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Enrolling for 2026-27

Everything you need to bring your child to COS.

New families start with an audition so we can hear where your child is and place them properly. Returning families go straight to registration. Everything happens on one Saturday in Syosset, and every child performs twice in their first season.

A family arriving on a Saturday morning

You do not need to work out which program your child belongs in before you come. That is what the audition is for. Faculty hear where a child is and how they learn, and then place them. There is a move-up audition every semester, so nothing decided in September is fixed.

Browse all programs How placement works See a whole Saturday

One day a week

A Saturday at COS

Every class runs on Saturdays at the Community Church of Syosset, 36 Church Street. Private lessons are scheduled separately with your teacher. Your child attends only what they are enrolled in, so most families are here for two or three hours.

12:00

Musicianship, ear training and composition

1:00

Kinder Orchestra and Mallets & Bars

1:30

Sinfonia and the Junior Symphonic Ensemble

2:30

Pre-Kinder, Elite String, Percussion and the chamber groups

4:30

Wind Symphonic and the Young Symphonic Ensemble, until 7:30

Tuition

What a season costs.

Membership fees are deliberately kept below what the program costs to run, with donations and grants carrying the difference. Scholarships and financial aid are available, and no child is turned away for financial reasons.

2025-26 rates shown

Fees for the 2026-27 season are published each August. Until then these figures are the best guide to what a season costs.

Program

Member

Non-member

Pre-Kinder

$795

Members only

Kinder Orchestra

$1,190

Members only

Orchestra: Sinfonia

$1,300

Members only

Orchestra: JSE, YSE (includes WSE)

$1,400

Members only

Elite String / Percussion Ensemble

$605

$920

Chamber Music

$830

$900

Musicianship

$485

$895

Mallets & Bars

$555

$750

Instrumental Technique Advancement Program (ITAP): beginner cello

$850

Members only

Majors Program

$3,000

Members only

Parents Association Fee

$40

All families

Registration Fee

$75

All families

New Application Fee

$50

All families

Full Payment Incentive

−$75

All families

Minimum Payment Due Upon Registration

$500

All families

Member means your child is enrolled in a COS orchestra. Four classes can be taken without that: Chamber Music, Musicianship, Mallets & Bars, and the Elite String and Percussion Ensembles. Registration, application and Parents Association fees apply to every family either way.

Wide · the Syosset corridor between classes

Cost should never decide

Scholarships and financial aid

From its founding, COS has held that a family's circumstances should never determine a child's access to music. A scholarship program supports students demonstrating financial need and musical commitment, and the Catherine L. Bowers Viola Scholarship covers study in full for children who take up the viola.

For families demonstrating financial need. Applications are reviewed confidentially.

Financial aid form →

Merit & viola scholarship

Includes the Catherine L. Bowers Viola Scholarship, which covers study in full for students taking up the viola.

Merit scholarship application →

A four-year curriculum for exceptional students preparing for conservatory-level study.

Majors Program application →

Ready when you are.

New families start with an audition. Returning families register. Either way, every child is heard personally by COS faculty.

Start with an audition

Register for 2026-27