Raleigh Civic Symphony & Chamber Orchestra

Based at North Carolina State University (NCSU), and co-sponsored by the Department of Music and the non-profit organization Raleigh Civic Symphony Association (RCSA), the Raleigh Civic Symphony and Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra are amateur orchestras comprised almost equally of volunteer community musicians and college students. The orchestras are unique in their ongoing commitment to perform contemporary and traditional classical music presented in a thematic context, connecting orchestral repertoire to larger ideas in creative ways.

The Raleigh Civic Symphony

The Raleigh Civic Symphony is a 75-member full symphony orchestra performing two concerts yearly. Area professionals serve as principal strings and section coaches, providing high-level instruction and leadership to community and student players.

Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra

Founded in 2000, the Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra explores repertoire for a smaller orchestral force. The Chamber has the same high artistic standards as the Symphony, performs two programs yearly, and uses professional leaders as coaches for the ensemble.

Our Conductor, Dr. Peter Askim

Active as a composer, conductor and bassist, Peter Askim is the Artistic Director of the Next Festival of Emerging Artists and the conductor of the Raleigh Civic Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, as well as Director of Orchestral Activities at North Carolina State University. He was previously Music Director and Composer-in-Residence of the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra. He has also been a member of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and served on the faculty of the University of Hawaii-Manoa, where he directed the Contemporary Music Ensemble and taught theory and composition.  Visit his website

“Music does not discriminate. In the Raleigh Civic Symphony and Chamber Symphony, world-class composers of our time come together with professional musicians, students, and community members, to collectively go beyond our everyday experience and into what cannot be thought or conceived, but rather felt, sensed, and perceived. Having true musical moments of depth with a diverse community of experience can allow us to realize music’s great and unifying potential to all.”
—Ganesh Om, Principal Trumpet of the Raleigh Civic Orchestras

'Bright lights on the music scene in Raleigh.' —Spectator
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'Askim has a fine podium manner, devoid of histrionics: he clearly knows what he is seeking, musically, and how to obtain it from his players.' —John W. Lambert
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'...this energetic young conductor and the committed musicians are all set to carry on in the first-rate tradition set by their honored predecessors' —Paul D. Williams
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