Community Music School of Webster University’s Young People’s Symphonic Orchestra Selected to Play at Carnegie Hall in 2025

Photo: The Community Music School of Webster University's Young People's Symphonic Orchestra during a rehearsal in 2022.

The Community Music School of Webster University's Young People's Symphonic Orchestra (YPSO) will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 30, 2025. The YPSO is comprised of middle and high school students from across the St. Louis region and is the Community Music School’s most advanced full orchestra performing orchestral literature in its original form. It is led by Conductor Patrick Jackson.

“I'm so thrilled that the Young People's Symphonic Orchestra is one of three orchestras from around the country selected to perform at the 2025 Instrumental Music Festival at Carnegie Hall,” Jackson said. “This event will for sure have a lasting impression on these young musicians. This is a great honor for the Community Music School of Webster University.” 

This is not the first honor for the YPSO.  The orchestra has played at the Missouri Music Educators Association (MMEA) Conference twice – once in 2020 and again in January of 2023.

“What an incredible honor for Patrick Jackson and for our students!  We couldn’t have asked for better timing as this performance falls during the celebration of our 100th anniversary-year of providing music education to St. Louis area students,” said Nicole Springer, director of the Community Music School.  “We are thrilled to showcase the excellence of these fine young musicians on a national stage.”

The YPSO is the culmination of a sequential orchestra program offered by the CMS that also includes String Ensemble, String Orchestra, and the Young People’s Concert Orchestra (YPCO).  The program guides young musicians through multiple levels, enhancing students’ skills beyond individual performance and supporting the education process in school music programs.  Students at CMS receive high-quality music instruction from top conductors and sectional coaches, learn and perform challenging and diverse musical literature, and meet and socialize with peers from the St. Louis area in a team-building setting.

“This is a great honor and a wonderful experience for all of the members of the Young People’s Symphonic Orchestra,” said Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts Dean Paul Steger. “Being selected to play in one of the most famous live-performance venues in the world will be a memory that all of these young musicians will remember for the rest of their lives.” 

The Community Music School will begin accepting applications to audition for the 2024-2025 Young People’s Symphonic Orchestra April 1 – June 30th.  Auditions will take place in August and decisions are announced in September.  New and returning students must audition and acceptance requires a full academic-year commitment.  The Community Music School will launch a fundraiser to help with the cost of attending the trip to New York starting later this fall.

For more information about the CMS Orchestra program, including audition information, visit webster.edu/cms-orchestras.  For more general information about the Community Music School of Webster University, visit webster.edu/cms.