Education Programs
The Kingston Symphony offers a variety of educational initiatives and youth programs designed to foster a love of music in the community. Their core offerings include youth orchestras, curriculum-based school partnerships, and beginner-friendly community ensembles.
Symphony Education Partnership
Increasing access to music education in our region is an important part of the Kingston Symphony’s mission. We offer a variety of unique learning experiences, aimed at helping people of all ages and musical backgrounds to explore orchestral music.
The Symphony Education Partnership, a unique collaboration between the Kingston Symphony, Queen’s University, and our local school boards, is one of our core educational programs. For over 30 years, Grade 4 students from Kingston and the surrounding region have attended a Kingston Symphony performance for a morning of music, learning, and fun. To prepare students for their trip to the orchestra, a curriculum is written by a member of the Queen’s University music faculty. Music education students at the DAN School of Drama and Music then teach the curriculum to participating classes in advance of the concerts. In recent seasons, over 2,000 children have benefitted from this program each year.
Symphony Education Partnership concerts blend educational content with entertainment for our young audience members. During our 2024-2025 season, students had the opportunity to enjoy a performance themed around the great outdoors, featuring Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. In 2025-2026, we will be premiering an exciting orchestral adaptation of the classic Canadian children’s story, Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.
Program Partners
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following program partners:
- Queen’s University Dan School of Drama & Music
- Limestone District School Board
- Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board
Our 2025-2026 Symphony Education Partnership is made possible thanks to the generosity of the following organizations and corporate partners:
Share the Music
In 2016, the Kingston Symphony launched a new outreach program called Share the Music. This program provides children, who otherwise could not afford it, the opportunity to attend a Kingston Symphony family concert. Together with their families, the children participate in a live performance, discover the instruments that make up an orchestra, and interact with professional musicians. By providing complimentary tickets to these families, we are able to reach and engage a large cross-section of youth in our community who normally would not be able to participate in such an initiative.
If you or someone you know may benefit from the Share the Music program, please contact the Kingston Symphony office.
Share the Music is made possible thanks to the generosity of the following partners:
Music Awards
The Kingston Symphony Volunteers Music Awards is an annual competition that recognizes and encourages the development of musical excellence among young musicians studying symphony orchestra instruments. It provides thousands of dollars in prize money to support young performers living in Kingston and the surrounding region. For more information about the music awards, please click the link below.
Harmon in Space
Harmon in Space is an educational children's web series produced by the Kingston Symphony in collaboration with Gazelle Automations. It follows Harmon the Hound, a canine astronaut who learns about the instruments of the orchestra while exploring the cosmos. To learn more about Harmon or to watch the series on YouTube, please visit the links below.
Before the Downbeat
Before the Downbeat involves a number of initiatives designed to enhance the concert experience for our audience by providing in-depth knowledge about the program of music that will be performed at our concerts. Initiatives include pre-concert talks and interviews with our Music Director and musicians. To learn more about Before the Downbeat, please click the link below.