Youth orchestra hosting tea

Hill Country Youth Orchestras will host “High Tea in the Hill Country” on Saturday, June 11, at Riverhill Country Club, 741 Oakland Hills Lane in Kerrville, with all proceeds benefiting the Hill Country Youth Orchestras Scholarship Fund.

Anna, the wife of the 7th duke of Bedford, is credited with the introduction of afternoon tea in England in the mid-1880s. Because dinner was served fashionably late around eight o’clock in the evening, the Duchess requested that a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake be served in the afternoon. The Duchess’s afternoon tea time became a fashionable social event with ladies wearing gowns, gloves and hats for afternoon tea.

High Tea in the Hill Country will offer a selection of savory sandwiches, scones, cakes and pastries served with tea in traditional tea cups.

In the true spirit of an English tea, guests attending “High Tea in the Hill Country” are encouraged to wear their finest hats for a festive time of tea, playing Tea Pot Bingo, and listening to music provided by our HCYO students in the gracious surroundings of the beautiful Riverhill Country Club.

There will be two seatings for the tea — one at 11:00 a.m. and another at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person.. Tickets must be purchased in advance (no tickets will be sold at the door) and are available by contacting HCYO at development@hcyo.org. The deadline to purchase tickets is June 3. Seating is limited.

Hill Country Youth Orchestras (HCYO) offers free tuition to all children who participate regardless of race, color, creed, disability, or economic status.

For more than 30 years the HCYO mission has been to “bring the joy of the orchestra experience to the youth of the Texas Hill Country” with the vision to nurture, encourage and assist young musicians by sharing the love and joy of music through quality instruction, concert performances, and community service. The core HCYO belief is that unlimited and early exposure to music fosters lifelong recognition of its value and instills life skills, development of leadership, teamwork, responsibility, and discipline.

Students from throughout the Texas Hill Country participate in the program annually. In addition to its main campus in Kerrville, HCYO has campuses in Fredericksburg and Boerne.