NPC: 2013173339/08 | PBO: 930057362 | NPO: 132-992
NPC: 2013173339/08 | PBO: 930057362 | NPO: 132-992
The West Coast Youth Orchestra® (WCYO) is a culturally diverse non-profit organisation dedicated to creating meaningful musical opportunities for young people across the South African West Coast. We offer all our musicians the chance to perform in a wide range of ensembles, bands, and orchestras – while also running extensive outreach, development, and educational programmes in underserved communities.
What began in 1996 as a small, mixed ensemble, founded by Mrs Carina Brown, has grown into a thriving network of youth ensembles, known as West Coast Youth Orchestra (WCYO). Under Carina’s expert guidance the WCYO expanded and participated in national and international events, eisteddfods, festivals and competitions, achieving remarkable success.
Outreach Programmes are driven with passion in underprivileged areas to uplift our local youth by stimulating creativity, improving school attendance and academic performance, and providing safe, positive alternatives that keep young people engaged and off the streets.
Over the years Mrs Brown was the recipient of various outstanding achievements, like the Impumelelo Social Innovations Award (2017), the Saldanha Bay Municipality Youth Community Award (2018), the SASMT (The South African Society of Music Teachers) award for Excellence in Music Education (2020) and most recently in 2025 she received a Phenomenal Woman Certificate as part of the HCI Foundation’s Phenomenal Woman series.
Senior Orchestra | Junior Orchestra | Junior and Senior String Orchestra | Junior and Senior Wind Ensemble | Jazz and Contemporary Bands | Various Chamber Groups and Ensemble Combinations
Our programmes are built on solid foundations that benefit students, schools, and their wider communities. We aim to create lasting partnerships with local leaders while addressing the pressing social and cultural needs of the region.
Our primary focus is on children, youth, and young adults. We believe every young person deserves access to quality music education, regardless of their background, ability, or socio-economic status.
At WCYO, we believe that music education is a right, not a privilege.
WCYO is deeply committed to giving back to the community through meaningful outreach and partnerships. The organisation regularly hosts music and art mornings at a local care village, bringing joy and creative engagement to residents, and facilitates fun, inclusive music stimulation sessions for special needs children and their caregivers.
WCYO has also run a food project to help feed previously disadvantaged youth, donated a freezer to a children’s home, and regularly provides colouring in books, clothes and shoes to care facilities and children’s homes.
In addition to these hands-on initiatives, WCYO supports children’s homes and other NPOs through ongoing donations and resource sharing. By collaborating with fellow nonprofit organisations on awareness initiatives and community projects, WCYO strives to use music and the arts as a bridge for connection, compassion and positive social impact across the West Coast.
