The Youth Orchestra is our most advanced orchestra and is reserved for players whose technical skills and musicality are at the highest level. The orchestra receives regular professional coaching and performs in the finest concert halls, including the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, Fisher Center at Bard College, and Carnegie Hall. The Youth Orchestra has undertaken four international tours, most recently in April 2008. Traveling to Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic, the orchestra performed the European premieres of Samuel Adler's A Bridge to Understanding. This piece was commissioned by ESYO for its March 2008 New Music for a New Generation Festival.

In April 2009, the Youth Orchestra will perform with the Empire State Youth Chorale and the Riverside Choir at the famed Riverside Church in New York City.

Every year the orchestra performs in Melodies of Christmas, CBS 6's popular holiday program that has raised more than $5 million for the Child Cancer Program at the Albany Medical Center. A fall rehearsal weekend in the Catskills, an annual young people's concert, a free concert for senior citizens, and a concerto competition round out the program.

Rehearsals: Every Tuesday 7:00 - 10:00 pm at The Albany Academies - East Campus, Albany
Entrance auditions are held in June.

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The Repertory Orchestra is a full symphonic orchestra that provides intermediate-level students with challenging rehearsal and performance opportunities. This ensemble stresses fundamental technical and musical skills and the improvement of sight-reading abilities. The orchestra usually performs three or four concerts during the year and regularly performs with the Youth Orchestra either at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall or Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood. During the 06-07 and 07-08 seasons, the Repertory Orchestra participated in exchange concerts with the Vermont Youth Philharmonia (from Vermont Youth Orchestra). In February 2009, the orchestra was a guest performer at Albany Pro Musica's annual High School Choral Festival at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.

The Repertory Orchestra also participates in the ESYO fall rehearsal weekend in the Catskill Mountains.

Rehearsals: Every Tuesday 7:00 - 9:30 pm at The Albany Academies - East Campus, Albany
Entrance auditions are held in June.

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The Wind Orchestra performs a wide variety of literature, including original wind ensemble pieces, marches, chamber music, and transcriptions of orchestral works. The focus of training is concentrated on performance standards, tone production, precision, musicality, individual and group style, and practice habits. The ensemble gives several concerts a year and has performed occasionaly at Albany's annual Tulip Festival. Along with all of ESYO's ensembles, the Wind Orchestra is a regular performer in ESYO's annual Playathon.

Rehearsals: Every Sunday 2:00 - 4:00 pm at the Massry Center for the Arts, College of Saint Rose
Entrance auditions are held in June.

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Empire State String Ensemble
Joseph Gumpper, Conductor

The String Ensemble gives the least experienced string players training in the techniques of playing in large ensembles and lays the foundation for possible participation in other ESYO ensembles. Supplementing area school string programs, the ensemble gives at least two concerts a year with other ESYO groups and also performs in the annual ESYO Playathon.

Rehearsals: Every Tuesday 6:00 - 8:00 pm at Congregation Beth Emeth, Albany, with rotating Sectionals beginning at 6:00 pm.
Entrance auditions for violins are held on May 30, 2009; all other strings will audition in June. Please see our "Auditions" page for details.

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The Youth Percussion Ensemble provides the most advanced area high school and middle school percussion players with an opportunity to develop and improve ensemble skills under the supervision of several of the area's top percussion players. The ensemble has performed at high schools and colleges throughout the Capital Region and participated in clinics and percussion festivals throughout the northeast. In September 2002, the ensemble appeared on the nationally syndicated radio program "From the Top," which aired on more than 250 NPR stations.

Rehearsals: Every Tuesday 4:00 - 6:00 pm at the University at Albany
Entrance auditions are held in June.

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The Repertory Percussion Ensemble was formed in 1992 as an adjunct to the Youth Percussion Ensemble in order to give some talented and motivated intermediate-level players an opportunity to learn and perform challenging ensemble literature. This group has performed several times at the New Jersey Day of Percussion in Ridgewood and is a regular participant in SUNY Albany's Festival of Contemporary Music.

Rehearsals: Every Sunday 6:00 - 8:00 pm at RPI
Entrance auditions are held in June.

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The Junior Percussion Ensemble was formed in 1998 to give even younger percussion students the opportunity to develop their individual and ensemble skills, to introduce them to the literature, and to give them performance opportunities on a wide variety of percussion instruments. This ensemble is primarily for students in grades 7 through 9.

Rehearsals: Every Sunday 2:45 - 4:45 pm at RPI
Entrance auditions are held in June.

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Formed in 1986, the Jazz Ensemble is comprised of outstanding high school jazz musicians from throughout the Capital Region. Repertoire for the ensemble covers most of the history of jazz from early swing of the 1920s to the exciting jazz/rock fusion of the 1980s to today's contemporary jazz. The Jazz Ensemble has performed at the College of Saint Rose, the Saratoga and Guilderland Performing Arts Centers, at the City of Albany's First Night Celebration, and in 1999 toured Switzerland. In March 2005 the Ensemble was paired with the Eastman Jazz Ensemble in a concert at the NY State Band Directors Association Conference in Syracuse. The ensemble has also worked with guest artists such as "Blue" Lou Marini and Aleln Vizzutti.

Rehearsals: Every Monday 6:00 - 7:30 pm at the Massry Center for the Arts, College of Saint Rose
Entrance auditions are held in June.

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Jazz Ensemble 2 is another example of ESYO responding to the needs of young musicians. Started in 2006, Jazz 2 members are generally slightly younger and less experienced players than those in the Jazz Ensemble. Jazz 2 will provide these players with an opportunity to improve their jazz ensemble and solo improvisational skills though a repertoire covering the history of jazz – the early swing of the 1920s to today's contemporary jazz.

Rehearsals: Every Thursday 6:00 - 8:00 pm at Shenendehowa H.S. East.
Entrance auditions are held in June.

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The City Instruments Training Program is an outreach project that offers instrument instruction to inner-city children. Young students who show particular interest are recommended by their school music teachers and provided with instruments, as needed, and scholarship assistance for weekly private lessons. The program began at the Arbor Hill Elementary School in Albany over 12 years ago for stringed instrument students and became known as "City Strings." It has since expanded over the years and now has three components: City Strings - Albany at Hackett Middle School; City Strings - Schenectady at Oneida, Central Park, and Mont Pleasant middle schools, and City Brass - Troy at Doyle Middle School.

A recital program for area nursing homes, stated in 2007, provides more performance opportunities for these students while showing them the value of sharing their talents. Now in its thirteenth year, the program contributes a service to the community while preparing the young musicians for possible participation in ESYO's String Ensemble or Wind Orchestra or Jazz Ensemble 2, depending upon the instrument.

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ESYO at Proctors Theatre, 432 State St, Schenectady, NY 12305
Phone: 518-382-7581 | Email: esyoed@esyo.org

All material on this site is
Copyright © 2001 Empire State Youth Orchestra, Inc.