PYO Music Institute Ensembles

UPDATE - June 23:  Auditions will be held in-person at St. Patrick Hall this September. Please visit pyomusic.org to schedule an in-person audition! Online auditions will still be accepted through Acceptd until Saturday, July 31. 

About

The renowned Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute, now in its 81st season, is one of the nation’s oldest and most respected community music education and youth orchestra performance programs. Training tomorrow’s leaders, PYO provides talented young musicians from across the tri-state area with exceptional musical training. Students go on to excel in many diverse fields, and it is with pride that PYO Music Institute notes that many members of the prestigious Philadelphia Orchestra are alumni. For more information, please visit pyomusic.org.

The anchor group is the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), conducted by President and Music Director Louis Scaglione, featuring 130 gifted instrumentalists who range in age from 15-21. Young musicians 13-18 years old are featured in PYO’s companion ensemble, the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO), which is led by Director and Conductor Maestra Rosalind Erwin, who is Music Director and Conductor of Drexel University Orchestra. Young Musicians Debut Orchestra (YMDO), formerly the Philadelphia Young Musicians Orchestra (PYMO), directed by Maestro Kenneth Bean, is a beginning to intermediate-level full symphonic orchestra that provides most students with their first introduction to large orchestral playing featuring students aged 11-17 years old. Bravo Brass, directed by Curtis Institute of Music Dean, Paul Bryan, is an all-brass ensemble for promising middle and high-school instrumentalists. Prysm Strings and Prysm Strings Young Artists, formerly PRYSM (Philadelphia Region Youth String Music) and PRYSM Young Artists, provide string large ensemble and sectional master class instruction for beginning and intermediate musicians ages 6-14. The director and conductor of Prysm Strings is Gloria DePasquale, cellist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and conductor of Prysm Strings Young Artists is Andrea Weber. Tune Up Philly - Orchestral Pathways Program (TUP) is PYO’s after-school music program, directed by Paul Smith, that focuses on creating and inspiring true community by providing children in under-resourced communities with invaluable opportunities to learn and perform a differentiated orchestral music curriculum.

Audition Requirements

Before submitting your application, please be sure to carefully review the audition requirements for your instrument, by ensemble at pyomusic.org/audition. Please also review the following video submission guidelines:

PYO/PYAO/YMDO Video Submission Guidelines

Prysm Strings Video Submission Guidelines

Bravo Brass Video Submission Guidelines

Apply

To submit your application and audition, first select the ensemble and instrument you wish to apply for from the dropdown menus. You will then be prompted to create an Acceptd account if you do not already have one created. You will then be able to:

• Input your application information
• Upload your audition materials
• Submit your audition

Note: There is no fee to submit your audition. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Oatts at the PYO Music Institute office at 215-545-0502 or eoatts@pyomusic.org.

For technical questions, please visit the Acceptd Help Desk.