Each summer we enroll 81 of the most promising young instrumentalists from here and abroad to join us for an exciting summer of music making. Our students are typically 18 to 28 and enrolled in (or recently graduated from) undergraduate or graduate studies.

The School of Music at Chautauqua considers orchestral work, private study, and chamber music each to be vital components of the program. The orchestra rehearses daily for the majority of the summer and performs its concerts in Chautauqua’s 4,400-seat outdoor Amphitheater. Other facets of orchestral study include sectionals, repertoire classes and mock auditions all run by our professional faculty. Topics covered include the psychology of auditioning, performance issues/anxiety, and instant feedback providing priceless insight into the professional road ahead.

The chamber music program runs throughout the festival. Students receive regular coaching from our distinguished faculty and have multiple performance opportunities. Percussionists participate in a two-week chamber music residency with Michael Burritt, concluding with a percussion ensemble concert. Many of the ensembles mix with the opera conservatory, piano and even theater and dance programs to provide a wide and diverse offering of performing experiences.

Private study rounds out the curriculum with each student receiving six private lessons with a member of Chautauqua’s world-renowned faculty. Master classes from both resident and guest faculty are part of the program as well. Climate-controlled practice cabins provide an ideal environment for the personal work that goes into a summer of artistic growth.

String players should note that there is a Resident Luthier on site who holds regular hours in Lenna Hall.

Timothy Muffitt, music director of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, is the principal conductor for the concert series by the MSFO. There are no auditions for seating, all sections are rotated for each concert.

Repertoire for the Music School Festival Orchestra 2025 season will be announced here as it is confirmed.

• Manuel de Falla – La Vida Breve (with the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory) 

Repertoire performed in the 2024 season included:

• Roger Briggs – Gathering Together (in celebration of Chautauqua’s sesquicentennial)  
• Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations  
• Gala Flagello – Bravado
• Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 95 
• Wynton Marsalis – All Rise (with Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus) 
• Sergei Rachmaninoff – Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (with the Chautauqua School of Dance) 
• Sergei Rachmaninoff – Symphony No. 3 
• Nino Rota – I Due Timidi (with the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory)
• Ethel Smyth – Overture to The Wreckers 
• Richard Strauss – Death and Transfiguration  
• Richard Strauss – Suite from Der Rosenkavalier (with the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory) 
• Igor Stravinsky – Capriccio (with the Chautauqua School of Dance) 

The Music School Festival Orchestra is underwritten by the Hultquist Foundation of Jamestown, NY.