The Auckland Youth Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1948 to bridge the gap between secondary school orchestras and adult professional groups. More than 2000 young adults between the ages of 18-24 have since passed through the ranks of the orchestra, having received expert training in orchestral playing.

Today, the orchestra's training role is still paramount, but it has an extended activity as a performing and touring symphony orchestra. The Auckland Youth Symphony Orchestra has presented concerts from Hobart to Cairns, from Invercargill to Kerikeri. It has made six extensive tours across the Tasman, one to Hawaii and one to Canada. Concerts have been presented in 108 different towns and cities away from Auckland. This is a wholly amateur organisation run on professional standards, dedicated to turning young musicians into the unit of collective instrumental and artistic expression that is a symphony orchestra.

Our orchestra members are not children, but young adults aged 18-24. They are mature and responsible New Zealanders whose worth both personally and musically has been admired both here and overseas. The Auckland Youth Symphony Orchestra was the first youth orchestra to be formed in Australasia and is the leading training orchestra in New Zealand for professional musicians.