This is a list of youth orchestras in the United States. Youth orchestras are performing groups for student musicians. The age range of participants varies; they may include musicians up to

grade 12 Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

or they may include older university and conservatory students. In the United States, youth orchestras are operated primarily for

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

. Some are associated with professional

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

s. Professional symphony orchestras have multiple motivations for sponsoring youth orchestras, including training of young musicians and building future audiences by engaging children with

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. A 2006–7 survey of youth orchestras by the League of American Orchestras found that 75% of the participating orchestral groups were independent, about 19% were affiliated with adult orchestras, and about 3% were associated with educational institutions. The first and oldest U.S. youth orchestra is the Portland Youth Philharmonic, founded in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony Association. Russian émigré Jacques Gershkovitch was the Portland group's first

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

. It was followed in 1935 by the

Young People's Symphony Orchestra Young People's Symphony Orchestra (YPSO) is a youth orchestra located in Berkeley, California. It is the oldest youth orchestra in California and the second oldest in the United States. The youth orchestra performs concerts throughout the San Fra ...

in Berkeley, California, which describes itself as the second oldest independent youth symphony in the country. By 1963, ''Life'' magazine counted about 15,000 youth orchestras in the country and noted that they were producing music of a caliber that could appeal to adult audiences. The USA was slow to create a national youth orchestra. One existed, from 1940 to 1942, established and led by Leopold Stokowski and consisting of instrumental musicians between the ages of 18 and 25. Stokowski personally auditioned many of the 15,000 young musicians who applied to become members of the All-American Youth Orchestra. The orchestra he assembled consisted of about 100 musicians, one-fifth of whom were women. A small number of professional musicians from the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

played with the younger musicians. The All-American Youth Orchestra made several recordings and toured in Latin America as well as the United States during its two years of existence before being disbanded due to the exigencies imposed by U.S. involvement in World War II. In 2012 the Weill Music Institute of

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

launched the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). By March 2013, the names of the 120 musicians chosen by were announced and the orchestra toured Washington, Moscow, St Petersburg and London in July 2013. The National Youth Orchestra continues to operate as of 2022. Adult

s in the United States are in a separate list of symphony orchestras in the United States.

National

* National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America *

Orchestra America Orchestra America (OA) is a nonprofit organization that promotes orchestral high school music education through positively life-changing events and workshops. As a division of Bands of America? it merged in 2006 with the "Music for All Foundation ...

Arizona

Vail Youth Symphony The Vail Youth Symphony (VYS) orchestra, launched in the summer of 2014, is a youth orchestra that provides symphonic experience to young musicians in the Vail, Arizona area and surrounding communities. VYS strongly encourages members to be inv ...

, Tucson

California

* American Youth Symphony *

California Youth Symphony California Youth Symphony (CYS) is a San Francisco Bay Area symphony orchestra for young musicians of high school age and younger. It was founded in 1952 by Aaron Sten and in 1963 became the first United States youth orchestra to tour abroad, pe ...

Los Angeles Junior Philharmonic Orchestra Jr. Philharmonic Orchestra of California is one of the oldest youth orchestras in the United States. It was founded in Los Angeles, California, on January 22, 1937, by Ernst Katz. The Jr. Philharmonic is a non-commercial venture. From its inception ...

Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra With its debut in 1993, the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (PSYO) became the first educational program of Pacific Symphony and is now one of four youth orchestras in the Pacific Symphony Youth Ensembles (PSYE) program. Pacific Symphony Youth Or ...

Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra The Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra or PACO is a youth chamber orchestra based in Palo Alto, California. The emphasis on chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally ...

Sacramento Youth Symphony The Sacramento Youth Symphony (SYS) was founded in 1956 as a 55-member youth orchestra, associated with the Sacramento Symphony Association. The Sacramento Symphony has since ceased operations and the Sacramento Youth Symphony became incorporated as ...

San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO) is the youth orchestra of the San Francisco Symphony. The SFSYO performs an annual concert series and has made several recordings. The orchestra rehearses in Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, dire ...

San Jose Youth Symphony The San Jose Youth Symphony (SJYS) is a non-profit youth orchestra located in San Jose, California. SJYS was founded in 1951. It was originally part of the San Jose Symphony as the San Jose Symphony Youth Orchestra (SJSYO). However, in 2002, whe ...

