About Rivers Youth Orchestras (RYO)
The Rivers Youth Orchestra program boasts five orchestras for students ages 7-18. The orchestras perform several concerts throughout the year. Rehearsals take place on Fridays. Sinfonia and Youth Symphony begin rehearsals at 4:00 p.m. while Primo Orchestra, Preparatory Orchestra, and Philharmonia begin rehearsals at 4:15 p.m.
In person auditions for the 2026-2027 season have ended. We still have limited openings for the following:
Youth Symphony — Bassoon, French Horn, Trombone, Flute, Percussion, Viola, & Bass
Philharmonia, Sinfonia, and Preparatory Orchestra — Viola & Bass
Primo Orchestra — Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass
Please read the audition requirements and click the link below to audition virtually for RYO.
More info about each orchestra with audition requirements:
Rivers Youth Symphony, Christopher Memoli, conductor
Philharmonia, Colleen MacDonald, conductor
Sinfonia, Susan Memoli, conductor
Preparatory Orchestra, Whitney Tandon, conductor
Primo Orchestra, Chris Brainard, conductor
2026–2027 Important Dates
| 9/18/26 | Rehearsals begin |
| 10/9/26 | Deadline to enter Youth Symphony Concerto Competition (YS members only) |
| 10/24/26 | Youth Symphony Concerto Competition |
| 11/01/26 | Concert at 2:00 p.m. at Regis College, Weston (Preparatory, Sinfonia, Philharmonia, and Youth Symphony) |
| 12/11/26 | Primo Concert in Rivera Recital Hall at 6:00 p.m. |
| 02/07/27 | Concert at 2:00 p.m. at Regis College, Weston (Preparatory, Sinfonia, Philharmonia, and Youth Symphony) |
| 05/02/27 | Final Concert at 2:00 p.m. at Mechanics Hall, Worcester (all orchestras) |
| 05/07/27 | In-person auditions for RYO for 2027–2028 school year |
| 05/14/27 | In-person auditions for RYO for 2027–2028 school year |
Questions? Please contact:
Katherine Greene, Youth Orchestra Manager
orchestramanager@rivers.org