Youth Orchestra Program

Congratulations to our Youth Orchestra Program students selected to participate in this year’s prestigious All-Virginia Band, Chorus, and Orchestra event! All-Virginia ensembles bring together the top student musicians from across the state, and this year’s event will culminate in an afternoon of performances on Saturday, April 18. The following students will represent the Richmond Symphony […]

The Richmond Symphony is pleased to announce composer Joe Jaxson as its next Composer-in-Residence starting in the 2026–27 season. As part of his work with the Richmond Symphony, Jaxson will work with the Richmond Symphony School of Music’s educational initiatives, including the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Program, Young Composers Seminar, and more. We are beyond

Two of our Honors chamber groups recently performed at Pathways to Purpose and Prosperity in Virginia Schools, an event hosted at the Library of Virginia that featured prominent policy makers, employers, and education innovators discussing the importance of career-based learning. A number of Virginia state officials were in attendance, including Governor of Virginia Abigail Spanberger.

The Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra recently made its podcast debut! At our November 2025 All YOP Ensembles Showcase, the string musicians of RSYO performed the world premiere of Pastoral, which was composed by Claudia Andrade Ayala and was inspired by a poem by Hannah Bonner. RSYO’s performance of Pastoral was included at the end of the Blackbird Literary

This February was full of fun for the Richmond Symphony School of Music! A couple of weeks after the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra’s Side-by-Side with the Richmond Symphony at the start of the month, nearly forty different school groups filled the Carpenter Theatre for our Hopkins-Eggleston Discovery Concerts: Carnival of the Animals. Students from all over

The Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra’s next concert is just around the corner—and it’s one you won’t want to miss! RSYO will come together with the Richmond Symphony on Tuesday, February 3 for their first side-by-side concert since February 2020, weaving youth orchestra students together with professional musicians in each section of the orchestra. Repertoire will

This season, we’re branching out our social media platforms and the RSSoM newsletter to include stories from our YOP community, both past and present. Whether you played in our program for one year or ten and whether you work in the performing arts or another industry, we’d love to highlight you and your experiences in

The Richmond Symphony and the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, our pre-professional youth ensemble, come together in a special side-by-side performance, weaving youth orchestra students with Richmond Symphony musicians in each section of the orchestra. Repertoire will include Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 2, and more. Mark the date now for