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The Saybrook College Orchestra was founded in the fall of 2001 by a group of undergraduates seeking a wider variety of approaches to the performance of orchestral music at Yale. Originally devoted to the chamber orchestra repertoire, SYO has grown to a full-sized symphony orchestra, comprising instrumentalists from all twelve of Yale’s undergraduate colleges, the university faculty, and several of the graduate and professional schools. Today, the Saybrook College Orchestra is over 90 musicians strong and plays a conspicuous role in the cultural life of both the university and the New Haven community. The SYO Chamber Players, formed last season, continue the orchestra’s commitment to the smaller ensemble repertoire performed at the time of the orchestra’s founding. From its inception, SYO has been committed to programming ambitious and accessible concerts presented free of charge. Highlights from recent performances include Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies, Brahms’ First Symphony, Dvorak’s New World Symphony, Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade, John Williams’ Star Wars and Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony. A complete list of music the orchestra has performed is available here.

In 2004, SYO presented Yale’s first orchestral and operatic Commencement Concert, featuring performances of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony and the first act of Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with vocalists from the Opera Theatre of Yale College. The overwhelming success of this project established the SYO Commencement Concert as a new campus tradition. In addition to its symphonic concerts, the Saybrook Orchestra actively seeks out creative collaborations in the fields of opera, musical theater, dance, and film. In 2004, SYO partnered with the Opera Theatre of Yale College for an acclaimed production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in the historic Yale University Theater. The orchestra also collaborated with the Yale Dramatic Association for their 2004 Commencement Musical, Man of La Mancha, and with student filmmakers to record the original soundtrack for the feature-length film Tri-State.

SYO is also deeply committed to educational and community outreach. In December of 2004, the orchestra presented an Educational Concert that was attended by over 900 students and teachers from all over the State of Connecticut. Narrated by the noted actress and Yale Drama School alumna Kate Burton, the concert featured selections from the classical repertoire as well as a suite of John Williams’ music from the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The 2nd Annual Children’s Concert proved an even greater success, changing venues to Woolsey Hall to accomodate twice as many students. In March of 2005, SYO performed along with the Whiffenpoofs and Brass. on a benefit concert organized by Yale staff and students to aid the victims of the South Asia tsunami. These projects and many others are made possible in part through the support of Saybrook College, the Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee, the Lewis Walpole Library, the Yale Bands, the Yale School of music, Orchestra New England, the Yale Philharmonia, and through the generosity of private donors and contributors.

Known for its spirit of camaraderie, SYO sponsors frequent social gatherings, including weekly dinners, occasional games of ultimate frisbee and soccer, and trips to musical performances. The orchestra also supports a rich array of chamber ensembles, including the cello ensemble Low Strung, the SYO Chamber Players, and the quintet Brass, which perform frequently both on and off campus. SYO attracts musicians from all fields and majors, and strives to accommodate the busy schedules of its members. The orchestra rehearses once a week, on Friday afternoons from 2:30-5:00, in the Saybrook College Underbrook Performance Space.

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