First Youth Orchestra Program Performance of the Year

Photos from our recent end-of-year concerts on stage at the Carpenter Theatre ❤️🎻🎺🥁

If you’re as excited for next season as we are, save the date: Our next Youth Orchestra Program performance will take place this fall on Sunday, November 9, 2025 at the Carpenter Theatre! All five ensembles will perform in this concert, featuring approximately 200 students ages 8–18.

Photos by Demetrius Holloway Photography (@whoisholloway).

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Guests to the Richmond Symphony’s Annual Meeting at Hardywood this week were treated to a performance by our very own tubist Isaiah Coles, a 2025 graduate of our Youth Orchestra Program! Isaiah performed a J.S. Bach minuet for solo cello arranged for tuba and participated in a brief Q&A session with Dr. Julie Bemis, our Vice President of Education and Community Engagement, for an audience of Richmond Symphony staff, musicians, Board members, and Foundation members.

Before his recent graduation from New Kent High School, Isaiah was a valued member of the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra for three years, performing works such as Saint-Saëns’s Danse bacchanale, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, and Brahms’s Academic Festival Overture. Isaiah also participated in our Honors seminar and was selected as the only tuba player in the All-Virginia Orchestra multiple times—meaning he is the number one ranked tuba in the state! This fall, he’ll be attending Virginia Commonwealth University for a degree in music performance, studying with Jeff Hudson. Thank you for your beautiful performance this week and for a great three years in YOP, Isaiah—you will be greatly missed next season! 💫🎶

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POV: You and your teacher just finished playing together on stage in our first Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra side-by-side since February 2020—and for an audience of over two thousand! 🌟

At the Richmond Symphony’s Big Tent concert this past weekend, RSYO students took the stage with Symphony musicians for a 45-minute set featuring selections by Tchaikovsky, Tate, and Forsyth. Students of every section played alongside Richmond Symphony musicians, including strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Some students even sat alongside their current teachers! Following the first half of the performance, RSYO returned to the audience to enjoy the rest of the evening.

If you haven’t already heard, we have great news: We are thrilled to announce that in February 2026, RSYO and the Richmond Symphony will come together for a full side-by-side in Carpenter Theatre! This performance will feature full orchestral masterworks played by students and professionals, presented on stage at the Dominion Energy Center—the very theatre where the Richmond Symphony performs on a regular basis.

As the 2025–26 season approaches, we still have space for you to join us on stage! If you still haven’t signed up for your RSYO audition, it’s not too late—visit the link in our bio to submit your virtual audition by the end of the day on Sunday, June 1.

📸 Photos submitted by RSYO double bassist Peter Y., Richmond Symphony double bassist Matt Gold, and @rso_musicians

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Spring concert photo dump 📸🎶 Congratulations to all YOP students who performed in our end-of-season concerts at Carpenter Theatre! Highlights included the world premiere of a work by Richmond Symphony Composer-in-Residence Damien Geter, two concertos performed, a guest performance by Youth Community Strings, 27 graduating seniors honored, and nearly 200 student performers!

We’re gearing up for an exciting 2025–26 season, and we want YOU to be part of it! Whether you’re team strings, woodwinds, brass, or percussion, there’s a space for you among our five ensembles! 🎻🎺🥁🎶

This June is your chance to audition for our intermediate string orchestra, our two full orchestras, and our Percussion Ensemble. In-person audition registration is now closed, but virtual audition registration will remain open until the end of the day on Sunday, June 1, when all submissions are due. Visit the link in our bio to sign up for your audition today! Auditions are not required for our entry-level string ensemble, String Sinfonietta; for more information, visit the interest form linked in our bio.

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Celebrate Memorial Day with Camerata Strings, the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the full Richmond Symphony as part of our annual Big Tent performance! 🎪🎶🌈🎻🎺

First, Camerata Strings and conductor Melissa Jones take the stage, performing a commissioned work by Richmond Symphony Conductor-in-Residence Damien Geter. Then, the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra (RSYO) and the Richmond Symphony come together for a side-by-side performance conducted by Hae Lee, performing works by Tate, Tchaikovsky, and more! We will also feature violist Joe Legutko, winner of the 2024–25 RSYO Concerto Competition, who will perform the first movement of Forsyth’s Viola Concerto in G minor.

Big Tent
Saturday, May 24, 2025 | 6:00 pm
Chimborazo Park
3215 E Broad St, Richmond, VA 23223

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Calling all harp fans! Graduating senior Sylvie Dow will perform Grandjany’s Aria in Classic Style with the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra at our end-of-season concert TONIGHT on Sunday, May 18 at 7:00pm. 🌟 RSYO will also perform Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and the first movement of Forsyth’s Viola Concerto in G minor, with junior Joe Legutko as soloist.

Sunday, May 18 at 7:00pm
Carpenter Theatre at the Dominion Energy Center
Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra and Percussion Ensemble
Admission is free; no ticket required

This June is your chance to audition for our five YOP ensembles—our two string orchestras, our two full orchestras, and our Percussion Ensemble. Auditions for students ages 8–21 will take place in person or virtually in early June. For more information and to sign up for your audition, visit the link in our bio today!

Photo by Dave Parrish (@rvaphotog).

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