PACO Sinfonia (formerly "Junior Orchestra") is comprised of young musicians with excellent technical skills, working to cultivate artistic quality and maturity. The season begins at the Chamber Music Workshop in August, where advanced training takes place under the watchful eyes (and ears) of a nationally renowned faculty. Three public concerts comprise the season, featuring prominent local soloists and winners of PACO's own annual concerto competition. Sinfonia members are often called upon to supplement PACO sections for concerts and on international tours. Several opportunities to provide community service add depth to the season. Sinfonia members are also eligible to volunteer at the Willow Oaks Elementary School in East Palo Alto where the Sara Doniach Sensemble, a string program for disadvantaged youngsters, has been established.

"Benjamin Simon... has burnished the orchestra with a new precision and elegance." --San Mateo County Times

Benjamin Simon, a native of San Francisco, has performed around the world as a violist with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Music from Marlboro, and the Naumberg Award-winning New World String Quartet. He has served as principal violist with the Buffalo Philharmonic as well as the Los Angeles and New Century Chamber Orchestras. Mr. Simon studied with Raphael Hillyer at Yale College and was a graduate student of Lillian Fuchs at the Juilliard School. He has studied and performed chamber music with members of the Budapest, Guarneri, Amadeus, and Juilliard Quartets. Mr. Simon has recorded for MCA Classics, Vox, Musical Heritage Society, Centaur, CRI, and Laurel Records, and was awarded Grand Prix du Disque in 1991 with the New World String Quartet. He has taught at Harvard University and joined the faculty of Stanford University in 1992 as a member of the Stanford String Quartet.
He is currently on the chamber music faculty at UC Berkeley, the Music Director of the professional San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and Music Director of the Bay Area premier training orchestra, the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra.