SF SYMPHONY YOUTH ORCHESTRA
Please note ALL REQUIREMENTS for your instrument category before submitting your application. Contact [email protected] with any questions or to seek clarification.
Eligibility: Candidates should be no older than 20 years of age as of September 14, 2024. If a candidate's birthday occurs around this time, please check with our office to determine eligibility. Candidates must also reside, or have anticipation of residence, in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. If accepted into the Youth Orchestra, members will be expected to commute by car or public transit to Davies Symphony Hall for all services.
Audition Timeline: Following the application deadline, candidates will be sent the audition procedure for their instrument section. Preliminary videos will be due on March 15th, with in-person audition rounds to follow in late April and May. In-person auditions will take place on a single day (except for Violin auditions, which will span two days) due to the scheduling needs of our Music Director, faculty, and of the San Francisco Symphony. For this reason, alternate dates and times will likely not be available.
Location: In-person auditions are held in rehearsal spaces at Davies Symphony Hall. Directions and parking information will be provided upon scheduling of an in-person audition. The Youth Orchestra Music Director and members of the San Francisco Symphony who serve as our faculty will adjudicate all auditions.
The Application deadline for the 2024-2025 Season has passed.
If you are still interested in being considered for an audition, please send an email to [email protected].
1. Scale requirements
Please check the linked packets below for the most current requirements.
2. Solo piece
Candidates must prepare a solo selection, such as a movement from a concerto or comparable solo work of their choosing. This selection should accurately represent the candidate’s current level of overall musicianship including both technical facility and lyricism, while still being mindful of techniques needed in orchestral playing such as steady rhythm, tone quality, and solid intonation. The candidate's chosen solo piece should total no more than 5 minutes in length. Excerpts from larger works are welcome. Candidates will perform solo pieces unaccompanied; neither collaborative pianists nor recorded backing tracks will be permitted in any round of our auditions.
The SF Symphony Youth Orchestra office will not make recommendations for specific pieces to present - this choice should be made by the applicant in conjunction with a studio teacher and/or other trusted musical advisor(s).
Notable Exceptions:
- Horn applicants should prepare [first movements when applicable] from ONE of the following solo pieces:
*Mozart, W.A./ Concerto EITHER No. 2 (E-flat, K. 417) or 4 (E-flat, K. 495)
*Saint-Saëns/ Morceau de Concert, Op. 94
*Strauss, Franz/ Concerto, Op. 8
*Strauss, Richard/ Concerto No. 1, Op. 11
- Trumpet applicants are required to prepare the solo piece provided in the linked packet.
- Percussion applicants should prepare:
1) Two contrasting etudes for snare drum, as well as the required excerpt (see linked packet for specific requirements)
2) One solo piece for mallet instrument (two or four mallets). *If you choose a piece for marimba, please note that the Youth Orchestra Office cannot guarantee the availability of a 5-octave instrument. Check with our office at the time of your application.*
3) One timpani excerpt from a classical or romantic work.
- Keyboard applicants should prepare a movement from the keyboard sonata of their choice by Franz Joseph Haydn.
3. Orchestral Excerpts and Scale Requirements
All candidates must prepare each of the specific excerpts required for their instrument unless indicated as optional. Click on instrument sections below to download excerpts as a PDF file.
4. Sight-reading
Any candidate attending in-person auditions may be asked to sight-read from standard orchestral repertoire for the instrument on which they are auditioning.
