Type of Ensemble: Full Symphonic Orchestra, including strings, winds, brass, and percussion.
2019-20 Enrollment: 93
Typical YPO Students: YPO students are generally from the greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area and from as far as West Virginia and Ohio. While auditions are based on playing level and not age, most students are in between 9th and 12th grades, with some younger students and some college students.
Conductor: Brian Worsdale is the conductor of YPO and the Music Director of TRYPO. See Artistic Staff for more information about Mr. Worsdale.
Coaches: Students break out into periodic sectionals to focus on technique and their individual parts. YPO coaching staff is drawn from members of the Pittsburgh Symphony and other professional local teaching artists. See Artistic Staff for more information about YPO’s artistic staff.
Performances: YPO performs two to four concerts a year, depending on the season.
Rehearsals: YPO rehearses on Saturday afternoons from 1:00-4:00pm at the Mary Pappert School of Music of Duquesne University. Occasionally rehearsals occur on Sunday or Monday afternoons/evenings.
Retreats: YPO’s annual season-starting retreat (Mini-Camp!) is held each year over Labor Day weekend. Attendance is mandatory for YPO students. [Due to the uncertainty about safety around COVID-19, we will not hold an overnight Mini-Camp in Fall 2020. Mini-Camp will either be local or virtual.]
Travel: TRYPO believes that performing while traveling uniquely cements a student’s relationship with music and wants its large ensembles to travel every three years. The 2014-15 Season was a travel year for YPO, which went to New York City in June 2015 to perform in Carnegie Hall, among other activities. The 2017-18 Season concluded with a Concert Tour of Central Europe in June 2018. For more information about the 2017-18 European Tour, please CLICK HERE. The next travel year for TRYPO was anticipated to be the 2020-21 season, however given the current situation with COVID-19, we do not yet know when we will next be able to travel. All YPO students are expected and encouraged to travel with the orchestra during a travel season. However, with proper notice, permission to miss the tour may be granted without jeopardizing the student’s membership in the orchestra.
Concerto Competition: Every year, YPO students can compete to perform with YPO on the spring concert. For more information, click HERE.
Auditions: YPO has auditions every May/June for entry to the next season. . Due to the current restrictions on gatherings, we will move to an online audition model. See New Member Auditions for more information on how to join YPO and for current openings (if any).
Repertoire: YPO performs standard orchestral repertoire for full orchestra. Recent repertoire selections have included:
- Stravinsky – Suite from The Firebird (1919 version): 19-20 Season
- Wagner – Overture to The Flying Dutchman: 19-20 Season
- Williams – “Adventures on Earth” from T. the Extra-Terrestrial: 18-19 Season
- Holst – The Planets: 18-19 Season
- Dvorak – Symphony No. 8: 17-18 Season
- Smetana – The Moldau: 17-18 Season
- Dvorak – Carnival Overture: 17-18 Season
- Brahms – Variations on a Theme by Haydn: 16-17 Season
- Copland – Appalachian Spring: 16-17 Season
- Williams – Harry Potter Symphonic Suite: 16-17 Season
- Tchaikovsky – The Nutcracker Suite: 16-17 Season
- Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade (featuring guest concertmaster Jeremy Black): 16-17 Season
- Stravinsky – Suite from TheFirebird (1919 version): 15-16 Season
- Respighi – Fountains of Rome: 15-16 Season
- Humperdinck – Prelude to Hansel and Gretel: 15-16 Season
- Verdi – Overture to Nabucco: 14-15 Season
- Abigana – Ceili, World premiere in Carnegie Hall, NYC: 14-15 Season
- Verdi – Overture to La Forza del destino: 15-16 Season
- Saint-Saëns – “Danse Bacchanale” from Samson and Delilah: 14-15 Season
Tuition: 2019-20 Tuition Fees are as follows. Visit our Tuition Assistance page for more information about scholarships.
| YPO Tuition Fees | Total Annual Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition | $700 |
|
Mini-Camp Tuition (required attendance) * |
$295 |
- Due to concerns about COVID-19, Mini-Camp 2020 will not be overnight. Actual fees are TBA and will be significantly less.
- Financial aid and scholarship assistance are always available to students who demonstrate need. Families should not be discouraged from applying to TRYPO due to financial limitations. Visit our Tuition Assistance page for more information about scholarships.
- Family Discounts: TRYPO offers a family discount for households that have a child or children registered in more than one Sep-May TRYPO program. The first enrolled program will be charged at full price, but all subsequent programs qualify for $50 off per semester ($100/year).