Link Up!
Link Up 2026
“The Orchestra Swings”
March & May at the Craterian Theater
General registration for Link Up 2026 is now closed for additional inquiries and possible accommodations, please email our Link Up Coordinator,
Holly Mason, at linkup@rvsymphony.org
Link Up is a music education program created by Carnegie Hall to unite the classroom with the concert hall, giving students in grades 3–5 the opportunity to explore music through a year-long curriculum of classroom activities and a culminating concert in which students perform with a professional orchestra. As Carnegie Hall’s longest-running and most popular school-based education program, Link Up has become a model for implementing high-quality arts education in schools in New York City and nationwide. Since 2003, Carnegie Hall has partnered with local professional, community, and university orchestras to offer Link Up at sites across the United States. Through this partnership, Carnegie Hall aims to support orchestras’ existing education programs, strengthen their partnerships with local schools, and provide high-quality curricula, resources, professional development, and other support to ensure that students engage in a meaningful musical experience and gain a life-long appreciation for music.
We have a $5/student participation fee with scholarships available upon request
Due to the number of schools participating, we can offer a limit of up to 100 scholarships per school
Your school receives at NO COST:
- A one-hour Professional Development workshop and additional optional Carnegie Hall webinars
- The Link Up Teacher’s Guide and full student access to the online curriculum
- Access to Carnegie Hall’s online resources for Link Up and other educational support music, materials, and games
- Ongoing individual support in preparation for the Link Up concert
Link Up Partner Schools are responsible for:
Provide transportation to the Craterian Theater
Provide recorders for each participating student (Link Up discount if ordered from Peripole)
Teach the Link Up curriculum in the classroom and prepare students for success in the concert
Rogue Valley Symphony’s 2024 Link Up Concert featured elementary school students from 10 schools across Jackson County performing and moving along with the Symphony in this end-of-the-year performance. Here, the students joined in with teachers, soloists and the musical ensemble in a MOVING rendition of “Oye!” Featured here is Central Point Elementary!
Classical Coaches
The Classical Coaches in the Classroom program serves more than 1,000 6th -12th-grade students each school year, placing professional musicians from the Rogue Valley Symphony in the middle and high school orchestra and band classrooms to work with students in sectionals and large group configurations.
Through this program, middle and high school students focused on music as a course of study can hone their skills and improve their understanding of their instrument and the music they are performing.
Musical Mentors
Musical Mentors education program provides individual students free private music lessons with a member of the Rogue Valley Symphony. We offer need-based scholarships to students in grades 6-12. If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact our Education Coordinator, Bryan Jeffs, at education@rvsymphony.org or call 541-315-7076.
I wanted to share my sincere gratitude with you all on your willingness to help out my students at North Medford. What an awesome program for RVSO to offer to augment current school music programs! Your time spent of the behalf of my students and myself is greatly appreciated.
Lynn Gervais, North Medford High School Orchestra Teacher
When I first arrived in Medford, I often lamented the fact that very few of my students (probably less than 3%) take private lessons. Having grown up in Corvallis, a community in which everyone in my orchestra took individual lessons, I had always anticipated that I would work in a similar situation. This created frustration early on, but I soon discovered that I love working with these Medford kids and seeing them get excited about their instrument and music, something they might not be exposed to without my class. I have come to the conclusion that I am more effective in a community such as Medford rather than somewhere like Corvallis where kids will thrive regardless due to a different set of circumstances relating to clientele, education, finances, and level of musical awareness among parents and community members.
While I have the students “hooked” in orchestra, so to speak, your individual expertise is so valuable because I am not able to focus on specifics of instrument technique in a group setting. For the vast majority of my students, the time you share your knowledge with them is the closest they will ever come to a “private lesson”. This is priceless for these kids.
Thank you SO much, and I hope we will be able to continue this for future years!