The Sydney Youth Orchestra is a youth orchestra based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is the premier orchestral training ground in Australia for many young musicians. Since its founding in 1973 by Peter Seymour, a legendary music educator, it has provided orchestral training to thousands of young musicians whom are required to audition annually to be placed in orchestras and ensembles to best meet their stage of development as a musician.
It is part of the larger organisation called Sydney Youth Orchestra Inc which provides a pathway for hundreds of young musicians from beginner to pre-professional to connect, create and champion orchestral music. Sydney Youth Orchestra Inc is also the largest orchestral training provider in Australia. SYO receives less than 10% of its income through funding from state government grants, and 35% from student participation fees.