Programs - The Vienna Philharmonic Society

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Academy

The Vienna Philharmonic Society USA is a founding donor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Academy which opened in Vienna in September 2019. The Academy offers tuition-free admission to 12 talented young musicians aged 18 – 27 across 11 musical instruments for a 2-year course of study which includes private lessons with Orchestra musicians, chamber music instruction and performance, audition preparation and orchestral training with the Orchestra. For an in-depth introduction to the Academy and its students visit our VPO Academy page.

Master Classes

The Vienna Philharmonic Society has partnered with the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall to offer Master Classes featuring woodwind, string and brass for young musicians from local high schools and major conservatories across the United States. The classes feature instructors who are principal musicians in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to the students selected from across the United States to participate in each class, the audience is open to high school and conservatory age musicians and teachers who can also benefit from observing the lessons with a principal musician.

Our first Master Classes premiered in February of 2017. Described as one of the most intense Master Classes they have ever attended, students learned how to bring the pieces to life by knowing the background and the history of the piece; the importance of the markings of the composer; using breathing and technical modifications to achieve greater variation in tone and intensity; and the influence of legato – learning techniques to help play in a smooth flowing manner, without breaks between notes. The students were reminded to enjoy playing the music, which helps release the tension of too much focus on the playing of the notes. They received guidance on playing solo as well as orchestral compositions and students and instructors were left wishing they had more time for learning and teaching.

Master Classes

Musicians from Julliard, the New England Conservatory, The Curtis Institute, The Eastman School of Music, Harvard, Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the NYO – National Youth Orchestra – benefit from one-on-one instruction from principal musicians with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. Classes focus on three instruments each year and have included the violin, oboe, bassoon, cello, trumpet, contrabass and flute.