Carnegie Mellon University School of Music and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra have announced a new four-year partnership designed to give CMU music students direct access to professional musicians and conductors.
The agreement places PSO artists regularly on campus for master classes, rehearsals, performances, and career discussions, while also providing PSO Go Pass subscriptions to all CMU music majors. The initiative formalizes an already active relationship between the two institutions.
“This is the result of genuine institutional will on both sides, and our students are the direct beneficiaries,” said Milton Laufer, professor and head of the School of Music.
As part of the collaboration, Music Director Manfred Honeck will visit campus once each season. PSO associate conductors will lead the CMU Philharmonic in two concerts annually, and guest artists will make multiple visits throughout the academic year.
University President Farnam Jahanian framed the partnership as an extension of CMU’s broader commitment to the arts. “Our partnership with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra creates new opportunities for students to learn from world-class musicians while shaping their artistry and ambitions,” he said.
PSO President and CEO Melia Tourangeau emphasized the long-term impact. “By connecting CMU’s students directly with the musicians and guest artists of the Pittsburgh Symphony, we are investing in the future of young artists and the cultural vitality of our city,” she said.
The connection is already visible within the faculty: roughly 20 PSO musicians hold teaching roles at CMU’s College of Fine Arts, bridging the professional and academic worlds. Programs such as the School of Music’s Composer’s Forum have also regularly brought PSO musicians into direct dialogue with students.
“This agreement formalizes what should always be true in a city like Pittsburgh,” Laufer said, “that its premier orchestra and the School of Music at its leading research university are active partners, not parallel institutions.”
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