About Us
The Erie Junior Philharmonic, created in 1947 by Fritz Mahler, is one of the oldest youth orchestras in the United States and has been a staple in the Erie community since. Graduates are now playing in orchestras across the country, including the New York Philharmonic, the Columbus Symphony, and even the Erie Philharmonic!
Led by Artistic Director and Conductor Jerry Anderson, the Erie Junior Philharmonic offers weekly rehearsals, sectional coaching, and advanced chamber ensembles for members of the string, brass, woodwind, and percussion sections of the orchestra. Performance opportunities include winter and spring concerts, ensemble performances, an annual concerto competition, and a performance with the Erie Philharmonic. They also host a Summer Music Camp to keep student music skills sharp over the summer.
Is your student already playing an instrument? That’s amazing! We have ensembles for all instruments and different playing abilities! Check out our ensemble page for more information.
Not sure where to start? That’s okay too! We have Prelude ensembles to ensure your student gets the best start on string or wind instruments. We start at the very beginning – how to take care of your instrument, how to hold it, how to read music, and more.
The Junior Philharmonic rehearsals are held Tuesday evenings at Strong Vincent Middle School. Our season runs September-May. Rehearsal times differ based on each ensemble, but we rehearse within the 6:00-8:30pm window.
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23 West 10th Street, Erie, PA 16501
(814) 455-1375 ext. 117
Business Manager/Audition Information
Maura Pelinsky · fiddlemo@msn.com
Erie Philharmonic Director of Community Programs
Lisa Herring · lisa@eriephil.org
Meet the Staff & Coaches
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Jerry Anderson, Artistic Director & Conductor
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Maura Pelinsky, Business Manager
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Carrie Borland, Chamber Orchestra Conductor
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Mariana Mathewson Bernstein, Prelude and Intermezzo Strings
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Kent Tucker, Brass Coach
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Brad Amidon, Percussion Coach
Our Ensembles
String Academy
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Beginning strings (violin or cello)
Students do not need to have any prior experience to be in the Prelude Ensembles.
Recommended for students in Grades 2+
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Graduates of Prelude Strings join this ensemble, or students with one year of experience on a string instrument can audition for placement
This ensemble is intended for students who are just starting to read music and learn how to play as an ensemble.
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This intermediate ensemble is for students that graduate from Overture Strings or have a few years of experience on a string instrument.
Winds Academy
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Beginning winds is for students with no prior experience on a woodwind or brass instrument.
Students do not need to have any prior experience to be in the Prelude Ensembles, but should in be Grades 4+ to join Prelude Winds.
In Grades 2 or 3 and want to play an instrument? Check out the NUVO Program!
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Graduates of Prelude Winds join this ensemble, or students with one year of experience on a woodwind or brass instrument can audition for placement.
This ensemble is intended for students who are just starting to read music and want to learn how to play as an ensemble.
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This intermediate ensemble is for students that graduate from Overture Winds or have a few years of experience on their woodwind or brass instrument.
Orchestras
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Our intermediate orchestra is for all instruments (strings, woodwind, brass, and percussion) and is our first level for playing in a full orchestra. They also rehearse in sections on a regular basis in preparation for joining the Symphony Orchestra.
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Advanced orchestra for all instruments.
Members receive coaching on their instrument, masterclasses with Erie Phil musicians, and also perform Side-by-Side with the Erie Philharmonic on the Warner Theatre stage each season.
Percussion Academy
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Beginning percussion
Students do not need to have any prior experience to be in the Prelude Ensembles.
Recommended for students in Grades 2+
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Graduates of Prelude Percussion join this ensemble, or students with one year of experience on a percussion instrument can audition for placement
This ensemble is intended for students who are just starting to read music and learn how to play as an ensemble.
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This intermediate ensemble is for students that graduate from Overture Percussion or have a few years of experience on their instruments.
Auditions
The audition window for the 2026-27 Season is August 3-28, 2026.
