Orchestral practice plays a central role at the ZHdK. Two established formations - the Symphony Orchestra and Arc-en-Ciel (an ensemble for contemporary music) – annually host up to twelve concerts and represent the music department to a broad audience.
Close cooperation with the orchestras of the Tonhalle Zurich, the Philharmonia Zurich (Zurich Opera), the Musikkollegium Winterthur and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, provide ZHdK students with first-hand experience of working in a professional orchestra. Co-productions with other Swiss music academies serve to establish contacts and cultivate exchange with other training institutions.
Outstanding conductors to have worked with ZHdK students over the years include Stefan Asbury, Roberto Benzi, Andreas Delfs, Werner Ehrhardt, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Marc Kissóczy, Bernhard Klee, Emmanuel Krivine, Jesús López Cobos, Zsolt Nagy, Larry Rachleff, Nello Santi, Johannes Schlaefli, Yuri Simonov, Pierre-André Valade, Heinz Wallberg, Ralf Weikert, Christian Zacharias and David Zinman.
Compact Discs with works by Richard Strauss (Eine Alpensinfonie), Gustav Mahler (Symphony no. 9), Igor Stravinsky (Le Sacre du Printemps), Ferruccio Busoni (piano concerto), Béla Bartók (Bluebeard's Castle), Olivier Messiaen (Turangalila Symphony) and Hans Werner Henze (Tristan) bear witness to the high level of the orchestra.
Concerts are increasingly streamed live on the internet and herewith made accessible to a global audience.