Link Up – A Carnegie Hall Initiative

La Jolla Symphony & Chorus is excited to partner with Villa Musica to present Link Up, a Carnegie Hall program that introduces students in grades 3–5 to the orchestra by helping them to become a part of it.

What is Link Up?

Link Up, a program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, pairs orchestras with students in grades 3–5 at schools in their local communities to explore orchestral repertoire through a hands-on music curriculum. Students participating in Link Up attend a culminating concert, in which they sing and play recorder or violin with the orchestra from their seats. Students also compose and perform their own pieces inspired by the orchestral repertoire studied.

Since 2003, Carnegie Hall has partnered with local professional, community, and university orchestras to offer Link Up at sites across the United States and around the world. La Jolla Symphony & Chorus and Villa Musica are thrilled to join this outstanding program.

Upcoming Program:

2026: The Orchestra Sings II

Participating schools: Carson Elementary, Chesterton Elementary, Linda Vista Elementary, Jones Elementary, San Diego Global Vision Academy, Carver Elementary, Sherman Elementary, Hardy Elementary, Nipaquay Elementary, Dimensions Collaborative

CONDUCTOR

Conductor Dana Zimbric has been benefitting children throughout San Diego County with music education since 2003. This classically-trained conductor is on a mission to make classical music relevant, engaging and accessible for today’s audiences. She holds a Bachelor’s of Music and a Master’s of Music in Orchestral Conducting. In a competitive field that severely lacks women in leadership positions, she is paving the way for future female conductors. In addition to her work with Classics 4 Kids, she holds positions as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the California Chamber Orchestra in Temecula and Staff Conductor with Golden State Ballet. She is also a frequent coach, judge and guest conductor at festivals and schools throughout Southern California.

HOSTS

Link Up host Becca Myers is a multi-hyphenate theatre artist: producer, actor, singer, director, and educator who gets joy from everything theatre! Becca is currently working as the Interim Literary Associate of The Old Globe Theatre and as the Producing Director of the Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival. Becca also spends much of the year serving as a director, emcee, actor, and writer in San Diego. Becca is currently the drama teacher at Mt. Everest Academy, where she works with students over the course of a year to vision, develop, write, and finally produce a fully staged new play, performed by students of all ages. In 2018, Becca received the Sandy Fisher Award for Excellence in the Creative Arts which is awarded for exceptional work in theatre, including behind the scenes support, activism, and onstage work.

Student Co-host Clara Stone is in the 8th grade and attends Bishops school. Her favorite subject is science, and she recently participated in a class where she performed a musical review with songs from Suffs, The Prom, and other musicals and monologues that students wrote. Her favorite composer is Shostakovich, and her favorite musical is Wicked.

Previous Programs:

2025: The Orchestra Moves II

2024: The Orchestra Sings

2023: The Orchestra Moves

Link Up Sponsors: