Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra

LOYO began as the Conejo Youth Symphony, i n 1961, at California Lutheran University under Dr. Robert Zimmerman, Professor Betty Bowen, and Walter Burkedahl, who saw the need for an ensemble for the students at the university. Professor Bowen became the founder and conductor of this new ensemble which began as a Saturday conservatory, and held their first rehearsals in an old farm house, rumored to be a converted chicken coop, on the college campus. The program hosted a single orchestra with a wide variety of skill levels, but quickly gained recognition beyond Thousand Oaks.