Orchestral Fellowship

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About • Apply + Audition • 2025 Repertoire • Faculty • Fees

About

Orchestral Fellowships at NOI+F provide a month of intensive rehearsals, intimate masterclasses, insightful seminars and electrifying performances as part of the Grammy-nominated NOI Philharmonic. Participants work closely with faculty drawn from leading North American symphony orchestras and conservatories. Conductors, rotating on a weekly basis, are visionaries on the podium and offer many decades of orchestral wisdom and leadership. NOI+F orchestral fellows are also active in our community engaging with new audiences and performing in non-traditional venues. Combining the demands of chamber music with the precision of large scale symphonic repertoire, orchestral fellows also participate in NOI+F's Conductorless Orchestra. This special artistic exploration (nationally-unique to NOI+F) allows students to craft their own interpretation of a symphonic piece.

More About the Orchestral Fellowship

• All NOI+F Orchestral Fellowship recipients receive a full scholarship for their tuition to the festival.

• Application and room and board fees are the responsibility of each fellow.

• Scholarship and financial aid packages are awarded to fellows demonstrating a need for assistance.

• Age: All who are 18 or older by May 28, 2025 may apply. The typical age range for NOI+F is 18-30. 

Key Dates

• Application Opens: Thu, Oct 31, 2025

• Application Due: Tue, Feb 4, 2025, 11:59PM ET

• Admission Decisions Released: Mon, Mar 3, 2025

• Festival Dates: Wed, May 28, 2025-Mon, June 30, 2025

 

   

Apply + Audition

Audition Requirements

All auditions for NOI+F 2025 will be by recorded video audition. 

• All solos and excerpts recorded in ONE CONTINUOUS TAKE in order listed on the repertoire sheet. No cuts, interruptions or edits (see special requirements for percussion applicants below).

• DO NOT submit multiple files containing separate excerpts.

• File-types supported: MPEG, MPG, MP4, OGG, MOV, AVI, WMV

• Special Requirements for Percussion Applicants:

  • Percussion video auditions must contain all of the audition repertoire submitted as two separate files.

  • File 1: a continuous recording showing all timpani requirements

  • File 2: a continuous recording showing all percussion requirements—all pieces should be played without accompaniment.

• Please note: Seating during the festival will be based on your video entrance audition. There are no separate seating auditions beyond your audition video.

Audition Repertoire
 

Strings • Winds • Percussion • Harp

 

2025 Repertoire

 

• Barnes: Kinsfolknem 

  • Co-commission with the Aspen Music Festival and School and Carnegie Hall

• Clyne: Palette 

  • Co-commission with the New World Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, BBC Philharmonic and San Diego Symphony

• Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

• Haydn: Symphony No. 97

• Mahler: Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection”

• Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

• Menotti: Sebastian Suite

• Ravel: La Valse

• R. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra

• R. Strauss: Suite from Der Rosenkavalier

• Stravinsky: Danses Concertantes

• Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4

• Viet Cuong John and Jim

Learn more about this year's repertoire by visiting our Conductors + Repertoire page.
 

  

Faculty

Learn more about our faculty from NOI+F 2024 on the Faculty page.
 

  

Fees

How much does NOI+F cost?

All NOI+F participants receive a significant scholarship to cover their tuition. Each year over 50% of accepted students receive additional merit scholarships and need based financial aid to be applied towards program fee and housing costs. 

Tuition: $0

• All members receive a significant scholarship valued at over $4,000 to attend the National Orchestral Institute + Festival

Application Fee

• $50 if submitted on or before Sun, Dec 15, 2024

• $70 if submitted on or after Mon, Dec 16, 2024

• University of Maryland students apply with no fee! Email noi@umd.edu to for further instructions

• BIPOC students can apply to NOI+F for free through the Equity Arc Common App. Learn more here. 

• All application fees are non-refundable

Program Fee: $525

• Due at the time of your acceptance into the program

• The program fee is non-refundable and not applicable toward other program costs

Scholarship & Financial Aid

• All applicants are considered for merit-based scholarships based on video auditions.

• Additional need-based financial aid is available. Please fill out the financial aid form in your application to be considered for need based financial aid.

• Each year over 50% of accepted students receive additional merit scholarships and need based financial aid to be applied towards program fee and on-campus housing costs (housing scholarships can only be applied to NOI+F arranged on-campus housing).

Housing

Pricing for housing coming soon.

Parking

Participants who wish to park their car on the University of Maryland campus will be required to purchase a parking permit from the University. Campus parking fees are set by the University’s Department of Transportation Services and are not under the purview of NOI+F. Discounted satellite parking options will be made available closer to the festival. More information will be made available regarding the cost and specific parking locations upon acceptance.

Internet

Wireless internet access is available to participants throughout the UMD campus for a nominal fee. Free internet is available to Eduroam members. Check here to verify if your current college/university participates in Eduroam.
 

  

Questions + Additional Information

If you have additional questions or would like additional information, contact us at noi@umd.edu or 301.405.2317.

NOI+F is subject to University of Maryland COVID-19 guidelines. At this time, UMD does not require proof of COVID-19 vaccination. However, COVID-19 vaccines are strongly recommended. We encourage fellows, faculty and staff to assess their personal COVID-19 health risk and take appropriate measures. Additional information can be found here.