Sinfonia is our senior Saturday Orchestra. Players are selected on merit, and ages range from around 11 or 12 year-olds to senior secondary school students. A general guideline for Sinfonia's ability level is grade 5 and above. This orchestra mainly plays standard repertoire by composers such as Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Brahms, Sibelius, etc. Some recent performances have included Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, Mars from Holst's The Planets, Borodin's Polovtsian Dances, Saint-S Danse Macabre and music specially written for the orchestra by its conductor and composer Tony Ryan. 

Some recent special projects have included playing alongside the NZSO, a joint performance with the Christchurch Youth Orchestra, a video performance in the Christchurch Town Hall, and a 'Flashmob' tour of two Christchurch shopping centres. Although Sinfonia aims for high quality music-making and a professional level of presentation, there is a strong focus on players having an enjoyable and rewarding experience. 

The orchestra also has tertiary-level student assistants for each section (strings, woodwind, brass, percussion) who often play alongside the younger players. Many Sinfonia players later go on to play in CSM's Christchurch Youth Orchestra, and several have then become Sinfonia's tutors and assistants themselves.