Yale Symphony Orchestra

Among the top U.S. student ensembles, the Yale Symphony Orchestra tours internationally and attracts world-class soloists. The group is composed mainly of undergraduates. The Yale Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1966. Its predecessor was the Calhoun College Chamber Orchestra at Yale, three of whose members wanted to create a group that could handle larger symphonic repertory. The ensemble was called the Yale Symphonic Society at first, but campus usage soon shifted to Yale Symphony Orchestra, and the name was officially adopted in 1967. The group's first permanent conductor was Richmond Brown, who led the orchestra during the 1967-1968 school year. He was succeeded by John Mauceri, a 1967 Yale graduate who went on to a prestigious conducting career in the concert hall and on Broadway. Later conductors have included Yale alumnus Robert Kapilow (1977-1983), Shinik Hahm (1995-2004), Toshiyuki Shimada (2005-2019), and William Boughton (2019-). The orchestra rehearses twice a week for two and a half hours per session. The Yale Symphony Orchestra gives six concerts per academic year, many at Yale's Woolsey Hall but also off campus. In addition to live performances, the concerts are live-streamed to a global audience the orchestra estimates at 7,000 viewers. Notable among these is the annual Halloween Concert, which accompanies a student-made silent film and begins at 11:59 p.m. on Halloween night. Various celebrities have made appearances in the films, including Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Alanis Morissette. Students audition for the orchestra at the beginning of the school year, and a group of 80 to 90 musicians is chosen. The group's international tours, which began immediately after Yale's graduation ceremonies, have included trips to Britain, Turkey, Russia, and Austria. Guest artists have been a prestigious group that includes soprano Frederica Von Stade, pianist Emanuel Ax, and conductors Leopold Stokowski and Marin Alsop. The orchestra's repertory includes both traditional and contemporary works, and the group has given important premieres, including that of a restored version of Charles Ives' Three Places in New England and the European premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass. The Yale Symphony Orchestra has made several recordings for the Naxos label, backing pianist Idil Biret on a 2013 recording of Hindemith's complete piano concertos and, in 2024, Paul Reale: American Mosaic.
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