“The experience I gained in BYSO gave me the confidence to know that I’m well-equipped with skills as an orchestral musician. And it’s not by accident, but it’s because of years and years of rehearsing every Sunday” – Sammy Andonian ‘16

BYSO is so pleased to have a longstanding partnership with Boston Symphony Orchestra, BYSO/BSO: Partnering for the Future, beginning in 2012. This partnership has consistently afforded opportunities for our students to not only see the potential of being a professional musician, perhaps even a BSO musician, but also be able to play on the renowned Symphony Hall stage from a very young age. Sammy Andonian ’16, can now enjoy a full-circle moment of these experiences as he joins the Boston Symphony Orchestra violin section beginning in the 2025-2026 season, and can reflect on the impact BYSO had in preparing him for this moment.

Originally from Lincoln, MA, Sammy joined BYSO’s Junior Repertory Orchestra (JRO) when he was 10 years old. Having started playing the cello when he was only four, he was eager to join his first youth orchestra and surround himself with other talented young musicians. He progressed quickly, playing with Repertory Orchestra (REP) the very next year and Boston Youth Symphony (BYS), our highest-level orchestra, for the following five. While his first instrument was the cello, he quickly fell in love with the violin as well, which led to him playing both instruments for a portion of his time with BYS.

Reflecting on his time at BYSO, Sammy recalls all the opportunities he was able to earn through his hard work and musical drive, among which include serving as concertmaster for three seasons, performing as a soloist for the 2014 Gala in recognition of his concerto competition win that year, and playing the concertmaster solo in Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben at his final BYS concert—the last of which is one of his most treasured memories from that time. He recognizes that the work he put in back then, and the discipline BYSO instilled in him as a young musician, still serves him today. “The ownership that I took of my orchestral experience at BYSO has really carried through for me.”

Some of his fondest memories with BYSO center around our yearly opera productions. As the only youth orchestra in the country that performs full-length operas, Sammy looks back on how BYSO uniquely prepared him for success as a musician. “It’s extremely challenging…to play that much music and be able to adapt on the fly to the singers.” Our 2014 production of Puccini’s Tosca remains his favorite to this day, even with the added responsibility of being both concertmaster in Act 1 and principal cello in Acts 2 and 3—as he was also doing double-duty in BYS during this season. “The operas were really challenging, and they were really fun too…even though they were semi-staged, I still always felt like they were larger than life.” 

“As an orchestral musician, I could not have been better prepared. The challenges gave me a certain resilience and strength that I still carry with me.” – Sammy Andonian ‘16

Sammy is currently a doctoral fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center, with a bachelor’s degree from NEC and a master’s degree from Juilliard. He has performed as a soloist with renowned groups such as the New England Philharmonic, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and the New York Classical Players. And now, he has joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as a member of their violin section, beginning in their 2025-26 season! All of us at BYSO are so incredibly proud of Sammy for this massive accomplishment, and we wish him the best of luck in the next chapter of his orchestral career.

Are you, or someone you know, a (G)BYSO alum with an interesting story or life update to share? Contact Delilah Rau, Development Operations Assistant, at dgrau@bu.edu or (617) 358-6119!