Education & Community Engagement
The Reno Philharmonic supports diverse music education and community engagement programming. The Education and Community Engagement Department (EdCE) is comprised of five core programs: Discover Music, Family Concert, RPA Kids, Reno Phil Youth Orchestras (RPYO), and the Young People’s Concerts (YPC). Other programs range from the pre-concert talks with Laura Jackson to classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Nevada, Reno to community engagement events like Conduct Us, to master classes with Reno Phil guest artists. Each year the Reno Phil EdCE programs and events serve over 22,000 students and families.
Explore our Music Education Programs
YOUTH ORCHESTRAS
The Reno Phil has four Youth Orchestras: the Youth Symphony Orchestra (YSO), the Youth Concert Orchestra (YCO), the Youth Strings Symphonia (YSS), and the Youth Strings Ensemble (YSE). The three more advanced orchestras (YSO, YCO, YSS) require an audition, whereas YSE requires teacher recommendation.
For more information on membership, or if you are a current Youth Orchestra Member, please click the button below.
RPYO CONCERTO COMPETITION
November 2, 2024 at Steinway Piano Gallery
Every year, RPYO music students and local pianists are invited to participate in the annual RPYO Concerto Competition. The competition is optional, but all RPYO students are encouraged to apply. The categories are junior piano, senior piano, junior strings, senior strings, and winds/brass/percussion. Junior divisions are 8th grade and under, and senior divisions are 9th grade and up. Registration and guidelines will be available in September.
Play for a Day
Dust off your instrument! Join Conductor Laura Jackson and musicians from the Reno Phil for an afternoon of music making on Sunday, March 10, 2024. The whole community is invited! Arrangements of orchestral favorites are available for players of all levels. The afternoon will include rehearsals, sectionals, and a concert.
Case files
Our new video series “Case Files” gives people of all ages an inside look at each instrument in the orchestra, how they work, and other things professional musicians carry with them. Each Case Files video is 6-10 minutes long, and introduces an ambassador for a featured instrument in the orchestra. This series was produced during the 2020-21 season to replace our education program – Discover Music – and provide a resource for teachers to introduce students to the instruments of the orchestra. A special thank you to The Nell J. Redfield Foundation and The Sato Foundation for their support of our education programs and this project, and to Tyler Bourns and Bourns Productions for his generosity donating his time to create this video series.