Live performance experience is essential to the education and career path of all professional musicians. The Orchestral Studies and Operations department at Manhattan School of Music is the center of orchestral-based performance experience and is an important part of the education of students in the string, woodwind, brass, percussion, and harp departments.

There are five orchestras at Manhattan School of Music:

• Symphony Orchestra
• Philharmonia Orchestra
• Chamber Sinfonia
• Conductor's Orchestra
• Jazz Philharmonic

Our orchestras — which all perform regularly in the School's main venue, John C. Borden Auditorium — provide orchestral instrumentalists with the opportunity to participate in performance open to the public. The four performing orchestras perform repertoire from the standard as well as twentieth-century symphonic, chamber, and jazz orchestra literature. The conductor's orchestra is a non-performing lab orchestra provided to our conducting majors. The Jazz Philharmonic is our newest ensemble and provides valuable experience in working with scores that combine the instrumentation of the traditional symphony orchestra with jazz and commercial music.

We are proud of our symphonic performance history featuring such dynamic conductors in recent years as: Kurt Masur, Gerard Schwarz, Jerzy Semkow, Philippe Entremont, Gunther Schuller, Pierre Boulez, Graziella Contratto, Kenneth Kiesler, JoAnn Falletta, John Mauceri, Jean-Bernard Pommier, David Robertson, Julius Rudel, Claudio Vandelli, George Manahan, and Zdenek Macal.

Manhattan School of Music has been named the first-place winner of the ASCAP award for adventuresome programming numerous times by the American Symphony Orchestra League.

Information for Current Students

• To download the rehearsal schedule for this academic year, click here.
• If you would like to be excused from an orchestra rehearsal please print, fill out, and return a completed Release Request to the orchestra manager in Room 202. To download the rehearsal release request form, click here.