The Central Illinois Youth Symphony, CIYS, in conjunction with the Central Illinois Concert Orchestra are youth organizations designed to challenge, educate, and stimulate advanced music students in Peoria, Illinois

Peoria, Illinois

Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...

 and the Central Illinois area. CIYS began in 1965 and in conjunction with the CICO has provided over 2500 students with outlets for musical expression. Each year, some 225 students from grades four through twelve audition for positions in string, brass, percussion, and woodwind sections; membership in the CIYS is limited to high school aged students. Members of the CIYS pay a small tuition fee to participate. Rehearsals for the CIYS, CICO, and the Prep String Orchestra are held in Morton, Illinois

Morton, Illinois

Morton is a village in Tazewell County, Illinois, USA, known for its pumpkins and annual Pumpkin Festival. The population was 15,198 at the 2000 census. Morton, the home of a Caterpillar distribution facility and a Libby's pumpkin plant, is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical...

. Management for the organization is a combination of volunteers and paid staff.