About Us

Our purpose is to bring often-ignored chamber orchestra masterpieces into the limelight at Yale. Works like Strauss's Metamorphosen, Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, and the Lark Ascending are often excluded from the repertoire of current Yale ensembles. This is due to both instrumentation restrictions in the case of YSO, and ability restrictions in the case of the two college orchestras, as these pieces require a high technical and musical level. We also seek to introduce new works for chamber orchestra into the repertoire. YUCO provides a space for up-and-coming composers to premiere their works in a welcoming, pre-professional environment, where they can be recorded and submitted to competitions and music schools. YUCO is, first and foremost, a performance ensemble. YUCO can also be a meaningful stepping stone for composers, conductors, and instrumentalists on their way to graduate school and on their career paths. YUCO introduces repertoire to musicians and audience members alike that would have never played or heard otherwise.