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| NYO Side by Side in Liverpool |
42% of schools in England no longer enter any pupils for Music GCSE, and the number of pupils opting to do Music at A-Level has fallen by 45% between 2010 and 20232. There has been a 15% decline in children learning an instrument and 80% of young people believe more should be done to get their generation into orchestral music.
For ten years, NYO Inspire, the National Youth Orchestra’s (NYO) scheme to encourage young people to play an instrument and discover the joys of orchestra music, has put members of the orchestra in the community inspiring their peers. To celebrate this anniversary, launching As One to connect young people across the UK by inspiring them to pick up an instrument and play music together.
Participants from NYO Inspire will embark on a national school tour for the first time, NYO will engage with music educators across the country to ensure every young person has the opportunity to play music together. And members of the 160-person Orchestra will play their part sharing the joy of live performance at primary schools in their local community.
NYO will welcome aspiring musicians from across the UK to join them for their performance at this year’s BBC Proms on Saturday 10 August 2024.
Over the last ten years, NYO Inspire has supported 5,000 young people to make music a bigger part of their lives. Last year, 82% of participants were state school educated and 41% were Black, Asian or ethnically diverse. Many musicians go on to secure a place in the Orchestra with NYO Inspire alumni making up 39% of the current Orchestra.
The National Youth Orchestra will play at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on 7 August, at Saffron Hall in Essex on 9 August and finally at the BBC Proms in London on 10 August. They will perform Wagner’s Overture to The Flying Dutchman, Missy Mazzoli’s Orpheus Undone and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, alongside a new piece by Dani Howard which celebrates As One, conducted by Alexandre Bloch and Tess Jackson. Tickets for the performances at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and Saffron Hall in Essex will be completely free for teenagers. This forms part of NYO’s key strategy to provide opportunities for young people to experience orchestral music together.
Further information from the NYO website.