All returning Erie Junior Philharmonic members and any interested new members need to submit an audition. All ensembles are audition-based, except for Prelude Strings and Prelude Winds, which are intended for new players with no experience.
All auditions are self-made video auditions and should be submitted electronically. You do not need a professional recording – most submit a recording from a phone.
(If the video is too big to email, you can use a platform like Google Drive, WeTransfer, or Dropbox to share it with us. Let us know if you have any issues with the submission. We can help!)
See the audition requirements to be included in the video. Once ready, please email your video submission to Maura at fiddlemo@msn.com.
Questions? Check out our FAQ below!
Audition Requirements
String Academy · Winds Academy · Percussion Academy
Please see the button for “26-27 AUDITION REQUIREMENTS”.
Symphony/Chamber Orchestra Requirements
Auditions require short excerpts and scales. Please click the button for “CHAMBER/SYMPHONY AUDITION INFO” below to open the dropbox file. You’ll find a PDF for each orchestra. You can click through the folders to find any music that you may need to prepare.
FAQs
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The Erie Junior Philharmonic is for students in grades 2+ for most ensembles. Students are eligible until they graduate from high school.
If a younger student is interested in an ensemble, it must be approved by Maura prior to registering.
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See above section for audition information. All ensembles (except Prelude) are by audition only.
The Prelude Ensembles for beginners (Prelude Strings, Winds, and Percussion) are first come, first serve, and no audition is required. Contact Business Manager to be placed on the list of interested families.
Candidates audition for a place in the Erie Junior Philharmonic at large - not a specific ensemble - and selected candidates will be placed in an ensemble based on level. Please note that auditions are competitive for intermediate and advanced ensembles.
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The Erie Junior Philharmonic has a limited supply of instruments to help students. Schools are usually willing to help out as needed, too! Reach out, and we’ll do our best to make sure you have access to an instrument.
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The Erie Junior Philharmonic has the ability to help students record their audition materials. To learn more, please contact Maura Pelinsky at fiddlemo@msn.com.
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The Erie Junior Philharmonic requires students to resubmit an audition each season to ensure they are placed in an ensemble that most closely matches their level of playing. This means that a student might spend a few seasons in one ensemble before moving to the next.
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The Erie Junior Philharmonic wants to make quality music education accessible to all students. Because of this, we are providing auditions at no charge to all students. Tuition will be charged for all students accepted to the Erie Junior Philharmonic. Tuition ranges from $200-400 for the year, depending on which ensemble student is placed in. Tuition payments can be for the entire season, each semester, or monthly.
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Need-based assistance is available to all students. Please ask for a tuition assistance form from the Business Manager.
Tuition can be paid yearly, by semester, or monthly.
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Private lessons are important for all musicians, even the professionals! We highly recommend that all Junior Philharmonic members take private lessons if possible. We can send you a list of teachers that we know of in our area. Then, we suggest you contact a few and see what the best fit is for you and your student. Their location, costs, and schedule will all be different.
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Maura is the Junior Philharmonic’s Business Manager and can answer any questions or lead you in the right direction. fiddlemo@msn.com or (814) 450-6951 (cell).
Ways to Support
The Erie Junior Philharmonic is supported by the Erie Philharmonic. Your donations earmarked to educational programs or the Junior Philharmonic help in keeping the program sustainable and thriving in our area. Please click above to donate.
Can’t contribute financially? There are other ways to help! Reach out to Lisa at lisa@eriephil.org or 814.455.1375, ext. 117, to see how you can help! We need help in a variety of ways, including volunteering for concerts, helping with summer camp, instrument donations, coordinating trips, and more.
We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without our generous sponsors! To see how your business can help, click below:
Alumni
Were you previously in the Junior Philharmonic? We have an incredible group of alumni, and we like to keep them up-to-date with the current information about our programs, concerts and announcements! Please fill out the below form to be added to the list.
