About Us

At Philadelphia Sinfonia Association (PSA) we challenge our students to extend their musical training beyond technical excellence and to develop artistic mastery of the repertoire they perform. We lead them into the minds and hearts of the composers whose work they play and provide theoretical understanding of these compositions. We inspire our students to be leaders in the classroom and in our organization, and we instill in them a profound sense of civic and global responsibility. They arrive at PSA with talent and tenacity and they graduate as thoughtful human beings and as adept and passionate musicians, whether or not they choose to pursue a career in music.

Philadelphia Sinfonia Association is one of the premiere youth orchestra organizations in the tri-state area. Since 1997, we have been teaching young musicians to discover their full artistic potential. Our students range in age from 11 to 23 and have exceptional musical ability. Many go on to study at prestigious universities and conservatories such as Harvard and Princeton Universities, The Curtis Institute of Music and The Julliard School.

Our Program

Our comprehensive program includes:

• Philadelphia Sinfonia
  advanced full symphonic orchestra with 100 members for students from age 14 through college
• Philadelphia Sinfonia Players
  intermediate full symphonic orchestra for students ages 11 to 18
• Philadelphia Sinfonia Strings
  intermediate string ensemble for students ages 10 to 16
• Philadelphia Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra
  advanced string chamber group

Each season we perform four advanced full orchestra concerts, three chamber orchestra concerts, three intermediate orchestra concerts, and an intimate afternoon recital of solo works and chamber music. Our musical repertoire is diverse and daring, comprised of works from the standard classical canon alongside 20th and 21st century pieces, and has included several world and Philadelphia premieres.

We have performed at the Kimmel Center, the Mann Music Center, the Liberty Medal Ceremony honoring Colin Powell and at the 2000 Republican National Convention. We have partnered with guest artists as renowned as soprano Julianne Baird and jazz virtuoso violinist Christian Howes. Internationally, Philadelphia Sinfonia has wowed audiences in Holland, Great Britain, Russia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Belgium and Argentina.

Young musicians are at the heart of Philadelphia Sinfonia Assocation. They are a diverse group with incredible gifts, capable of discovering the theoretical and emotional content of a composition and communicating something truly moving to an audience.