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 Podcast’s second episode, “Fledgling, Flight.” To listen to the podcast, click here. Thank you to our friends at the Blackbird Literary Podcast for partnering with us on this project!
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This could be you: a member of the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Program! Audition registration for our 2026–27 season is officially open starting today! 🎻🪈🎺🥁🎶
Students will have the option to audition in person or virtually, with in-person auditions taking place on Saturday, June 6 and virtual audition submissions being due on Sunday, May 31. Please note that this audition period is the only chance for current YOP students to move up in ensemble.
To learn more and register for your audition, visit the link in our bio or go to linktr.ee/rssom. We hope to see you in our ensembles next season!
Photos from the 2024–25 and 2025–26 seasons by James H Loving Photography (@jamesloving), Demetrius Holloway (@whoisholloway), Dave Pearson (@pearsonphoto2000), and Christian Thesken/True North Productions (@truenorthprods).
#YouthOrchestra #MusicEducation #MusicEd #YouthBand #Orchestra
“To have this partnership between the Richmond Symphony and RSYO is so crucial and fundamental in terms of inspiring students, whether they have a career in the arts or not. ... I think that this partnership between the youth orchestras and having this kind of youth education here in Richmond is so important.” - Rebecca Benjamin, Principal Viola
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This month’s Spotlight Series highlights February’s Side-by-Side concert, which brung the Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra together in concert. Side-by-sides are a staple of youth orchestras across the country, allowing student musicians to learn directly from members of professional orchestras while performing together.
To read this month’s Spotlight Series, visit the link in our bio. Our monthly Spotlight Series is written by Anna Mitchell, Education & Social Media Coordinator.
@rvasymphony @rso_musicians #YouthOrchestra #ClassicalMusic #MusicEd #SideBySide #Orchestra
Congratulations to the 6th cohort of our Future Music Educators Symposium (FMES), who just presented a special showcase on their final day of class! ✨ The students participating in this year’s symposium included high school juniors and seniors from across the state of Virginia. Throughout the eight weeks of the symposium, each student worked on their own project, which they presented to their peers in a showcase yesterday evening. The 2026 symposium was led by Dr. Sandy Goldie, Department Chair and Director of Music Education at VCUarts Music.
@rvasymphony #MusicEducation #MusicEd #Teach #ClassicalMusic
A few woodwind close-ups from one of our favorite moments of February ❤️ Out of the 118 musicians who took to the stage for our Side-by-Side with the Richmond Symphony, 22 played flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon!
Photos by Christian Thesken of True North Productions (@truenorthprods).
@rvasymphony #YouthOrchestra #MusicEd #Orchestra #ClassicalMusic #Woodwinds
We’re introducing a new feature on our social media platforms—the Student Showcase! Our first Student Showcase features Andrew, RSYO double bassist. 🎶
Andrew recently performed in the All-Virginia Jazz Ensemble, which is Virginia’s most prestigious program for high school jazz musicians. Following an incredibly competitive audition against students from across the state, Andrew was selected as the first chair bassist for this season’s Jazz Ensemble, and he performed alongside them at the Virginia Music Educators Association’s annual conference in November 2025.
Andrew is a senior at Thomas Dale High School, where he participates in both orchestra and jazz band. Though we’ve only had Andrew in our Youth Orchestra Program for one year, we’ll greatly miss him when he graduates this spring, and are grateful he’s sharing his talents with us during his senior year. Congratulations, Andrew! 🎶🎉
@andrew_grogan_bass @virginiamusiceducators @tdhsorchestra @rvasymphony #VMEA #JazzBass #JazzEnsemble #MusicEducation #StudentShowcase
Thank you to all who joined us for last night’s Side-by-Side featuring the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Richmond Symphony! With 118 musicians featured and a stage packed to the brim, this was our first full Side-by-Side with the @rvasymphony since February 2020 🎼❤️
Whether you performed on stage, supported our students at our weekly rehearsals, or braved the weather to watch from the audience, thank you for your support of our young musicians and of our program! Stay tuned for more information about our last concerts of the year, coming up this spring.
