| Date | Composer | Title | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/10/2018 | Caroline Shaw | Music in Common Time (orchestral version) | World | |
| 11/11/2017 | Max Vinetz | Unraveling | World | |
| 4/21/2016 | Daniel Schlosberg | Small Talk | New York | commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, dedicated to Toshi’s 10th Anniversary |
| 4/16/2016 | Daniel Schlosberg | Small Talk | World | commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, dedicated to Toshi’s 10th Anniversary |
| 4/2/2016 | Loren Loiacono | Bossa Continuo | World | commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, dedicated to Toshi’s 10th Anniversary |
| 11/14/2015 | Eric Nathan | This Old Place | World | commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, dedicated to Toshi’s 10th Anniversary |
| 10/3/2015 | Brian Samuel Robinson | Anniversary Fanfare | World | dedicated to Toshiyuki Shimada’s 10th Anniversary as Music Director of the YSO |
| 10/11/2014 | Philip Anthony Heinrich | The Columbiad | North American | |
| 2/18/2012 | Brian Samuel Robinson | Music of Unexpected Enthusiasm and Naivete | World | |
| 4/2/2011 | Ted Hearne | Partitions | World | |
| 10/3/2009 | Loren Loiacono | Pas de Deux | World | |
| 4/18/2009 | Timo Andres | Bathtub Shrine | World | |
| 3/29/2009 | Jonny Greenwood | Popcorn Superhet Receiver | New Haven | |
| 11/10/2007 | Nancy Van de Vate | Western Front | U.S. | |
| 2/3/2007 | Brian Samuel Robinson | The Revelation | World | |
| 10/15/2005 | Thomas Duffy | Tempus Fugit III | World | |
| 4/19/1997 | Delvyn Case | Protean Slip | World | |
| 3/1/1997 | Jeffrey Louie | Sentimezzo and Fugit | World | |
| 10/15/1995 | Syam Gadde | Three Dances | World | won the Yale Symphony Orchestra Composition contest in 1993 |
| 2/5/1994 | Mark Bradley (orchestrator) | Phantasie in C, Op. 17 (Schumann) | World? | |
| 4/24/1993 | Peter Askim | World | ||
| 2/1/1992 | Alexander Glantz | The Confidence Man: His Masquerade | World | |
| 10/11/1991 | Hans-Christian Bartel | Concerto for Orchestra | U.S. | |
| 4/23/1988 | Robert Kyr | The Fifth Season | World | commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra with funds from Friends of Music at Yale |
| 2/28/1987 | Adam Guettel | Bayotta’s Inauguration | World | |
| 3/1/1986 | Franz Schreker | Vom Ewigen Leben | U.S. | |
| 3/2/1985 | William Holab | Ode to a Nightengale | World | |
| 4/23/1977 | Claude Debussy | La Chute de la Maison Usher | World | |
| 10/30/1976 | Max Bruch | Concerto for Two Pianos | New England | |
| 3/13/1976 | Charles Ives | The Yale-Princeton Game | Chicago | |
| 3/13/1976 | Yehudi Wyner | Concerto da Camera | Chicago | |
| 2/14/1976 | Carl Ruggles | Sun-treader | New Haven | |
| 2/14/1976 | Robert Carl | Raptures | World | won the Yale Symphony Orchestra Composition contest in 1975 |
| 2/14/1976 | Yehudi Wyner | Concerto da Camera | New Haven | |
| 2/14/1976 | Charles Ives | The Yale-Princeton Game | World (new edition) | |
| 3/29/1974 | Richard Strauss | Der Rosenkavalier | U.S. | |
| 3/4/1973 | Stephen Paul Hartke | Passion, Poison, and Petrifaction: The Romantic Gesture in Aspic | World | |
| 2/17/1973 | Leonard Bernstein | Mass | European | |
| 2/20/1970 | Alvin Singleton | Mestizo II | World | |
| 11/22/1969 | Alexander Scriabin | Prometheus, the Poem of Fire | U.S. | |
| 11/22/1969 | Claude Debussy | Khamma | U.S. | |
| 5/10/1969 | Claude Debussy | Première Rhapsodie for Clarinet | New Haven | |
| 5/10/1969 | Richard Strauss | Concerto for Oboe | New Haven | |
| 2/22/1969 | Igor Stravinsky | Jeu de Cartes | New Haven | |
| 12/15/1968 | Claude Debussy | Jeux | New Haven | |
| 11/16/1968 | Humphrey Evans III | Night Sky Music 2 | World | |
| 11/16/1968 | Peter Schulthorpe | Sun Music #1 | New Haven | |
| 11/16/1968 | John Cage | Atlas Eclipticalis | New Haven | |
| 11/16/1968 | Arnold Schoenberg | A Survivor from Warsaw | New Haven | |
| 3/10/1968 | Benjamin Britten | The Building of the House | East Coast | |
| 3/4/1966 | Janacek | Sinfonietta | New England | |
In addition to performing the fundamental works that make up the classical canon, the YSO is exceptionally proud of its legacy as an advocate for premiering new works and obscure pieces in the catalogue of established composers. We have given US and World premieres of works by Benjamin Britten, Claude Debussy, Leonard Bernstein, Richard Strauss, and Alexander Scriabin; debuted new editions and orchestrations of major works by Charles Ives and Robert Schumann, and premiered and commissioned new works by contemporary composers. All of which makes up the fabric of an orchestra dedicated to promoting a living artistic medium while respecting its cherished history.
It is our goal to have enough funding available to the YSO to allow us to perform and commission even more new music, and to champion rarely performed 20th- and 21st-century works. We hope that by introducing new music to the Yale undergraduate community, we can demystify contemporary works and keep classical music alive for future generations.