A renowned professional training orchestra.
Jonathan Girard conductor
The UBC Symphony Orchestra (UBCSO) is a 90-member full symphony orchestra that performs symphonic works from the 18th century to the present day. It presents six regular concerts each academic year at the world-class Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and gives special performances both on and off campus.
WATCH: UBC Symphony Orchestra and the UBC Choirs perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection.”
First-class orchestral training
The UBCSO is one of the leading post-secondary orchestras in Canada. It provides musicians in training with the opportunity to learn, rehearse, and perform a diverse classical repertoire and gain professional-level experience while earning course credit toward undergraduate and graduate degrees.
The UBCSO has made four commercial recordings in the last ten years, two of which have been Juno-nominated. With an annual choral-orchestral concert, student concerto competition, composer readings, and numerous special interdisciplinary projects, the UBCSO is a vibrant community of dedicated musicians.
Aspiring conductors can apply to the Master of Music in Conducting, an intensive training program in choral, orchestral, or wind conducting that features private study and significant podium time.
Our graduates have secured positions in orchestras worldwide.
UBC Symphony Orchestra auditions
UBC Music (in particular, the UBC Symphony Orchestra and UBC String Chamber Ensemble) challenged my approach to interpreting and learning different genres of music, gave me opportunities to connect with my peers, and prepared me for a professional career in music. Memorable moments include premiering Oscar Navarro’s Clarinet Concerto, and performing Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem with UBC Choirs.
WATCH: Orchestra director Jonathan Girard talks about the art and mystique of conducting a symphony.
