In recent years, some half-dozen of the Conference's children (most of them alumni of the Youth Concerts) have gone on as teenagers to participate in the general musical life of the conference. Typically these second-generation participants begin by playing in occasional freelance groups with adults, thus gaining experience with the music and musicians of the conference on an informal and ad-hoc basis while remaining socially integrated with the community of kids. In late high school, they begin signing up to be coached, often starting out with a single coached group in the first year.The rate at which they then take on a heavier coaching load varies from person to person—some quickly embrace the schedule of a full-time participant, while others prefer to take the transition to adulthood more slowly. In either case, second-generation participants receive support during this transition from many directions: from their parents, from the adults of the community, from the younger of the first-generation participants (into which the "former kids" merge in a seamless continuum), and, of course, from one another.
  Want to bring or come as a second-generation participant? Check the discussion forum to find out which weeks other second-generation participants are coming next year.