Voted the best music school through the LI Choice sponsored by  LI Herald, the Children’s Orchestra (COS) is in its 54th Season of teaching children/teens to play classical music and presenting them in orchestral and chamber music concerts. The primary goals of the Orchestra are to produce an annual concert series, regularly scheduled classes in chamber music/musicianship, and to maintain a teaching and administrative staff that support the growing membership in these programs. 

Unique to COS is its child-centered approach to teaching, & nurturing a child’s innate capacity in a friendly, supportive and cooperative environment. COS gives children a set of basic skills necessary to train professional musicians, or to be an appreciative audience and/or amateur. 43 Since 1984, COS has flourished under the leadership of Music Director and Conductor Michael Dadap and his wife, Executive Director Yeou-Cheng Ma, daughter of the orchestra’s late founder, Dr. H. T. Ma, and sister of cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Tuition/ticket sales cover 40% of COS’s yearly budget. COS plays an essential role in training young musicians and is a beacon of hope for under-privileged students, especially since schools have slashed their arts/music budget. COS survived the 2008 financial crisis, the pandemic, and a disastrous flood, yet maintains a generous scholarship program which needs support in order to recruit quality students who land major scholarships in colleges. A COS alumnus summarized COS’s influence on him. He said “Michael and Yeou-Cheng not only taught us to love music, but taught us how to love”