News

No musician ever works in a vacuum, and the best ones often pull influences from many genres, cultures, and influences when creating a style of their own. In honor of […]

As we’ve been combing through the many fascinating items from CYSO’s extensive archive, we discovered that in 1962, Mayor Richard J. Daley declared April 27 to be “Youth Orchestra of […]

There is a rich history of CYSO alumni going on to play with some of the world’s greatest orchestras (in addition to achieving in all sorts of fields!). A prime […]

Are you a classical musician who’s wanted to listen to more jazz, but don’t know where to start? Few CYSO students are perhaps more qualified to help than Tom Gotsch, […]

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Chicago Youth in Music Festival takes place on April 9-11 in partnership with Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative (CMPI) and National Instrumentalist Mentoring and Advancement Network (NIMAN). We’re proud to share that nine CYSO students […]

Chicago-based 5th Wave Collective is an ensemble that strives to discover and perform music by womxn and gender-nonconforming composers. The name comes references the different “waves” of feminism that have […]

This summer, CYSO students are taking over the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) and its sister ensemble NYO2! A whopping nine CYSO students will participate in these two prestigious programs this […]

We are proud to announce that CYSO was recently named 2022 Youth Orchestra of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras (ICO). Founded in 1974, the Illinois Council of […]

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re showcasing some of our favorite female performers, conductors, and composers. Today we’re featuring GRAMMY-nominated composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music, Anna Clyne. Recently, […]

The 2022 CYSO Gala: Listen to the Future took place on Saturday, March 12 at the Marriott Marquis Chicago, celebrating our 75th anniversary and the past, present, and future of […]