Youth Orchestra Lab is launched: the artistic residency for young musicians of the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
A high-level orchestral training program for instrumentalists aged 18 to 35, featuring opera productions, concerts, and mentorship alongside the musicians of the Orchestra del Maggio.

Florence, March 16, 2026 – The Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, in partnership with the Fondazione Teatro Goldoni of Livorno, launches Youth Orchestra Lab, a new Musical Artistic Residency project dedicated to young instrumentalists. The initiative is funded with the support of the European Union through the PR FSE+ 2021/2027 Regione Toscana program, within the framework of Giovanisì (www.giovanisi.it), the Regione Toscana project aimed at promoting youth autonomy.

The initiative is designed to offer young musicians aged 18 to 35 a highly specialized artistic residency focused on orchestral and operatic repertoire. The program provides a comprehensive training path that combines individual lessons, sectional rehearsals, and orchestral sessions under the guidance of renowned conductors and orchestra professors.

Participants will have the opportunity to take part in opera productions and symphonic concerts in Florence and Livorno, engaging directly with the professional dynamics of the opera house and enriching their curriculum with high-level artistic experiences.

“The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has among its key objectives the transmission of the great tradition of opera, symphonic music, and concerts to new generations,” says Carlo Fuortes, Superintendent of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. “With the Youth Orchestra Lab project, the Foundation offers young musicians an important opportunity for professional training, allowing them to learn from the experience of both the conductors who take the podium at our Theatre and the musicians of our great orchestra. We believe that the future of opera and symphonic music depends on a continuous dialogue between great masters and young talents. This project, developed together with our Accademia and the Teatro Goldoni of Livorno, with the support of Regione Toscana, confirms the role of the Maggio as an institution capable of training the musicians who will perform tomorrow in the world’s most important orchestras.”

“Youth Orchestra Lab represents a concrete investment in the territory and in new generations,” declares Mario Curia, President of the Accademia del Maggio. “Florence has historically been a city of cultural creation and production, not only preservation: with this project we strengthen its vocation as a living laboratory capable of attracting young talents and guiding them through an authentic process of artistic and professional growth. We are convinced that these young musicians, trained here, will become ambassadors of Florence around the world, carrying with them the value of a territory that believes in culture as a driver of development, identity, and future.”

“A laboratory dedicated to the role of the orchestral instrumentalist,” continues Matteo Pais, Artistic Director of the Accademia del Maggio, “where individual technical refinement develops from chamber music to rehearsal and performance in the orchestra. A journey guided by the mentoring of the Orchestra Professors of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, as well as conductors, leading from the rehearsal room to the stage with awareness and artistic maturity.”

“We are particularly pleased to take part in Youth Orchestra Lab,” states Massimiliano Mautone, Administrative Director of the Teatro Goldoni. “It is a project that brings together advanced training, artistic production, and the development of new generations of musicians. The collaboration with the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino represents for the Teatro Goldoni an important opportunity for shared work among cultural institutions in Tuscany, capable of creating a concrete bridge between education and the profession. Hosting part of the artistic residency in Livorno strengthens the role of the Goldoni as a space for production and growth for young talents, while also offering the city and its audiences new opportunities to encounter operatic-symphonic music and the protagonists of the musical scene of the future.”

Selections are open for the following instruments: Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Timpani/Percussion.

Applications must be submitted exclusively online: by Monday, April 6, 2026 for Violin, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass; by Tuesday, April 14, 2026 for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, and Timpani/Percussion.

Participation in both the selection process and the residency is free of charge.

The Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Teatro Goldoni of Livorno will provide accommodation and a daily allowance for all participants.

All activities will mainly take place at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence) and the Teatro Goldoni (Livorno), with a schedule of sessions running from May 2026 to January 2027.