Overview
Each season, the wide-ranging education programs of the Columbus Symphony connect hundreds of thousands of young people, families, educators, students, and aspiring musicians of all ages. These creative experiences nurture the finest musical talent at all levels and harness the power of the arts to make a meaningful difference in young people’s lives.
Special Thanks To
Field Trips
Each year, thousands of students throughout the greater Columbus area participate in the Columbus Symphony’s Young People’s Concerts. Concerts are programmed at the Ohio Theatre and are thematically based, grade-appropriate, and aligned with current Ohio Academic Standards.
Our Concert Guidebooks included pre- and post-concert listening maps, worksheets, and activities to guide students and facilitate a wraparound educational experience.
All seats are $5 for students and chaperones (1 free chaperone ticket for every 20 students), including free digital concert resources and a Spotify concert playlist.
Need-based transportation grants are available through our Safelite Bee-thoven Express Bus Grant program at the link below.
Registration for all 2024-2025 YPC Concerts is now OPEN!
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 10:30am
Ohio Theater
Students will discover how music compels us to move our bodies and create dance. Together we’ll discover the ways in which music made by the orchestra moves through space from high to low, filling the spaces in between with harmonies, timbres and textures.
The Link Up program addresses National Core Arts Standards for Music.
Repertoire this year will include:
Arturo Marquez- Danzon No. 2
Johann Strauss II- The Blue Danube
Georges Bizet- “Toreador” from Carmen
Ludwig van Beethoven- Symphony No. 5
Elena Kats-Chermin- “Knitting Nettles” from Wild Swans Suite
arr. Tanyaradzwa A. Tawengwa- Mhande
Tali Rubinstein- Shibolet Basadeh
Dai Wei- The Dancing Moonlight
Andre Filho- Cidade Maravilhosa
Link Up materials, including student workbooks and teacher guides, are available free for download from Carnegie Hall’s webpage for The Orchestra Moves.
For more than 30 years, Link Up—a program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI)—has paired orchestras with students in grades 3–5 at schools in their local communities to explore orchestral repertoire and fundamental musical skills, including creative work and composition, through a hands-on music curriculum. Students participating in Link Up attend a culminating concert where they sing or play the recorder or violin with the orchestra from their seats.
Link Up provides a free, high-quality, yearlong curriculum that teachers can implement, along with classroom materials, online video and audio resources, and the professional development and support necessary to make the program an engaging experience for students.
This is a national program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute.
Each season, the Columbus Symphony opens several of its working dress rehearsals to middle school and high school music students. These unique opportunities provide an insider’s view of how the CSO prepares for their upcoming Masterworks concert.
All open rehearsals take place at the Ohio Theater starting at 10 am. Please note rehearsal will take place two sessions 10 am-11:15 am and 11:35 am-12:30 am with an intermission in between. Groups are welcome to stay for one or both sessions. All seats are $5 each and or free for Title 1 schools and include a free donut.
Registration for all Donut Dress Rehearsals is now OPEN!
Rossen Milanov, Conductor
Sterling Elliott, cello
Corigliano: Phantasmagoria for Cello and Orchestra
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”)
In a Columbus Symphony co-commission, cellist Sterling Elliott performs famed composer John Corigliano’s Phantasmagoria for solo cello and orchestra. Rossen leads the orchestra in Beethoven’s sweeping third symphony, the ‘Eroica,’ or “Heroic” Symphony, written in a time of great personal despair for Beethoven as he faced the loss of his hearing while still resolving to push the boundaries of the symphonic genre.
The co-commission of John Corigliano’s Phantasmagoria is made possible by the Donald Harris Fund for New Compositions, and this concert is dedicated in memory of Donald Harris.
Yazid Gray, baritone
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Daugherty: Letters from Lincoln
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8
Guest conductor Thomas Wilkins leads the orchestra in this captivating program. Copland’s sparkling Appalachian Spring is considered one of his finest works. Michael Daugherty’s Letters from Lincoln, written in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, features baritone soloist Yazid Gray. Dvořák’s poetic eighth symphony is full of charm, inspired by the composer’s reflections on nature and life.
Aubree Oliverson, violin
Tchaikovsky: Prelude from The Queen of Spades
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 (“Pathetique”)
A master of drama and romance, Tchaikovsky’s music transports us to his distinctive musical landscape. On this program are some of his most beloved works. Aubree Oliverson, whose performances have been described as “powerful… brimming with confidence and joy” (Miami New Times) returns to Columbus with the exquisite Violin Concerto. The sixth symphony, Tchaikovsky’s last, is a passionate triumph from a composer at the pinnacle of his career.
AT YOUR SCHOOL
Our In-School Concert performances are FREE to all schools and are subject to availability throughout the season.*
Our In-school performances bring the Columbus Symphony and its forty-plus musicians to your school for a memorable concert that introduces students to the Orchestra in fun and exciting ways!
This concert can be tailored to accommodate audiences for grades K-2, 3-5, or 6-8.
Registration for all In-School Concerts is now CLOSED!
Host: Z. F. Taylor
Have you ever wondered how a piece of music made you cry or dance around with excitement? Classical composers use different moods, tonality, structures, and instruments to help us understand the language of music. Join us as we explore these musical ideas and get to the heart of why music has such an impact on our feelings and emotions.
Our In-School Concerts are thematically based, grade-appropriate, and aligned with current Ohio Academic Standards.
All In-School Schools receive FREE digital concert guidebook that includes pre- and post-concert activities, concert listening maps, worksheets, and a Spotify playlist to guide students and facilitate a wraparound musical experience.
Mindful Music Moments is a program that teaches stress reduction and mindfulness techniques through classical music. At the start of each day, students listen to four minutes of recorded classical music and relaxation prompts during morning announcements. Part music appreciation and part stress-reduction techniques, the program offers insight into the composers and music history while taking a moment to calm students’ minds and prepare them to learn. A limited number of free subscriptions are available to Columbus City Schools on a first-come first-served basis.
Performance Opportunities
Open to all Columbus Columbus City high school and middle school band and orchestra programs, the All-City Program allows CCS teachers and students the opportunity to connect with the broader Columbus music community by providing access to CSO professional musicians, conductors, and professional arts venues.
Each year teachers participate in this unique program that offers support and enrichment to music students within the school day with an 9-week residency with CSO musicians work along side teachers to prepare and support student learning.
Students from participating schools can also be nominated by their teacher to perform in the ACE Honors Ensemble. These select students will have the opportunity to work with CSO Assistant Conductor, Elias Miller and represent their school with a culminating performance on the Festival concert.
online Resources
The Columbus Symphony celebrates the resourcefulness and resilience of music educators in Central Ohio who work with students in classrooms and online through a range of distance-learning platforms and technologies. Drawn from programs created this collection offers an array of digital programs and resources for educators to use free of charge. To register, please use the link below:
Have a question or want to learn more? Contact Director of Education, Meghan McDevitt
mmcdevitt@columbussymphony.com | 614.221.4916
