• Each December, the New York String Orchestra Seminar (NYSOS)—one of the country’s most respected training programs—offers exceptional string, wind, brass, and timpani students 16 to 23 years of age a joyful learning experience. The no-cost program combines orchestral rehearsals, performances presented by Carnegie Hall, and rigorous chamber music exploration, all focused on personal expression and musicianship rather than technical perfection. Injury avoidance workshops help students work in healthy ways during the ten intensive days of the seminar.

    Through chamber music sessions and orchestral rehearsals and performance, the NYSOS introduces students experientially to the philosophy that a great orchestra plays like a great string quartet, and that, as artistic director and conductor Jaime Laredo says, in orchestral playing, “every single person counts.”

    "It was one of the defining moments for me as a teenager. The passion of people your own age is very important; it puts you in touch with a larger world, beyond schooling and everything else you do."

    — Yo-Yo Ma, cellist, participant in the 1971 New York String Orchestra Seminar

  • Apply to the 2024 Seminar

    Apply to the Seminar

    Photo by Pete Checchia

    The 2024 New York String Orchestra Seminar will take place December 19–28, 2024. Technically advanced string instrumentalists, wind and brass players, and timpanists ages 16 to 23 are encouraged to apply and submit digital auditions beginning July 15, 2024.

  • Apply to the Management Internship

    Apply to the Intership

    Photo by Pete Checchia

    NYSOS management internships—four paid positions running December 18–28, 2024—are open to qualified students pursuing studies in arts management, student musicians considering a transition to music administration, and students who intend to pursue entrepreneurial careers combining roles as creative artists and administrators.

  • NYSOS Alumni Impact

    NYSOS Alumni Impact

    NYSOS Alumni Yo-Yo Ma, cello (1971), Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola (2005 and 2008), Athony McGill, clarinet (1998 and 1999)

    We are proud that our more than 2,500 alumni include conductors and soloists such as Pamela Frank, Karina Canellakis, Cho-Liang Lin, Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Oundjian, Gil Shaham, and Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg; chamber musicians performing in groups as diverse as Brooklyn Rider, the Silkroad Ensemble, and the Dover, Calidore, and Takacs string quartets; composers including Nokuthula Ngwenyama and Xavier Foley; members of every major U.S. orchestra; and instructors in conservatory faculties and public schools.

  • Support the Seminar

    The New York String Orchestra Seminar has never charged a participation fee since its inception in 1969. Educational costs, housing, meals, and local transportation are provided, ensuring that each student is selected solely for musical ability and that no gifted young artist is turned away because of financial need.

  • Accessibility

    The New York String Orchestra Seminar is committed to ensuring accessibility. All seminar housing, rehearsal, and performance venues are ADA compliant. We invite students to request additional required forms of support in their New York String Orchestra Seminar applications.

  • Contact Us

    Rohana Elias-Reyes
    Director, New School Concerts
    55 West 13th Street, room 929
    New York, NY 10011
    [email protected]
    212.229.5873

  • Our Supporters

    Leadership support is provided by the Alexander Schneider Foundation, and the seminar is made possible in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Further support is provided by an anonymous foundation grant and the tax-deductible gifts of many individual donors.

  • Social Media

  • Take The Next Step

Submit your application

Undergraduates

To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

Undergraduate Adult Learners

To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

Graduates

To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.