Joining a Youth Orchestra or Choir in Munich (Not Just Private Lessons)

The Official Rule

Munich’s ensemble scene for kids isn’t one ladder, it’s several separate organizations with their own age bands, audition rules, and price tags, and most families never compare them side by side because each one only advertises itself.

The Bayerische Philharmonie runs the widest age spread under one roof. Its Kinderorchester, founded in 1995 as the “Kinderphilharmonie München,” takes students aged 7 to 15 and places them by experience rather than requiring an entry audition. Its Jugendorchester, founded in 1983 as the original Münchner Jugendorchester, is the association’s oldest and most traditional ensemble, and has toured internationally, including a UN World Peace Concert in Korea and a concert tour through Palestine. On the vocal side, the Kinderchor accepts children from age 6, rehearsing Mondays in Pasing and Fridays in Gauting, and the Jugendchor opens at age 14 with a repertoire that ranges from classical to pop, gospel, and ethno-jazz. All four are reached the same way: contact the office and arrange a Schnupperstunde, a trial session, rather than submitting to a formal audition. None of their pages publish a membership fee, which means you have to ask directly.

Voices of Munich runs the most transparent audition process of any ensemble covered here. It’s the concert choir of the Schule für Chorkunst München, accepting children aged 9 to 17, currently around 50 members. The audition is free, takes about 15 minutes, and only asks a child to sing one or two prepared songs before the choir’s director runs a few vocal exercises to check pitch and range. The school states plainly that the only real requirement is enjoying singing, prior training isn’t necessary. Booking is a short email to info@chorkunst.de.

The Bayerische Staatsoper’s Kinderchor is narrower on age but backed by the opera house itself. It takes children aged 8 to 11, with auditions (Vorsingen) usually held each February or March in front of choirmaster Christoph Heil. Rehearsals happen at least once a week at the National Theatre, and members occasionally appear in actual opera productions on that stage.

For kids already several years into an instrument, ATTACCA and ODEON are the step up. ATTACCA, the youth orchestra of the Bavarian State Orchestra’s academy, takes ages 12 to 18 but explicitly requires several years of regular lessons on an orchestral instrument before you can even apply, the audition is performed in front of professional musicians from the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, and rehearsals run Saturdays 2 to 6pm at the National Theatre. ODEON Jugendsinfonieorchester München takes ages 15 to 25, has around 70 members, and is the most transparent about cost of any ensemble here: membership runs 25 to 30 euros a month. Its audition is a slow and a fast movement from two different eras, about ten minutes in front of a panel of five to seven section leaders, and it holds several audition dates a year.

The city’s own Städtische Sing- und Musikschule also runs orchestras and choirs, listed officially as free (Tarif D), but they function as an ensemble subject that generally follows on from being enrolled in the school’s instrumental or vocal instruction, rather than a door open to any child off the street.

What Real People Say

Independent directory sites that catalogue Munich youth activities flag the same problem repeatedly: several of the Bayerische Philharmonie’s own ensemble pages carry almost no public detail beyond a name and a contact number, which pushes families toward a phone call or email just to learn the basics that other cities publish upfront. That gap in online information, not the actual joining process, is the friction point that shows up most often.

The existence of English-language options like ESME, the Munich English Choir, and the SMILE project is itself a signal: enough families who don’t speak German fluently have gone looking for a way to make music in Munich that a handful of dedicated English-language ensembles have grown up specifically to serve that need, even though none of them are built as children’s programs the way the German-language ensembles are.

On its own site, Voices of Munich features a member testimonial that echoes what shows up across choir and orchestra descriptions generally: families and kids who stick with these ensembles tend to talk about the sense of belonging and the friendships built over years of weekly rehearsals as much as the musical training itself, not just the performances or competition results.

Step by Step

1. Decide whether your child is a true beginner or already a few years into an instrument or singing. Voices of Munich and the Bayerische Philharmonie’s Kinderorchester/Kinderchor accept beginners and place them by ability. ATTACCA and ODEON explicitly require prior training and a real audition, applying without that background wastes everyone’s time.
2. For the Bayerische Philharmonie ensembles, call or email first rather than showing up. Reach the office at 089 120 220 320 or info@bayerische-philharmonie.de and ask to arrange a Schnupperstunde, a trial session, for the specific ensemble that matches your child’s age.
3. For Voices of Munich, email info@chorkunst.de to book the free audition. Prepare one or two songs your child already knows, an instrument is optional if they play one, and expect the whole appointment to run about 15 minutes.
4. For the Bayerische Staatsoper’s Kinderchor, apply by email with your child’s age and address, then watch for the Vorsingen audition window, typically February or March, in front of choirmaster Christoph Heil.
5. For ATTACCA or ODEON, only apply once your child has several years of consistent instrument lessons. Submit the application form on the relevant orchestra’s site, then prepare a fast and a slow piece from different musical eras for the audition itself.
6. Ask about cost explicitly during your first contact, since only ODEON publishes a number (roughly 25 to 30 euros a month) online, every other ensemble here requires you to ask directly.

Compliance Note

This page describes ensemble structures, age ranges, and audition processes as published or confirmed by each organization in mid-2026. Audition dates, rehearsal schedules, and fees can change from year to year and are set independently by each ensemble, not by SettledIn. Confirm current details directly with the relevant organization before applying.