Our Program
YPCO rehearse weekly on Saturday morning from 10-11:30. Each set ends with a public concert where our musicians will demonstrate what they've been working on.
We encourage everyone to join us! Our musicians span in ages from 5-18 and we take musicians of all levels. No audition required.
If you are curious in trying out YPCO, we offer rehearsal visits where prospective students can see what typical rehearsals look like and get a sense of the level. To schedule a rehearsal visit, contact our orchestra manager, Emma, at manager@ypco.org.
Benefits
Membership in YPCO includes:
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Four performances a year
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Weekly rehearsals led by conductor Rem Djemilev
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Non-competitve and supportive learning environment
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Opportunities to perform solo with the orchestra
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Carefully curated program based on orchestra level
Parent's Obligations
Parents' obligations include helping students fulfill their musical responsibilities to the Orchestra by encouraging at-home practice, 100% attendance, and promptness and courtesy at all times. Parents are also expected to help in all advertising and fund-raising opportunities.
Cost
All students and coaches must be registered through the YPCO online registration system. Tuition may be paid in full or in automatic payments with a deposit. Registration is a commitment to pay the full tuition amount. Enrolling in the payment plan is not a pay-as-you-go situation. Families are responsible for the entire tuition even if the musician decides not to finish the season.
We want to also draw attention to our stance on making YPCO accessible to everyone, and highlight our rates dependent on household annual income. The Bay Area is an exceptional place to live, a vibrant community with many cultural institutions and events, access to varied fields of work, a great destination for natural wonders and activities, and, of course, YPCO; however, the Bay Area can also be expensive and the services of YPCO may be financially out of reach to some residents. We offer a scholarship on our rates based on household annual income, that are outlined in the below table.
To be considered, families must submit a letter of request and recent tax forms, W2’s and/or 1099’s to our orchestra manager, Emma, at manager@ypco.org. If the board approves your family request for assistance, the orchestra manager will give you a coupon code to use when you are registering online. You may choose to pay the remainder in a single payment or automatic payments with a deposit. If you are divorced, separated, or have never been married, the other legal parent/guardian of your child must also provide the above documents. Our policy is to encourage all legal parents’/guardians’ involvement in funding their child’s education. If the other legal parent/guardian is unavailable or unwilling to participate in providing all necessary information, we will not be able to reduce their half of the tuition amount.
In no case will tuition be refunded. We realize that there are many serious circumstances, such as family illness or transfers out of state that may prevent a child from completing the year. However, as a small non-profit organization, we are unable to continue to operate without a stable financial base.
Rehearsal & Concert Schedule
Rehearsal Location: 2727 College Ave Berkeley, CA 94705