GENERAL INFORMATION

The Tucson Philharmonia Youth Orchestra (TPYO) offers a professional-level training symphonic training program for serious and career-oriented pre-college musicians. Founded in 1953, the Tucson Philharmonia provides the opportunity for the finest high school-age musicians from throughout the Tucson metropolitan area and other Southern Arizona communities to learn professional performance skills and to perform exciting symphonic literature in a wide range of styles from standard classical masterworks to repertoire from film, Broadway musicals, jazz, opera, and ballet.

The Philharmonia's challenging program places you among a select group of highly-motivated musicians and offers an exceptional level of musical training which includes full orchestra and sectional rehearsals, personalized coaching sessions, and concert performances. The Philharmonia's members are among the most honored young musicians in Southern Arizona. Many of the 2022-2023 Philharmonia's members were selected for the 2023 Regional Honor Orchestras and Bands and for the 2023 Arizona All-State ensembles. Tucson Philharmonia members have also won awards at numerous music competitions and performed as soloists with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Tucson Pops Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Tucson, the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, and the Arizona Symphonic Winds. In addition, many members are the recipients of scholarships to top universities and to prestigious summer music programs and festivals such as the National Youth Orchestra of America (NYO-USA), Interlochen Center for the Arts, Brevard Summer Orchestra Institute, and the Rocky Ridge Summer Program.

The Tucson Philharmonia is nationally recognized among the country's foremost symphonic training programs, and it has been awarded the Arizona Music Educators Association's Raymond G. Van Diest Arts Advocacy Award for its outstanding artistry and outreach efforts across the state of Arizona. In addition, the Tucson Philharmonia made history in 2000, becoming the first and only Arizona orchestra to produce and present a concert at New York's famed Carnegie Hall.

The 2023-2024 Tucson Philharmonia's schedule includes weekly Saturday morning rehearsals, concert performances, two in-depth training workshops, the Philharmonia Scholarship Competition culminating in the TPYO Artists Spotlight Concert, and the Winter Tour to San Diego. The Philharmonia's Symphonic Training Program's schedule is designed to coordinate with school events and other student activities. Musicians who are involved with other musical groups, sports teams, and other extracurricular activities on Saturday mornings can be members of TPYO but they are advised to check the 2023-2024 Rehearsal Schedule. Because of the limited number of rehearsals per month, consistent attendance is necessary to benefit fully from Tucson Philharmonia's unique education program.

NOTE: The TPYO rehearsals will be held following any required health safety protocols. In addition, concert performances will also follow any required safety measures.

Philharmonia Mission Statement

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