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| National Youth Orchestra (Photo: Tom Morley) |
The National Youth Orchestra will be presenting its 2027 season with an Orchestra of 160 musicians who hail from every corner of the UK from Banchory to Bicester and Sleaford to Sevenoaks. Half the musicians are new to the Orchestra this year, with the other half re-auditioning and securing their seat for another year.
43% of the 2027 musicians are coming through its free access programme, NYO Inspire. This is designed for teenage musicians from state schools and those who face systemic challenges accessing musical opportunities. NYO Inspire 2027 has seen record-breaking numbers apply, with 1,000 teenagers set to take part, nearly a 10% increase on last year.
Half the musicians in the Orchestra attend state school or are home educated. 34% are from minority ethnic backgrounds, while 53% of leadership positions are held by teenagers who are state-educated. These stats demonstrate the long-term impact that NYO Inspire is having on ensuring that orchestral music-making is available to as many teenagers across the UK as possible.
Every musician in the Orchestra of 2027 will introduce pupils to orchestral music through a workshop at their local primary school as part of NYO Local, reaching an estimated 24,000 children. Across national tours and secondary school concerts [see YouTube], they will perform for an estimated 10,000 teenagers. They will lead the way as musical role models for musicians on the NYO Inspire programme, through side-by-side rehearsals with local musicians in the cities they visit, and in youth centres through NYO’s partnership with Onside YouthZone.
Beginning this week (from 25 October to 1 November) is NYO Unite, where every musician in the NYO community will join together for a day of music-making at locations across the UK. The Orchestra of 2027 will then embark on the Voyage tour, which takes place from 5 to 8 January 2027 in Manchester, Warwick and London, plus a Schools Concert and side-by-side rehearsals with local musicians at all venues. The programme for Voyage features music by Hans Zimmer, Julia Wolfe and Tchaikovsky.
As always, Free for Teens tickets are available, to ensure that any teenager can experience the power of orchestral music for free.
Full details from the National Youth Orchestra’s website.
