The Eastman School of Music has two performing orchestras which regularly perform repertoire representative of all musical style periods. An additional conducting orchestra provides student conductors and musicians an opportunity to rehearse a large volume of standard repertoire.  Two performing venues at Eastman allow students and faculty to present concerts in an acoustically fine and artistically well-conceived concert space: the newly-renovated Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, which seats approximately 2,300, and Kilbourn Hall, a smaller and more intimate performing venue.

Membership for string students in the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra (ESSO) and Philharmonia (PHIL) is determined by a required Fall audition. Placement in the Graduate Conducting Orchestra (GCO) is determined by the Office of Graduate Studies. All first year string students are assigned to ESSO. In addition to performing standard orchestral repertoire, members of either orchestra comprise the pit orchestra for the fall and spring operas, as well as play major choral/orchestral works with the Eastman Rochester Chorus. Both ESSO and PHIL participate in the annual readings of student compositions in the Spring semester.

All string players are required to audition for participation in Eastman’s orchestras. Non-string players are assigned to the orchestras by their studio teachers. Neil Varon, Director of Orchestral Activities at Eastman, oversees the orchestral program and serves as primary conductor of all the orchestras.