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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 built around how they learn. Whether they are picking up an instrument for the first time or already playing well, 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
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COS-Languge-Of-Music
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. Violists are among the most sought-after young musicians in the country, and every orchestra needs them. 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 tend to move up faster here, simply because the ensembles need them.
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. Every child gets a part the piece actually needs.
♫

Teamwork they can hear

An orchestra only works when every child listens and adjusts to the players around them. Your child hears that happening every Saturday and learns to do it.
♩

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.
♪

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.
1
Pre-Kinder
First notes, first friends
2
Kinder Orchestra
Playing together begins
3
Sinfonia Orchestra
Real repertoire, real growth
4
Junior Symphonic Ensemble
Advancing musicianship
5
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.
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
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 · Google Review
*Among graduates tracked by COS from 1984 to 2025.
Three simple steps

From “maybe” to their first rehearsal.

1

Apply online

The application takes about five minutes. Tell us about your child, their instrument, and their experience, including none at all.
2

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.
3

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
Your $50 application fee covers your child’s individual audition with COS faculty. A musician sits and listens to your musician. Orchestral excerpts, where they are required, are emailed to you ahead of time so your child can prepare.
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.
Wide · the audition room, faculty listening
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