Each summer we enroll 80+ 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 Instrumental Program 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.

The chamber music program runs throughout the festival. Ensembles 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 five 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 2027 season will be announced here as it is confirmed. Subject to change. 

• John Corigliano – Elegy 
• Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 96 “Miracle”
• Manual de Falla – Three-Cornered Hat Suite 2  
• Damien Geter –  An American Story (World Premiere)
• Zoltan Kodaly – Galanta Dances 
• Sergei Prokofiev – Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2
• Sergei Rachmaninoff – Symphony No. 2 
• Einojuhani Rautavaara – A Tale of Fate (from the Book of Visions) 
• Maurice Ravel – Mother Goose: Five Pieces 
• Dmitri Shostakovich – Symphony No. 1, “Low” 
• Jean Sibelius – Violin Concerto (featuring 2025 SAI winner Tianyu Liu) 
• Igor Stravinsky – Petroushka 
• Double bill with the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory: 
  • Claude Debussy – L’Enfant Prodigue 
  • Francis Poulenc – Les Mamelles de Tirésias 
• Collaboration with the Chautauqua School of Dance: 
  • Alexander Glazunov – Raymonda Variations 
  • Philip Glass – Symphony No. 1 
  • Michael Torke – Ecstatic Orange, Purple, Green  

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