photo credit: Rose Callahan / Metropolitan Opera

Thrilling audiences with more than 200 performances each season, the MET Orchestra is one of the world’s great performing ensembles, both on stage and in the opera pit. Since its founding in 1883, the MET Orchestra’s performances have encompassed not only the entire opera repertoire, but also an annual symphonic series and a musician-curated chamber music series at Carnegie Hall; international tours to Europe and Asia; and countless musical activities outside of the Metropolitan Opera House. The MET Orchestra is an ensemble noted by singers, critics, conductors, and audiences as one of today’s most stylistically versatile and musically satisfying orchestras.

MET Orchestra Musicians are chosen through a rigorous blind audition process – arguably the fairest in the industry. Because of the Orchestra’s reputation as a leader in fair hiring practices as well as their status as one of the world’s greatest orchestras, auditions routinely draw over two hundred international applicants for a single position .

MET Orchestra Musicians are sought-after teachers, having joined the faculties of all of the major universities and conservatories in the New York metropolitan area. They are also on the faculties of prominent universities throughout the United States, and teachers at many of the world’s leading music festivals.  Their students can be found in virtually every performing arts organization in the country.

Beyond the walls of the opera house, MET Orchestra Musicians have a passion for community engagement, having given numerous masterclasses and performances at local public schools and nursing homes. Their outreach efforts extend far beyond their local community, with teaching programs in Haiti, Brazil, and South Africa. When theaters were shuttered during the pandemic furlough, they self-produced a virtual chamber music series which brought much needed relief to those stuck at home and starved for the healing power of music. 

We are dedicated to providing our fans with a more immersive experience of opera by giving you behind-the-scenes access, and by maintaining an open channel of communication between the MET Orchestra Musicians and you, the listener.