This fall will mark the beginning of our 51st season. We are an all-volunteer orchestra of more than 50 members from the Greater New Haven area and beyond. Members include teachers, doctors, lawyers, grandparents as well as both students and faculty from our local universities. Founded in 1962 by Ruth Brooks –who continues to perform with the group– the orchestra provides cultural enrichment to the Hamden and southern communities through its series of concerts, its annual Young Musicians Concerto Competition, the Ruth T. Brooks Scholarship Award, the annual Benefit Concert, and by the orchestral experience it offers area musicians and soloists.

Our commitment to the musical development of our local youth is a source of great pride. For the last 43 years the Hamden Symphony Orchestra’s Young Musicians Concerto Competition (YMCC) has provided an invaluable educational opportunity to gifted high school musicians in the area: the chance to perform -as a soloist- with a symphony orchestra. The competition is held each year in January, and the winners are featured in our spring concert.