The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO)-Thornton Strings Mentorship Program presents the Mock Orchestral Audition, providing students with the hands-on experience of a professional orchestra audition.

True to the professional process, selected USC Thornton Strings students will play orchestral excerpts behind a screen for a panel of adjudicators. At the conclusion of the audition, a special award may be given to an exceptional student at the discretion of the judges, giving them an opportunity to be mentored by a LACO principal musician and to perform as a substitute player during one week of the orchestra's 2017-18 concert season.