Youth Orchestras of Fresno

Cultivating the musicians of tomorrow!

The Youth Orchestras have been a Fresno institution since 1950, when an all-city string ensemble of young musicians was formed. In 1953 winds and percussion were added and the group became the Kiwanis Youth Orchestra. Soon the orchestra gained a new sponsor, the Fresno Philharmonic, and in 1957 became the Fresno Junior Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1988 the group’s name changed once again, and the Fresno Youth Philharmonic emerged—only to become, in a few more years, the group we know as Youth Orchestras of Fresno.

These days the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra is one of three orchestras — the others are the Youth Chamber and Youth Symphony Orchestras — that make up the Youth Orchestras of Fresno. The Youth Chamber Orchestra includes some of our youngest players. Musicians in the Youth Symphony and Youth Philharmonic Orchestras range in age from nine to twenty. All members are committed young musicians who seek the joy and challenge of playing classical music. Rehearsals are held on Sundays on the Fresno State campus.

The 2011-2012 season is the Orchestras’ sixty-first year in operation. The big! new! exciting! event (among many) this season is our first-ever Fresno International Youth Orchestra (FiYO) Festival, May 22-27, 2012. Stay tuned (and we mean that!) for more news. We thank the California Arts Commission and the James Irvine Foundation for support of this exciting initiative.

Organizations we support and which support us:
Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO)
League of American Orchestras (LAO)
Valley Cultural Coalition (VCC)