The Duquesne Symphony Orchestra is a central element of The Pappert School of Music’s curriculum. The orchestral program is integral to the basic musicianship training that all instrumentalists in every degree program receive at Duquesne, in addition to developing the understanding, technique and discipline required of the professional orchestral musician.

Jeffrey Turner was named Director of Orchestral Studies in the spring of 2011, and serves as the orchestra’s Music Director. Orchestra members rehearse three times each week, and also attend classes in orchestral excerpts and orchestra repertoire classes for brass, percussion, woodwind, and string sections.

The Symphony Orchestra performs in Pittsburgh's Carnegie Music Hall, renowned for its architectural beauty, as well as in Pittsburgh’s premiere orchestral venue, Heinz Hall. In the course of a typical school year the Symphony Orchestra performs six concerts, performing major works from the standard orchestral repertoire, and covering a broad and diverse range of music from the Baroque to the present day. Soloists with the orchestra frequently include principal players from the world-renowned Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.