Photos by Christian Thesken of True North Productions (@truenorthprods).
@rvasymphony @rso_musicians @hae.conductor @rsyop.percussion #RVA #ClassicalMusic #MusicEd #YouthOrchestra #Orchestra
The person who sent you this REALLYYY wants you to come to Tuesday’s Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra and Richmond Symphony Side-by-Side!!! Swipe to the end or read below for more information, and see you there!
RSYO and Richmond Symphony Side-by-Side 🎻
Conducted by Hae Lee
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 at 7:00pm
Carpenter Theatre at Dominion Energy Center
Admission is free; no ticket is required
@rvasymphony #YouthOrchestra #MusicEd #ClassicalMusic #Symphony #ClassicalMusicMemes
“Teaching genuinely boils down to the people you are working with, not exactly what you are teaching. At the end of the day, it’s [all about] the human beings we are working with, and that’s what makes this career and this vocation and this calling so impactful.”
This month’s Spotlight Series features Emily Mullen, senior music education student at Shenandoah Conservatory and previous participant in our annual Future Music Educators Symposium. Now in her final semester of undergraduate study, Mullen is a student teacher at schools in Frederick and Fauquier County. 🎻
To read this month’s Spotlight Series, visit our website or head to the link in our bio. Our monthly Spotlight Series is written by Anna Mitchell, Education & Social Media Coordinator.
@rvasymphony @shenandoahconservatory #RVASymphony #MusicEd #NAfME #VMEA #MusicEducation
You’re invited! ✉️🎶 The Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Richmond Symphony come together in Carpenter Theatre for their first side-by-side performance since February 2020, weaving youth orchestra students together with professional musicians in each section of the orchestra.
The program will include works by Bizet, Márquez, Mascagni, Smetana, and Tchaikovsky and will be conducted by Hae Lee, RSYO conductor and Jack and Mary Ann Frable Associate Conductor Chair.
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RSYO and Richmond Symphony Side-by-Side
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 at 7:00pm
Carpenter Theatre at Dominion Energy Center
Admission is free; no ticket is required
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@rvasymphony #YouthOrchestra #MusicEd #ClassicalMusic #Symphony #RVA
The first four measures of W.A. Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik are among the most recognizable openings in all of classical music! Pick an instrument—violin, viola, cello, or double bass—and follow along with RSYO in their recent performance of this iconic work. 🎻
Fun fact: Today, January 27, is Mozart’s birthday! Also celebrating his birthday today is our very own Hae Lee, conductor of RSYO! Happy birthday, Hae, and thank you for all you do to support our young musicians! 🎉
🎶: W.A. Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik, mvt. I: Allegro
Performed by the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra and conductor Hae Lee (November 2025)
@rvasymphony @dominionenergycenter #Mozart #EineKleineNachtmusik #RSYO #YouthOrchestra
On Friday, January 16, we welcomed music students from three Virginia colleges—Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, and Virginia Commonwealth University—for our first Open Rehearsal of 2026! 🎶
Before the rehearsal, students participated in a talk and Q&A with Richmond Symphony Composer-in-Residence Damien Geter. After, students were welcomed to the Carpenter Theatre to observe a full rehearsal of An African American Requiem, featuring four guest vocalists and guest conductor Kazem Abdullah alongside the Richmond Symphony.
Missed out on our fourth Symphony Series but want to learn more about An African American Requiem? Our Companion Course, taught by Dr. Julie Bemis, Vice President of Education & Community Engagement can be viewed for free at the link in our bio. 🎶
@rvasymphony @nsucc @vsumd_ @vsucc @vcuartsmusic @vcuchoirs #RichmondSymphony #DamienGeter #RVAmusic #ClassicalMusic #MusicEd
Today’s the day! This evening, members of the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra (RSYO) will be competing in our annual Concerto Competition. Tonight’s winner will perform their concerto movement with RSYO in their final concert of the year.
The scores pictured here represent just a fraction of the students competing this evening. Good luck to all participants and stay tuned for the winner of this year’s competition! 🎶✨
@rvasymphony #YouthOrchestra #ConcertoCompetition #Concerto #Orchestra
