Alaska Youth Orchestras, Home of the Anchorage Youth Symphony

Building a community where music education and performance are valued and shared through diverse programs and creative partnerships which serve more than 500 of Southcentral Alaska’s youth, from kindergarten to college, each year!

Alaska Youth Orchestras offers two performing ensemble programs, the Anchorage Youth Symphony and Symphony School Ensembles. Teaching responsibility, commitment, self-confidence, discipline, and teamwork through music education and performance, these programs, along with our nonperforming programs, serve our community in a unique and important way. 

1. The Anchorage Youth Symphony (AYS) is the most advanced performing ensemble and is open to musicians in grade 9 or age 14 through college at the start of the next season. We proudly offer the only community-based large ensemble symphonic opportunity in Southcentral Alaska, with participants from as far away as Homer and Kodiak. AYS rehearses weekly throughout the school year on Monday evenings from 5:30-8 pm, at The Nave (3502 Spenard Rd.) and is the featured performance during all AYO Celebration Concerts held at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts.

AYS selects musicians through a video audition process which opens the spring prior to the season that musicians are auditioning for. Through this process, musicians are selected to learn, rehearse, and perform together during the following season – August-May. A nonrefundable audition fee ($35, paid through Acceptd) is required for all applicants. If accepted into AYS, musicians must also pay a tuition fee ($700, paid through AYO's website), which covers the entire season. Payment arrangements are available. Accepted musicians may apply for a need-based scholarship. Contact our office for further information.

2. Symphony School Ensembles are the newest addition to our AYO family of programs. Preparing youth musicians in grades 4-12, (adv. beginner to intermediate skill level) step by step, for participation in the Anchorage Youth Symphony, as well as for greater musical achievement in other community and school music programs. 

Symphony School Ensembles screens participants for placement just before the upcoming session rather than requiring auditions the previous spring like AYS. This means that all applicants who play at an advanced beginner level or above are accepted until capacity is reached. Once screened, musicians are placed in the Symphony School Ensemble that best matches their skill level. Symphony School Ensembles perform during select AYO Celebration Concerts at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. 

A nonrefundable screening fee ($35, paid through Acceptd) is required for all applicants. When placed in an ensemble, musicians must also pay a tuition fee ($225, paid through our website) which covers the current session. Payment arrangements are available. Accepted musicians may apply for a need-based scholarship. Contact our office for further information.

To audition for the Anchorage Youth Symphony or to screen for Symphony School Ensembles, please click on "Select Ensemble" to indicate your choice. Then click on "Select Program" to choose your instrument and begin your application. Applications may be saved and completed at a later date. Visit the AYO website's Anchorage Youth Symphony and Symphony School pages for details and instructions on auditions and screening. https://www.alaskayouthorchestras.org/

For any questions, contact OC@AlaskaYouthOrchestras.org or call 907-538-6406.

Alaska Youth Orchestras is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, tax ID: 92-0082750. Tuition fees cover only about 30% of the cost for each musician, with the remaining 70% of coming from generous donors, foundations, corporations, and small businesses from across Alaska and beyond. 

 
For technical questions, please reach out to the Acceptd Applicant Support Help Desk.