Empire State Youth Orchestras

About Empire State Youth Orchestras: 300+ talented youth from the Capital Region of New York and western New England are selected by audition each year for positions in ESYO’s 9 performing ensembles, including the Repertory Orchestra that performs annually in Albany Pro Musica’s annual High School Choral Festival. Well known for its Youth Orchestra’s participation in CBS 6’s Melodies of Christmas (benefit concerts for the pediatric cancer program at Albany Medical Center), ESYO’s ensembles give approximately 30 public performances a year. ESYO reaches out to the community with an annual free concert for senior citizens, concerts for young people, recitals in nursing homes, and a music education program providing free, private music lessons to inner-city, low-income youth in Albany and Schenectady. Founded in 1979, ESYO has been recognized as a premier music education/performance program for youth and has received three prestigious ASCAP awards.