Auditions

 

CYOSC requires all students to audition for placement and participation in our ensembles each year, and are accepting applications for the 2011-2012 concert season year-round on a rolling admission basis. In order to best plan our concert season, our staff needs to have an updated perspective on each student's playing ability, including those who played with our ensembles the previous season. Every applicant's audition is heard by a committee of orchestra staff iincluding the directors, and feedback to support student improvement is shared with both the player and their teachers.

 

Online Application

We have converted our application process entirely to an online format to reduce errors in the applications and paper waste. Please fill out this application only one time by clicking on the following link:

ONLINE APPLICATION for 2011-2012

There is no application fee for CYOSC. Once your application is processed, you will be contacted by our staff through email regarding your audition time as well as what you need to play. Generally, you will have to play a major and/or minor scale, a work of your own choice that best reflects your current ability level, and a prepared excerpt that we will send you. Sight-read may be requested.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please email us at auditions@cyosc.com.

 

Ensemble Requirements

The technical and musical requirements of each ensemble are substantially different. We encourage all students applying for our ensembles to read the following very carefully and audition for the group that is most appropriate for their playing ability:

Sinfonia
The desired minimum skill level for this ensemble includes the ability to play two octave major and melodic minor scales in keys up to three sharps and three flats, and works equal in difficulty to the initial Baroque or Classical concerto repertoire for the player's instrument. The Sinfonia is intended to be an artistically-demanding concert experience for intermediate musicians, and performs compositions that are challenging both technically and musically with an emphasis on original works, and not arrangements.

Chamber Symphony
Operating with limited rehearsal time and in a collaborative setting, participants will need to demonstrate the ability to learn new music quickly and function well as a team-player in a fast-paced and intensive rehearsal environment. At minimum, players are expected to be able to play all major and melodic minor scales and arpeggios in two or three octaves, and be working on solo repertoire at or beyond the difficulty level of standard classical/romantic period concertos for their instrument. Without exception, applicants to the Chamber Symphony must have strong sight-reading skills, and several years of symphonic and/or chamber music experience.

Exceptions to the above minimum skill levels will be made on a case-by-case basis where we feel a student may be able to acquire the necessary ability through their year of participation in the orchestra.

Tuition



Our tuition fees are among the lowest in the state, if not the nation for comparable youth orchestra programs. Our current tuition is $250.00 for the year, and includes all rehearsals, performances, coaching, and an orchestra T-Shirt. Tuition is due within the first month of orchestra activities, and payment by check can be made out to Community Youth Orchestra of Southern California.

In addition to student fees, we also generate funds through the generous support of grant-making foundations, individual gifts, and the sale of orchestra-branded merchandise (like clothing). We do not engage our students in door-to-door or non-musical fundraising activities, and do not contiuously solicit their families for additional financial help throughout the year. For over two decades CYOSC has operated on a frugal, well-planned, budget with absolutely no debt, and we plan to keep it that way!

Thanks to a generous grant from the Hennings-Fischer Foundation, we are able to offer need-based scholarships that cover up to the entire amount of the tuition. Please send our staff an email at auditions@cyosc.com to inquire about qualifying for need-based financial aid. Your request will not affect the outcome of the audition or acceptance into the ensembles in any way, and we do not turn away qualified students because of financial considerations.