Johanning, 13, a percussionist in the orchestra, says he enjoys the opportunity to perform different kinds of music than at school. There are other perks, too.

“I get to meet people from different schools,” he says. “It’s fun.”

Despite the early rehearsal time, Basow says orchestra members display an excellent level of commitment.

“If they can’t make it, the next week they always tell me and the reasons are very good in the sense that they’re involved in a History Day project or something that is equally important to them but is a conflict,” she says. “It’s never just, ‘Oh, I decided to sleep in.'”

Most students in the symphony join the group in seventh grade, Basow says, and continue playing until their sophomore year.

“At our March concert, we always recognize our 10th-graders, and we usually have at least 15 to 20,” she says. “Once they start, they tend to stay with it unless their schedule just doesn’t allow.”

Phenomenal energy

Participation in the orchestra is free. The school district donates space for performances and rehearsals. Students practice at Free State and perform at Central.

Friends of Music chips in by printing programs for two concerts a year – one in the fall and one in the spring. They also provide several scholarships for players to attend Kansas University’s Midwestern Music Camp in the summer, and help cover the cost of instruments for students who can’t afford them.

“Often, classical music is considered elitist,” Johanning says. “But this group is a huge stratification of economic and social backgrounds. A lot of these kids come from disadvantaged situations, but they’ve got talent.”

Through the years, the group has performed at a high level, directors say. Founder Larry Williams remembers the orchestra being invited to play at the Kansas Music Educators Association convention in 1977. Basow says the young musicians are capable of creating a wonderful sound.

“When they’re really interested in something, they have a concentration and energy level that is just phenomenal,” she says. “If they’re prepared, they really do a nice job.”