The Community School of Performing Arts offers two different advanced orchestras for students between the ages of 13 and 18. Members of each ensemble are selected through competitive auditions each year.
Full orchestra with strings, winds, brass, and percussion The Colburn Youth Orchestra performs standard symphonic literature, as well as newly commissioned works and arrangements done especially for the ensemble. Performance venues include Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Alex Theatre in Glendale, the Aratani Theatre in Little Tokyo, and LACMA.
A highlight of the group’s concert season includes their annual participation in the Colburn Community School’s Collaboration Concert. This performance brings together the Colburn Youth Orchestra, Colburn Sinfonietta, Colburn Chamber Orchestra, Colburn Concert Choir, Young Men’s Chorus, ballet, and modern dance students for an evening of collaborative pieces all on one stage.
Duration Sundays, 12–2:45 pm
Smaller than the Colburn Youth Orchestra, the Colburn Sinfonietta performs works by composers like Beethoven and Haydn regularly throughout the year. Performances feature student and faculty soloists.
Students in the Sinfonietta get the experience of working together in a small orchestral setting, playing Classical repertoire, and building musicianship and orchestral expertise.
Duration Sundays, 3–5:45 pm
Eleanor Núñez is an accomplished Spanish-American symphonic conductor, pianist, and in-demand educator who routinely guest conducts district honor orchestras and adjudicates district orchestra festivals in Southern California. She has served as the Symphony Orchestra Director at Irvine Valley College and conducted concerts with professional ensembles like the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Ciudad de Asunción in Asunción, Paraguay, and Camerata Antonio Soler String Orchestra in San Lorenzo de el Escorial, Madrid, Spain, in addition to groups in the US.
Minimum Age Requirements: must be 13 years old by September 1, 2024
We are currently accepting applications for the 2024-25 academic year. Interested students can apply below. Students will be required to accept by submitting registration and payment within 2 weeks of their acceptance. Late additions/alternates may be accepted up until the end of September, space permitting.
2024–25 Advanced Orchestra Application Form
Auditions for 2024-25 will take place early in June. Please complete the application and prepare the audition requirements listed below.
Details regarding live auditions will be sent to all applicants in the coming weeks. If you have any questions, please contact the Coordinator, Josiah Vietti, for more information.
2024–25 Audition Excerpts
String Auditions
Woodwinds, Brass, and Percussion Auditions