Maryland Symphony Youth Orchestra
Audition Videos for the 2025-2026 Season are due on June 15 at 11:59 PM.
The Maryland Symphony Youth Orchestra is an auditioned program that runs from approximately September to June each year and whose participants are typically high school aged.
When submitting your audition form you will be prompted to pay a non-refundable $50 audition fee. If this fee presents a financial burden to you or your family, please contact Education@marylandsymphony.org.
Click For Audition Repertoire
Each audition should include the following, in order.
- Scales (72 BPM)
- Strings Required Scales
- All: A single two or more octave scale of your choice
- Violins: A major scale (two or more octaves)
- Violas and Cellos: C major scale (two or more octaves)
- Bass: G major one octave scale AND an A major one octave scale
- Winds/Brass Required Scales
- A single two or more octave major scale of your choice
- A single two or more octave chromatic scale of your choice
- Strings Required Scales
- All Strings, Woodwinds, and Brass: Two contrasting pieces or excerpts (one fast, one slow) that demonstrate your technical and lyrical abilities, totaling between 3 and 5 minutes.
- Percussion players should play the attached snare (Page One) and mallet (Page Three) etudes in place of scales and two contrasting pieces
Click For Audition Video Requirements
- Please ensure your hands, instrument, and face are all clearly visible
- To allow for a semi-blind audition process, please refrain from wearing any article of clothing that would suggest participation in a school, county, state, or national musical ensemble (ie wildcat marking band shirt or All State polo)
- At the start of the audition video state your name, instrument, and the grade you will be in next fall
- Each individual piece or excerpt and all scales should be performed continuously with no edits permitted. You may, however, stop the camera after each complete performance to reset if you would like
- Please submit your audition pieces in one single video
- Video Recordings must be uploaded to YouTube and submitted via a link to our audition form
Click To Learn How to Upload Audition Videos
- How to Upload a YouTube Video
- Selecting the “Unlisted” privacy option when uploading will allow you to share a video link without making the video viewable to the public.
- How to upload an Unlisted Video
- Please title your video ‘[Your Full Name] MSYO 2025 [Instrument] Audition’
Before submitting, review your video on YouTube to ensure that you are in view of the camera for the entirety of the audition video, that your audio is of good quality, and the entirety of the audition has been uploaded correctly.
Audition videos that have been edited or enhanced with any audio or video software will not be considered. Any student who is found to have edited their audition video will be promptly removed from the program.
Maryland Symphony Orchestra: Side by Side Program
MSO Side by Side is currently not accepting applications. Applications for the 2025-2026 season Side by Side program will open Winter of 2025.
Maryland Symphony Youth Strings
Youth Strings does not hold auditions and instead operates under a teacher recommendation model. If you are a teacher within Fredrick County Public Schools or Washington County Public Schools who teaches string players in grades 6-9 please reach out to education@marylandsymphony.org or visit the Youth Strings page on our website for more information.
