Welcome to Sheffield Youth Orchestra!
SYO is South Yorkshire's longest-running independent youth orchestra. Since 1964 we've led the way in developing young musicians through outstanding training and performance opportunities across the Steel City. Come and join the music today!
We rehearse term-time between 10:00am - 12:30pm on Saturdays
2 hours of rehearsal with a 30 minute refreshment/social break
Our rehearsal space is St Mark's Church in Broomhill Sheffield
Our Vision
The four steel pillars of our vision are:
Outstanding Music Making - We strive to provide unique performance opportunities at a range of venues in Sheffield. The repertoire we explore is ambitious,engaging and broad - with a particular focus on classical music composed in the past 100 years. Sheffield Youth Orchestra is an excellent accompaniment to a young musicians work in KS3, GCSE and A-Level music placing theory into practice. It's the perfect stepping stone into further education and professional music making.
Developing Young Musicians - For many young musicians, this may be the first time engaging with a full-size orchestra. Because of our longer rehearsals, we don't just focus on how and when to play the instrument. Musically, we also look into developing musicianship, learn about conducting and composing for small ensembles. This is in addition to instilling confidence and teamwork skills in our young players through our performing and social programme.
Community Engagement - Youth Orchestras hold great responsibility in the community. Not only to inspire the next generation of players, but also to bring communities together. That's why we focus our performances and community days on bringing families, schools, teachers and local musicians together to share our love for music. In addition, we collaborate with local charities to give back to the local community.
Accessible to All - We appreciate that music education can be expensive. That's why we are committed to reduce joining fees to a minimum. Our community events are free, in order to provide a platform for like-minded musicians to come together and engage with exciting repertoire.
Our policies are avaliable to view on the ‘Contact’ tab of the Sheffield Youth Orchestra website.
Our Conductor
River Edis-Smith is a multi-disciplinary musician who is musically curious and polyglot. His recent studies in MMus Music at the University of Surrey and his work as an educator (through classroom teaching, workshops, and private tuition) have led to professional engagements as a violin player, conductor, composer, and teacher.
Originally from Manchester, River relocated to Sheffield in September 2022 where he has expertly engaged with musicians across many backgrounds and genres. As a creator of leading new and exciting collaborative opportunities for musicians - River is a firm advocate of widening everyone’s musical circle through musical knowledge, developing performance skills, and encouraging network opportunities between artists.