CMCB Orchestra

Saturdays, 3:15 – 5:30 PM
Instructors: Kathleen Berger, Conductor & William Shipley, Assistant Conductor
Ages: 12+
Full Year Schedule: 9/13/25 – 6/6/26
Tuition: $685

Participants may join this group on a rolling basis! Sign up by January 8th to join this group for the second half of the school year!

CMCB Orchestra at the Community Music Center of Boston is our flagship ensemble for string, woodwind, brass, and percussion musicians.

She Dwells by Great Kenhawa’s Side, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor arr. Berger

What to Expect

Community

A home away from home.
A safe, inclusive space.
A supportive, welcoming environment.
An accepting and nurturing world class faculty devoted to the individual needs of all of its members, including a wind and string coach available for sectionals and support at every rehearsal in addition to the conduct.
An integrative approach that allows students to get the best music education at the highest level for their specific needs and range of abilities.

Collaboration

With the incredible resources, classes, seminars, masterclasses, private instruction, and more that CMCB has to offer.
Specific collaborations with other CMCB ensembles, such as Una Voce.
With local schools.
With many of the best teachers and musicians in the Boston and larger New England community.
With parents and friends to help, support, encourage, and celebrate each student’s individual needs and successes.
With students to be active participants in programming through leadership committees, within the rehearsal environment, and through one-on-one feedback.

Cultural and Neurodiversity

Dedicated to performing, showcasing, and advocating historically overlooked and underrepresented BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and female composers, alongside pulling from the classics, such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Gershwin.
Inclusive, welcoming, appreciative, and encouraging of the unique perspectives and experiences of our multicultural, LGBTQ+, and neurodiverse students

Creativity

Provide an often neglected opportunity for programming student arrangements and compositions specifically created by CMCB Orchestra members for CMCB Orchestra
Audition for our Concerto Competition and have the chance to perform solo with the CMCB Orchestra
Experiment with new approaches to music making with interdisciplinary collaborations and unique, less typical and/or collaborative performance styles

What makes us different from other youth orchestras?

Size: Chamber orchestras tends to be about a quarter of the size of a symphony orchestra. This allows for:

More individual attention
More leadership opportunities
More voice in creative and artistic decisions

Time: A smaller time commitment without sacrificing the quality of the instruction.

Inclusivity: From students with hopes of becoming a professional musician to students that simply love music, CMCB Orchestra provides enriching opportunities for students with a wide range of experience and goals. With over twenty years of experience teaching multi-level ensembles, including over 15 years with the Colleges of the Fenway Orchestra, CMCB’s conductor has a unique way of challenging and engaging high-level musicians while keeping it a safe, relaxed space for students that may find some aspects of music more vulnerable.

Orchestral fundamentals are addressed at the beginning of each rehearsal (rhythmic concepts, intonation, balance, basic conducting, and how to practice ensemble skills at home).

For questions about your musical journey at CMCB, contact our Student Services Team at registration@cmcb.org.

Learn more about tuition information and the financial aid application process by clicking here.