Winds Across the Bay Winds Across the Bay (Winds) was a non-profit youth orchestra founded in 1993 in the East Bay Area city of El Cerrito, California, with the philosophy that "opportunities must be provided to support and encourage youth in the study and love of in ...

Colorado

Denver Young Artists Orchestra The Denver Young Artists Orchestra Association (DYAO) is one of the leading youth orchestras in the United States today. It was founded in 1977 by Betty Naster and Carl Topilow in Denver, Colorado. The orchestra maintains a close relationship with ...

Connecticut

* Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra * Norwalk Youth Symphony

Florida

* Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras * Florida Young Artists Orchestra * Florida Youth Orchestra *

Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra The Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras, or JSYO, is a youth orchestra based in Jacksonville, Florida. Overview Founded in 1993 under the Jacksonville Symphony Association, the JSYO enrolls more than 400 young musicians between the ages of ...

Metropolitan Area Youth Symphony The Metropolitan Area Youth Symphony (MAYS) is a youth orchestra in the Central Florida region founded in honor of conductor and cellist, Jonathan May. The MAYS is led by Artistic Directors Maureen May and Michael Miller and features eight orchestr ...

Georgia

* Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra * Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra

Illinois

Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) is an orchestral music education organization in Chicago, Illinois that was founded in 1946 to provide music education and instrumental training of the highest quality to Chicago area youth. Organization ...

* Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra * Midwest Young Artists Conservatory

Indiana

* Indianapolis Youth Orchestra

Kentucky

* Louisville Youth Orchestra

Maryland

* Gamer Symphony Orchestra at the University of Maryland * Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras

Massachusetts

Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras The Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) is a youth orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts under the artistic leadership of music director, Federico Cortese. Since 1958, BYSO has served thousands of young musicians from throughout New Engla ...

* Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra

Minnesota

* Minnesota Youth Symphonies * Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra * Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies

Missouri

* Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra

Nevada

* The Young Artists Orchestra of Las Vegas

New Jersey

* New Jersey State Youth Orchestra *

New Jersey Youth Symphony The New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS) is a non-profit organization based in New Providence, New Jersey. Founded in 1979, it provides young instrumentalists from all around New Jersey with music performance and educational experiences. There are th ...

New Mexico

Albuquerque Youth Symphony The Albuquerque Youth Symphony is an organization in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that seeks to implement a passion for music in young musical students. Founded in 1955, the Albuquerque Youth Symphony is one of the oldest youth symphony programs in ...

New York

* The Children's Orchestra Society *

Empire State Youth Orchestra Empire State Youth Orchestras (ESYO) is an ensemble of classical music performing groups aimed at providing talented young musicians with an opportunity to participate in group ensembles with other similar musicians. Based in the Capital Region of ...

* InterSchool Orchestras of New York * New York Youth Symphony * National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America

Ohio

* Akron Youth Symphony * Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra *

Contemporary Youth Orchestra Founded in 1995 by Liza Grossman, Contemporary Youth Orchestra (CYO) is the only youth orchestra in the United States dedicated to the study and performance of contemporary orchestral literature. The orchestra is in residence at Cuyahoga Community ...

Oklahoma

* Tulsa Youth Symphony

Oregon

* Eugene-Springfield Youth Orchestras * Metropolitan Youth Symphony * Portland Youth Philharmonic

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Youth Orchestra The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO) is a youth orchestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's current Music Director is Louis Scaglione. The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra is regarded as one of the best youth orchestras in the world ...

* Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra * Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra

Texas

* Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra *

Youth Orchestras of San Antonio G. Lewis Doll (1901–1985) established the first string program in the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) in the 1940s. At this time, no other public school district in San Antonio offered string instruction. As the SAISD string pr ...

Utah

* Lyceum Philharmonic at American Heritage School

Virginia

* American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras * Peninsula Youth Orchestra *

Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra The Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Program (YOP) is a program for students that introduces them into the world of the symphony. YOP is sponsored by the Richmond Symphony. History The Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra was founded in the spring ...

* Williamsburg Youth Orchestra

Washington

* Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras

Wisconsin

* Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra

Washington, D.C.

* DC Youth Orchestra Program

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Youth orchestras in the United States * *List of youth orchestras in the United States Lists of musicians Lists of organizations based in the United States United States, youth