Now auditioning · 2026–27 season

Give your child a language they'll speak for life.

For 57 years, the Children's Orchestra Society has taught young musicians on Long Island more than notes. Your child learns teamwork, discipline, and confidence inside a real orchestra, with a program tailored to how they learn best. From first-time beginners to advanced players, there is a seat waiting.

Start My Child's Audition

✓ Application takes about 5 minutes · ✓ Online auditions available · ✓ Every child is heard by COS faculty

57

Years of teaching

100%

College attendance*

4

Orchestras + ensembles

Limited opportunities this season

Two doors are wide open right now.

Full Scholarship

The Catherine L. Bowers Viola Scholarship

Choose the viola as your child's primary or secondary instrument and their study is covered by a full scholarship. The viola is the warm heart of every orchestra, and violists are among the most sought-after young musicians in the country. Scholarship seats are limited and awarded as qualified students audition.

The scholarship honors Catherine L. Bowers (1951–2004), a professional violist and mezzo-soprano whose rare and genuine altruism earned her an abundance of true friendships. Her legacy now opens the viola to the next generation.

Apply for the Viola Scholarship

Priority Placement

Winds, Brass & Percussion: your section is waiting

String players often wait in line. Wind, brass, and percussion players get a seat at the table, with more exposure, faster advancement, and a named home in our ensembles.

Flute

Oboe

Clarinet

Bassoon

French Horn

Trumpet

Trombone

Tuba

Percussion

Claim a Priority Seat

Why families choose COS

More than music lessons. A place where children grow.

Any program can teach scales. For 57 years, COS has used the orchestra itself as the classroom, where every child matters to the whole, and the whole shapes every child.

♫

Teamwork they can hear

An orchestra only works when every child listens, adjusts, and contributes. Your child learns collaboration not as a lecture, but as something they can hear happening around them every Saturday.

♩

Character built by practice

Discipline, patience, and the courage to perform. The habits your child builds preparing for a concert are the same ones that carry them through school, college, and everything after.

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A path, not just a class

From Pre-Kinder beginners to our most advanced ensemble, your child always knows where they are and what comes next. Many of our students grow with us for a decade or more.

From the day a child auditions, COS designs a program tailored to each student's temperament and learning style.

Dr. Yeou-Cheng Ma

The COS journey

Every child starts somewhere. Every child moves up.

Placement is based on your child's audition, never their age alone. Our faculty meets them exactly where they are.

Pre-Kinder

First notes, first friends

Kinder Orchestra

Playing together begins

Sinfonia Orchestra

Real repertoire, real growth

Junior Symphonic Ensemble

Advancing musicianship

Young Symphonic Ensemble

Our most advanced orchestra

Pre-Kinder

First notes, first friends

Kinder Orchestra

Playing together begins

Sinfonia Orchestra

Real repertoire, real growth

Junior Symphonic Ensemble

Advancing musicianship

Young Symphonic Ensemble

Our most advanced orchestra

Plus Chamber Music, Wind Symphonic Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Mallets & Bars, and the Elite String Ensemble for students ready for more.

The results speak

57 years of children who found their voice.

57

Years teaching children

100%

College attendance*

1 in 4

Accepted to Ivy League schools*

Every Saturday, families travel from across Long Island, Queens, and well beyond to be in these rehearsal rooms. Here's why.

Parent Testimonial

I drive my son 3 hours each way from Upstate NY every Saturday because my son is able to have opportunities and education he cannot get anywhere else. He decided this for himself after seeing what the environment is like.

Nuby DeLeon

COS parent

Google Review

Having my daughter be part of the Children's Orchestra Society has been a life changing experience. We have found the highest quality of musicianship while still maintaining a family atmosphere, unusual in youth orchestras. We love COS!!!!

Jane H.

COS parent

*Among graduates tracked by COS from 1984 to 2016.

Three simple steps

From "maybe" to their first rehearsal.

Apply online

The application takes about five minutes. Tell us about your child, their instrument, and their experience, including none at all.

We schedule the audition

You'll receive a proposed date by email. Auditions are held at our Syosset home, or online if that's easier for your family.

Your child finds their seat

COS faculty listen to every child personally and recommend the orchestra or program where they'll thrive, tailored to how they learn.

$50

One application fee. One personal evaluation. Your $50 application fee covers your child's individual audition with COS faculty, a musician listening to your musician, not a form disappearing into a folder. Orchestral excerpts (where required) are emailed to you ahead of time so your child can prepare with confidence.

No experience yet? Pre-Kinder and Kinder Orchestra welcome true beginners.

Busy schedule? Rehearsals are Saturdays at one location in Syosset.

Not nearby? Online auditions can be arranged for any family.

For prepared players

Audition requirements by orchestra

Auditioning for Sinfonia, JSE, or YSE? Download your instrument's requirements below. Orchestral excerpts are emailed after your application is received.

Kinder Orchestra

Kinder Requirements (PDF)

Sinfonia Orchestra

Strings Winds & Brass Percussion

Junior Symphonic Ensemble (JSE)

Strings Winds & Brass Percussion

Young Symphonic Ensemble (YSE)

Strings Flutes Winds & Brass Percussion

Prefer paper? Download the printable application and mail it with a check.

The 2026–27 season is forming now

Somewhere in the orchestra, there's a chair with your child's name on it.

Seats fill as auditions are completed, and scholarship placements are limited. The application takes about five minutes, and every child is heard personally by COS faculty.

Start My Child's Audition