Our History & Mission

DCYO was created in 2005 by a group of music teachers who wanted to provide an opportunity for students to be involved in music outside the school setting. As a Colorado 501 (C)(3) non-profit, non-discriminatory organization, we develop students' musical understanding, social growth, and self-esteem at a reasonable cost.  We believe that music is an essential part of every student's education, and we are committed to providing the highest quality orchestral experiences possible for our students. DCYO is not affiliated with the Douglas County School District.

Our Conductors

  ​  Thomas A. Blomster
Conductor

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Kari Ellsworth
Assistant Conductor Intern


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​Maestro Blomster is the current music director for the Colorado Chamber Orchestra and the Douglas County Youth Orchestra.   In March 2019, he conducted the North African premiere of Locust the Opera (Dr. Anne Guzzo/Jeffrey Lockwood) in Agadir, Morocco.
 
Blomster began his lifelong love affair with music at the age of four, when his parents took him to an orchestra concert featuring The Little Train of the Caipira by Heiter Villa-Lobos and Ballet Suite from Estancia by Alberto Ginastera, which both featured the percussion. At this concert, he met John Galm, a percussion professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. He studied with Galm through high school.  At 14, Blomster was accepted to the prestigious Aspen Music School to study with Charles Owen, who served as principal percussionist with the Philadelphia Orchestra for 18 years under Maestro Eugene Ormandy. That same summer, Bill Moyers came to Aspen to film a PBS special on Aaron Copland, who spent his summers in residence in Aspen. Owen assigned Blomster the gong part on Copland’s famous piece, Fanfare for the Common Man, with Copland conducting as a part of the PBS special. In addition to working with Copland, Thomas spent four years performing at the Aspen Music Festival, where he also worked and studied with Elliot Carter, Krystof Penderecki, and members of the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony.
 
After high school, Thomas attended the Hochschule fur Musik in West Berlin, Germany, where he studied with members of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Deutsche Opera. Although he was offered a position with the Theatre des Westens after substituting for a fellow percussionist, he decided to return to the United States to attend the University of Louisville (Lousiville, Kentucky).  He studied with timpanist James Rago of the Louisville Orchestra, whom he had met and studied with in Aspen. Blomster soon became a member of the Louisville Orchestra, where he performed and recorded for four years, working with composers Karel Husa, Morton Gould, Michael Colgrass, Lukas Foss, David Amram, Claude Baker, Maestro Lawrence Leighton Smith, and many others. During this time he also performed with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria (Mexico City) and the Evansville Philharmonic (Indiana).
 
In 1984, the Louisville Orchestra went on strike, and Thomas moved to Denver to be timpanist for the Denver Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Joann Falletta. Since then, Thomas has performed with the Colorado Ballet Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, the Boulder Philharmonic, the Fort Collins Symphony, the Denver Municipal Band, the Bedford Springs Music Festival (Pennsylvania), the Colorado Music Festival, and was percussionist and artist-in-residence at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Denver. He also earned a Bachelor of Music Performance from Metropolitan State College of Denver and a Master of Arts in Conducting from the University of Denver. His baton once belonged to Frederick Fennel and is a gift from his mentor and teacher, Dr. William Nichols, who received it as a gift from Dr. Fennel.
 
Blomster has led the following ensembles on the podium: the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, the Denver Chamber Orchestra, the Mostly Strauss Orchestra, the Boulder Brass, the Mile High Community Band, the Youth Orchestra of the Rockies, and was founder and music director of the Mercury Ensemble. He was Assistant Conductor for the Junior Symphony Guild’s educational programs “Inside the Orchestra” and “Tiny Tots” for ten years. He has taught at Red Rocks Community College and Monmouth College (Illinois). In 2017, he was the first Western composer and conductor to work with the State Morin Khuur Ensemble (traditional instrument ensemble) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where he conducted the premiere of his composition Postcards To Mongolia. The score of the composition is now housed at the 2000+ year old Mongolian National Archive.
 
He continues to be a freelance musician, writes and arranges music, plays drum set for Goat Magnet (a jazz group) and La Cocodrila, and has performed in New Zealand with Tempist Fujit, a rock and roll band. His composition, A Brighton Serenade, is the title cut for The Mercury Ensembles’ CD for Sonora Productions.   
 
Thomas resides in Pueblo, Colorado, with his wonderful wife. pianist Noriko “Nikki” Tsuchiya, and enjoys cycling, hiking, and gardening when he gets a break from his many demanding musical roles. 
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Kari Ellsworth is our Assistant Conductor Intern for the 2020 season.  She is also the Associate Orchestra Director for the Colorado Saints Chorale & Orchestra of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and serves as newsletter editor for the Douglas-Elbert Music Teacher Association.  


Kari's love of music began at a young age, and she began teaching piano and violin lessons at the age of 14. By the time she graduated high school, she had a music studio of about 20 students. In 2004, she earned her bachelor’s degree in music education with a violin emphasis at Arizona State University. After college, Kari had the unique opportunity to play with the University of Notre Dame Symphony Orchestra and take private violin lessons on campus while her husband, Josh, worked on his MBA.

Kari has taught a variety of instruments for the past 23 years, including piano, violin, viola, cello, and acoustic guitar. She thoroughly enjoys not only playing and creating music, but teaching it to others with the hope they may find the same joy in music. 

Kari resides in Parker with her husband, Josh, who is on the DCYO board, and their six children.
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