Community Service Program

Community Youth Orchestra of Southern California is pleased to offer a Community Service Program (CSP) for high school or college students in grades 9 and up, who wish to develop skills in arts management and music education, serving as operational assistants to the staff as well as mentors for younger students in our Academy Program.

Returning CSP volunteers with an interest in teaching may even have the opportunity to help plan or lead a community enrichment class!

​From time to time, we engage our entire CSP time in outreach to serve young musicians in disadvantaged programs that CYOSC partners to support. There is no fee to participate in CSP.

Mentoring & Support Opportunities 

We are looking for students to fill the following positions:

1. Violin students to mentor the younger students in our Online Academy (violin ensemble) program. Mentors may each be assigned a specific student to work with, or may be asked to partner with other mentors to work with students in Zoom breakout rooms. Students in our Academy program are 4th grade and below, as young as Kindergarten. Online Academy rehearses on Friday nights from 5:00pm-5:45pm. Other classes for Academy age students meet Mondays at 6pm, Tuesdays at 5pm, or Wednesdays at 5pm. Academy CSP Volunteers may work one Academy class, or more than one class, depending on their schedule and interest!
2. Viola and cello students to mentor the younger students, or to provide examples of how parts should be played, in the Sinfonia program. Advanced violin students may also apply to work with this older age group. Students in this group are mostly 5th grade to 9th grade. Volunteers must have had orchestra experience in the past, and current members of CYOSC will be prioritized in the selection process. This Intermediate group rehearses on Friday nights from 6:00pm-6:45pm. Sinfonia Volunteers often combine volunteering for Sinfonia and volunteering to create content (such as slides or Kahoot quizzes) for other classes!
3. Advanced woodwind and brass students to mentor or demonstrate for younger players in the Symphony or Sectional classes. Students in this group average from 7th-11th grade. Volunteers must be proficienct on their primary instruments (All-Southern/All-State level), have previous orchestral experience, and will require an audition / interview with the staff. The Symphony rehearses on Friday nights from 7:00pm-7:45pm.
4. Volunteers to work with our online teachers in providing content in other enrichment courses (for example, helping to create musical storytime classes, play-ins, musical bingo or kahoot quizzes, etc.) If you see an Academy course description and you'd like to volunteer to mentor or help in that course, please let us know! Content creators work at times that are convenient to their own schedule, but must be able to create content on a deadline!
5. Volunteers (age 18 or older) to help in tech support during our CSP-led free classes, or Academy Program classes.

Apply Now

Teaching Opportunities

In addition to our core opportunities for mentoring young music students in CYOSC ensembles, we're proud to announce the expansion of our CSP program this year with enrichment classes led by returning CSP volunteers in Fall 2020!

Current CSP-led classes in the works include monthly Suzuki play-ins, based on our popular summer play-ins, and Musical Storytime, offered by two of our most experienced and dedicated CSP volunteers. These classes will be open to the community with free registration.

What a privilege to work with enthusiastic, returning CSP volunteers, who are stepping up to plan and lead these classes for our younger students and our community! The planning and teaching process includes the side-by-side support and guidance of dedicated teaching professionals on our CYOSC staff.

Our CSP coordinators are looking to identify more CSP candidates interested in helping us offer an an even wider variety of CSP-led classes in the future. Candidates are chosen by our staff based on past reliability/dedication to show up, willingness to learn & grow as musicians and community leaders, and the desire to be more involved in CYOSC programs.