2018: Substantial Growth, New Horizons, and Global Reach

The year 2018 was a landmark period for the IMPACT Youth Club as we achieved a new milestone: expanding our operations from Central New Jersey into South New Jersey. This geographic growth was accompanied by a huge jump in membership, bringing our total committed volunteers to over 70 members!

Our increased capacity allowed us to deepen our community commitment. We expanded our signature Senior Center Concerts program to 10 centers across the region, consistently bringing joy through music and holiday craft activities. In July IYC proudly celebrated its 5th International Concert and Cultural Tour, traveling to the historic musical city of Vienna, Austria. This amazing trip provided our young musicians with an invaluable performing and cultural exchange opportunity on the world stage.

The dedication and passion of our growing volunteer base continued to be recognized, with more young volunteers earning the prestigious President's Volunteer Service Award (PVSA). Below you will find the full stories and highlights from our unforgettable 2018.

The Global Stage: Vienna, Austria — Our 6th International Tour

The summer of 2018 marked the IYC's triumphant return to the international stage for its 6th International Performance Trip. The destination was Vienna, Austria, the revered capital of classical music. Our talented young musicians fully immersed themselves in this cultural capital. The highlight of the tour was a prestigious concert performance held at the Mozart House, a truly unforgettable venue where IYC's musicians showcased their skill. Beyond their own performance, the group toured countless historical sites and attended concerts in many of the city's most famous venues and music halls. This was a profoundly memorable trip that provided unparalleled cultural and musical enrichment.

Positive Impact Within Our Community

Elsie Wang was the president of IYC during the 2018-2019 years and a student of Stanford University’s Class of 2023. As a studious student and a passionate volunteer, Elsie spoke with podcast host, Kelvin, and talked about her thoughts on the impact IYC has made on her life. Elsie also goes into detail regarding the overall benefits of IYC and her advice for all members of our organization. Please view the below transcript from the IYC Podcast and learn about the great positive impact IYC has on the community within itself.

FULL STORY

Young Artists Competition Backstage

- By Renee Cai

Many pianists may audition and win piano competitions, but not many have the opportunity to help the process go along, much less do so at Carnegie Hall. With IYC, I have been able to go and help out with both the audition process and performance day at Carnegie Hall. Performance day can become very stressful when you need to both take care of the performers and prepare to perform yourself, but the teachers helping make it very easy. While both ensuring that the performers are ready and trying to help ease their nerves, it is a very rewarding process to see their joy and their parents' pride when the trophies are given out. Though I spend an entire day helping out, it does not feel like boring, meaningless work. Instead I have fun running around gathering the next performers, talking to them, and seeing the end product of pride and happiness by the end of each concert.

My First Experience

- By Edison Tong

We recently had a senior center concert in Fellowship Village, Basking Ridge NJ. We were initially greeted by an eager audience of seniors that was excited to see us play. I thought that this was a great experience to have and I would recommend it to anyone. By hosting a concert, you are able to learn many life skills that you may not learn anywhere else. When I was organizing this event, it was imperative that I worked with adults to organize this. I worked with the adults in Fellowship Village to set this entire concert up to make it successful. Hosting a concert can also boost your self-confidence because you are speaking in front of a big audience. In addition to that, if you are a performer, you will also be playing an instrument in front of a bunch of people to boost your self-confidence. Playing in front of a big crowd also boosts your musical skills. I find myself practicing more before a concert to be sure that I put out the best performance plausible. I’m excited to host another concert in the near future, and I hope that we can put in an even better one next time!

Lyla's Story

- By Andy Pei

This story is about Lyla Aronson, a wonderful senior center resident, and how our music influenced her. After one of our concerts at Chelsea, we were contacted by the senior director. “One of our residents, Lyla Aronson, used to play piano and would love to be selected on Saturday to try her hands at the piano with you.”

We rehearsed together, and there she told us her story. Lyla used to play the piano when she was a young child. She was extremely talented but stopped playing after her husband, a US military officer, died in the line of duty. With a limited federal pension, she had to work multiple jobs to support her two children and pay for their college studies. After years of hard work, she’s retired and living at Chelsea. She said she is inspired by our music, and with the new piano in their recreation room, she wants to try playing more from now on.

Lyla told us about her two favorite songs: Moonlight Sonata and Malaguena. We all signed a copy of Moonlight Sonata and gifted it to her during our recital. She was so happy to receive the gift. It was truly a heartwarming experience to be able to interact with one of the residents, and we hope that even more people are influenced by what we are doing here at IMPACT.

A Year of IMPACT: 2018 Recap

From nearly doubling our membership and successfully expanding into South Jersey, to delivering joy at 10 senior centers and performing on the grandest stages in Vienna, 2018 was truly an extraordinary year of growth and achievement. We are deeply grateful to every student, teacher, and community member who contributed their time and passion to making these memories possible. Thank you all IYC members for making 2018 a year of profound impact!