The Yale Symphony Orchestra (MUSI 1192) is the largest orchestra in Yale College, with 80-90 accomplished musicians committed to developing the quality and experience of the ensemble during their years in the Orchestra. YSO programming seeks to cover works from the western canon while supporting American classical music and new works by emerging American composers. The YSO rehearses twice weekly and performs a minimum of six concerts per academic year, both on and off campus.
FAQ for Prospective Auditioners
The Halloween show is the most popular Halloween event on campus. Each year, over 2,300 Yalies attend a sold-out Woolsey Hall concert at midnight on Halloween to watch the YSO perform a multimedia extravaganza, featuring a completely self-produced silent film with orchestra performance, with on-screen cameos by famous celebrities and not-so-famous faculty and administration.
Touring is an important part of the Yale Symphony Orchestra experience. These tours help build a greater appreciation and understanding of the world, its peoples, and the importance of music within it.
Learn more on our Tours history page.
The YSO is one of the largest and most diverse groups on campus, populated with people from every social and academic background, united in our love for music. We are as much a family as we are a musical ensemble. We have YSO dinners after every rehearsal and concert after-parties. We also organize all members into YSO families that span instruments and class years. Our annual off-campus retreat sees the players bonding with new membership. Our less formal events include everything from listening parties to movie nights to game days and karaoke. In short, we have a lot of fun inside and outside the rehearsal room.
The Yale Symphony Orchestra rehearses Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00pm to 6:30pm. During concert weeks, additional rehearsals are held on Friday and Saturday afternoons. It is imperative that all members attend each rehearsal in a timely fashion. The more dedicated you are to the orchestra, the more rewarding your experience with the YSO will be. Repeated, non-excused absence is subject to dismissal.
As with any orchestra, it depends on how many people audition in your instrument in a given year. We encourage everyone who plays an orchestral instrument to audition for the Symphony. The YSO requires all of its members to re-audition each year, so prospective members should not be daunted if their section already seems full. Auditioning provides a great experience, and the worst that can happen is you don’t get in. Audition, audition, audition!
Your audition will be 5 minutes long. You will be asked to play two minutes of a solo work, either from a concerto or from your instrument’s solo repertoire, and some of the excerpts pre-selected for your instrument. The Music Director might ask you a few questions about your musical experience. Once all auditions are heard, the Music Director will create the season’s roster of musicians, and you will be notified in person if you’ve been selected to play with the orchestra. The roster will also be posted here.
You can start preparing right now by downloading PDFs of the audition excerpts for your instrument. A link to our online audition sign-ups will be posted a few weeks before the term start, so check back often. Additionally, we encourage you to attend our organizational meeting for specific information about the current season and to let us answer any questions you might have.
The YSO owns three upright basses, a bass trombone, tuba, bassoon, harp, and supplemental wind instruments (alto flute, e-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, English horn, and contrabassoon). We also own or have access to a full batterie of percussion instruments. There is no rental fee for the use of our instruments, but players are responsible for keeping instruments in good working condition. The YSO does not loan its instruments out to other ensembles or students, nor are YSO members permitted to use YSO instruments for outside events. For any other instrument needs, please contact YSO Manager, Brian Robinson.
Yale has many musical opportunities. There are several student-run residential college orchestras, including the Berkeley College Orchestra and the Davenport Pops Orchestra. Wind and brass players can also set their sights on the Yale Concert Band and the Yale Jazz Ensemble. If you’re interested in chamber music, musicians abound at Yale and most are eager to start a small chamber group of their own. Students can even get credit for their chamber music and a School of Music coach by taking MUSI 2220, The Performance of Chamber Music. Additionally, you can play in the pit orchestra of a musical or an opera.
Highly trained musicians at Yale College may qualify for a program that awards course credit for students taking free music lessons. Students audition in September at the Yale School of Music, one of the top music graduate schools in the country, and are matched with instructors, including School of Music faculty and highly trained graduate students. Students who take two semesters of music theory may receive free lessons and college credit. Placement examinations for theory classes are administered by the department of Music in the first week of school. Students who have not fulfilled the theory requirement can still take lessons for a fee but may not receive college credit. For more information, visit the Music Lessons Program page.
The easiest way to get more information is through the YSO Office. The YSO Manager will be glad to help you with any questions you might have via e-mail, or you can visit him in Hendrie Hall. To contact the orchestra by phone, please call the symphony office at (203) 432-4140. If you would like to get in touch with a student, please write to the orchestra’s president.