Peabody Youth Orchestra

With approximately 2,000 students passing through its doors every week, the Peabody Preparatory is Baltimore’s premier community school for the performing arts. It is open to students of all ages and levels of ability with offerings ranging from early childhood classes for infants to the Adult and Continuing Education (ACE) program for adults. Instrumental and dance instruction begins as young as four years, and most classes are available to adults.

The Peabody Youth Orchestra is the premiere instrumental performing ensemble of the comprehensive instrumental offerings at the Peabody Preparatory, which includes four orchestras and three wind ensembles. The primary goal of the Peabody Youth Orchestra is to enrich the lives of participating musicians and their audiences, through the rehearsal and performance of orchestral repertoire at the highest possible level. Performing overtures, tone poems, and complete symphonies as well as accompanying major concerti with guest soloists and winners of the annual Peabody Preparatory Concerto Competition help the PYO achieve this goal.

The process of music-making in the Peabody Youth Orchestra cultivates in each member his or her own sense of responsibility, commitment, self-discipline, confidence and poise — key ingredients for success in any field. PYO encourages its students to appreciate high standards of artistic excellence, which can support the individual’s continuing musical understanding for a lifetime.

A truly regional youth orchestra, the Peabody Youth Orchestra has members from over 50 schools from the Baltimore Metro Area, Washington D.C. Metro Area, Northern Virginia, Southern Pennsylvania and Delaware. Graduates of the Peabody Youth Orchestra who choose music as a career are enrolled in schools such as: Eastman, Cleveland Institute of Music, Juilliard, University of Maryland, Indiana University, Northwestern, and of course the Peabody Conservatory, to name a few.

The home base for the Peabody Youth Orchestra is the historic Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall. Opened in 1866, and built in neoclassical style, the Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall is one of the oldest recital halls in America. With a split-level orchestra floor and small balcony, the hall seats 700.

The Peabody Youth Orchestra is open to advanced middle through high school age musicians in all strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. This is the premiere orchestra in the Peabody Preparatory program, concentrating on standard orchestral repertoire in a high-level learning and performing environment. Rehearsals are on Saturdays from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at the Peabody Institute’s main campus in Baltimore. Two to three full-length concerts are given each year, including performances with faculty and guest artists as well as accompanying the winner of the Preparatory Concerto Competition.

For more information, visit the Peabody Youth Orchestras’ website at Peabody Youth Orchestra