The Phoenix Symphony is the only full-time professional orchestra in Arizona, performing over 200 concerts per year. We have 76 musicians, all of whom travel here from all over the nation to audition for the orchestra. Our season is 40 weeks long, from September through early June. We work 6 days a week, typically with 4 rehearsals and 4 concerts per week. Each week we learn and perform a different program, including classics, pops, and education, depending on the week. We perform in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Prescott, as well as in dozens of area schools each season. Our job as professional orchestra musicians is the culmination of decades of training, many of us starting our instruments before grade school. When we are not rehearsing or performing, we are practicing at home in preparation for the next program, maintaining our instruments, and staying physically fit to ward off fatigue and repetitive strain.