In the fall of 1991, Manhattan School of Music inaugurated the Graduate Program in Orchestral Performance, the first accredited degree program of its kind in the United States. By its mission and design, the program seeks to produce polished musicians of the highest artistic caliber, who are prepared intensively in the orchestral repertoire for careers as symphonic players and who are trained to participate fully in both performance and other nonmusical aspects of life in the modern orchestra, such as orchestra governance, artistic planning, community engagement, and audience development.

The Orchestral Performance Program is by definition a vocational program housed within the conservatory, but with the goal of providing orchestral training at the post-conservatory level. The two-year curriculum includes extensive orchestral performing experience and orchestral curriculum taught by the concertmaster and principal players of the New York Philharmonic, as well as members of the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera and Ballet orchestras, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. The cornerstone of the program is the interaction students have with some of the world's finest orchestral artists and industry professionals, in a variety of performance and coaching formats, classes, and informal conversations. In addition, the program offers a formalized curriculum and thorough sequence in orchestral performance practicum.

Students with a bachelor's degree or equivalent are eligible to apply for the Master of Music Program. Students who have completed a Master's degree or equivalent may apply for the Postgraduate Diploma Program or Professional Studies Certificate Program.

The unique, nonacademic elements of the program include: private study with a faculty of distinguished, professional orchestral musicians, orchestral repertoire coaching with faculty members, master classes and special coaching ensembles with guest orchestral artists, orchestral performances under internationally acclaimed conductors, chamber music coaching, experience in the contemporary orchestral repertoire, extramusical training in community service, the business of orchestral music, and audition preparation.

To listen to audio clips from performances at Manhattan School of Music by our orchestras (including the Chamber Sinfonia) and by faculty and students of the Orchestral Performance program, please visit our Audio Archives page. To view Laurinel Owen's article "Training for the Big Tutti," which offers a unique perspective of the Graduate Program in Orchestral Performance with interviews given by program faculty, students and alumni [originally published in the Strad magazine, November 2005, www.thestrad.com], click here.

Art of Orchestral Performance Master Class Series

One of the extraordinary advantages of studying in New York City is that it is a cultural center and a major tour stop for international and American orchestras. In addition to our program faculty, the most significant orchestral musicians from other parts of the world perform in New York City each season. Master classes on the Art of Orchestral Performance are planned each year for each orchestral instrument by members of international and American orchestras visiting New York City. For a representative list of recent Art of Orchestral Performance master class artists, please click here.

Career Results

In the midst of intense competition, scores of Orchestral Performance program students have won professional positions with leading orchestras such as the New York Philharmonc, the Lyric Opera Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, and the Royal Danish Opera Orchestra, among others. For a representative list of orchestral positions won in recent years, please click here.

Mock Auditions

One of the most necessary training elements for orchestral musicians is the art of taking auditions. Orchestral Performance majors have the opportunity of performing in regularly scheduled mock auditions during the academic year, paralleling preliminary, semifinal, and final orchestra audition standards and practices and adjudicated by program faculty and other musicians from major New York City orchestras and performing ensembles.

Degree Sequence Plans: The degree sequence plans for this program, which will show you what courses and numbers of credits are required for graduation, are found by clicking the link below:

• Orchestral Performance Degree Sequence Plans (divided by degree program)

Here are some decriptions of innovative and important courses that you will be taking as an Orchestral Performance major:

Orchestral Repertoire Coaching Course: The Orchestral Repertoire Coaching course has been designed as a four-semester, two-year sequence of coaching sessions on the craft of orchestral ensemble performance techniques. The course offers students intensive and focused study of and performance experience in the diverse styles and periods of the orchestral repertoire. It is the intention that, in addition to the existing training formats and repertoire programmed for Manhattan School of Music orchestra concerts, the course will uniquely prepare students to win and sustain orchestral positions. The course offers in-depth coverage of representative works in what could be defined as the core repertoire for each instrument, chosen from the diverse styles and representative periods of the orchestral repertoire. Three formats and different environments for learning are used for coaching: weekly individual instrumental sessions taught by Program faculty; monthly instrumental “family” sectionals conducted by Manhattan School of Music faculty and guest artists; and semester's end strings and winds/brass/percussion reading rehearsals, conducted by national and international conductors. Recent conductors include Richard Auldon Clark, Guillermo Figueroa, Sidney Harth, Roger Nierenberg, Peter Oundjian, Gunther Schuller, Robert Spano, Barbara Yahr, Samuel Wong, and Manhattan School of Music resident conductor David Gilbert

Business of Orchestral Music: The Business of Orchestral Music course offers students an in-depth examination of real-world problems in the orchestra business and engages them in an examination of the conditions in the field, not as a formula, but as a set of variables to apply in finding a solution to the current crisis in American orchestras. Community professionals serve as guest lecturers. The course prepares students to be educated participants in the nonperforming activities of orchestras, including community service, orchestra committee participation, artistic planning, fund-raising, audience development, orchestra governance and citizenship, and arts advocacy. Panels of orchestral musicians and union leaders prepare students for their responsibilities as members of orchestra and negotiating committees. Special attention is given to audition preparation. In addition, students prepare professional materials, write mission statements, assess their personal and musical strengths and weaknesses, establish long-term life and career goals, and create action plans for their accomplishment. Catherine C. Cahill, executive director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, instructs the class, and metropolitan-area professionals serve as guest lecturers.

Musician as Educator: Preparation and training as teaching artists in Manhattan School of Music’s nationally recognized educational outreach program is offered in this required course. It has been designed to develop skills and offer experience as a teaching artist in elementary and middle school arts education programs. Students are exposed to a variety of pedagogical methods and materials during the process of writing and delivering classroom introductions and educational concerts in New York City schools, as part of Manhattan School of Music ’s educational outreach program, Music Teaches. As a result of their experience, several alumni have been hired as teaching artists and demonstrators within the New York Philharmonic’s Education Partnership Program. Orchestral majors are encouraged to participate in Manhattan School of Music's multifaceted outreach program, Music in Action by giving concerts in senior citizen homes, hospitals, diverse venues, and schools.

General admission information regarding taped auditions, audition fees, required materials, and applications can be found by visiting our Audition Procedures Page.