The National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) is the national youth orchestra of the United States. Organized by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, it was established in 2012, and its first concert tour took place in the summer of 2013. Each summer, following an application and audition process, about 100 musicians ages 16 to 19 attend a two-week residency at Purchase College, New York, followed by a national or international tour.
History In January 2012, Carnegie Hall announced the launch of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). The orchestra was created by Weill Music Institute, the hall's music education and community outreach wing. The NYO-USA was set up along broadly similar lines to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
Organization Supported by a faculty of principal players from professional American orchestras, the musicians' preparation during NYO-USA's residency is overseen by the orchestra director. The current orchestra director is James E. Ross.
The NYO-USA has no permanent music director and is instead led by a different conductor each summer. The inaugural guest conductor was Russian conductor Valery Gergiev.
Orchestra membership and activities The NYO-USA is a full symphony orchestra consisting of around 110 young musicians. Depending on the repertoire for the season it may or may not include harpists and orchestral keyboardists. Four to five students are also selected each year in apprenticeship positions such as composers, librarians, and orchestra managers.
Membership to the orchestra changes each year with an annual application and audition process.
Eligibility To apply to join the NYO-USA, applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 19 years old during the summer of participation (e.g. for the 2020 season, applicants' birthdays must fall between July 1, 2000, and June 30, 2004). Additionally, applicants must be United States citizens or permanent residents who did not graduate from high school earlier than their year of participation (no gap year students).
Applications and auditions Applications to join the NYO-USA are made online between the August and November preceding the summer of participation, and include a brief biographical essay, two recommendations and an audition video including a piece of choice and several excerpts. The audition video must also include spoken (biographical, motivational) sequences.
Applicants may apply more than once in any one year by submitting applications for more than one instrument (excluding instrument sub-family combinations such as piccolo and flute), but respective full applications have to be made.
Former members of the NYO-USA may apply to rejoin as long as the eligibility criteria, above, are met.
Seasons Season Guest conductor Guest soloist Tour venues Repertoire 2013 Valery Gergiev Joshua Bell, violin Washington, D.C., US Moscow, Russia St Petersburg, Russia London, UK Sean Shepherd – Magiya Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto Shostakovich – Symphony No. 10 2014 David Robertson Gil Shaham, violin New York City, US Lenox, Massachusetts Boone, North Carolina Chicago, Illinois Teton Village, Wyoming Rohnert Park, California Los Angeles, CaliforniaBernstein - Symphonic Dances from West Side Story Britten - Violin Concerto Samuel Carl Adams - Radial Play (commissioned by Carnegie Hall) Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition 2015 Charles Dutoit Yundi Li, piano New York City, US Beijing, China Shanghai, China Suzhou, China Xi'an, China Shenzhen, China Guangzhou, China Hong KongTan Dun - Passacaglia: ''Secret of Winds and Birds'' Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 5 Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique 2016 Christoph Eschenbach Valery Gergiev Emanuel Ax, piano Denis Matsuev, piano New York City, US Amsterdam, Netherlands Montpellier, France Copenhagen, Denmark Prague, Czech RepublicBruckner - Symphony No. 6 (Bruckner) Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 22 (Mozart)2017Marin Alsop New York City, US Guadalajara, Mexico Quito, Ecuador Bogotá, Colombia Mahler - Symphony No. 1 Adams - Short Ride in a Fast Machine Frank - Apu2018Michael Tilson ThomasJean-Yves Thibaudet, pianoNew York City, US Taipei, Taiwan Shanghai, China Beijing, China Seoul, South Korea Daejeon, South KoreaGershwin - Piano Concerto in F Major Ted Hearne - Brass Tacks Sibelius - Symphony No. 22019Sir Antonio PappanoJoyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená, mezzo-soprano
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano Lenox, Massachusetts New York City, US Berlin, Germany(Young Euro Classic) Edinburgh, UK London, UK Amsterdam, Netherlands Hamburg, Germany R. Strauss - Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 Prokofiev - Symphony No. 5, Op. 100 Berlioz - Les nuits d'été, Op. 7 Benjamin S. Beckman - Occidentalis (World Premiere) Tyson J. Davis - Delicate Tension (World Premiere)2020Carlos Miguel PrietoOnline, over Zoom Valerie Coleman - Excerpt from Umoja Igor Stravinsky - Excerpt from The Rite of Spring2021Carlos Miguel PrietoNo tour occurred due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, "Pathétique" Revueltas - Sensemayá Moncayo - Huapongo Anna Clyne - Sound and Fury Shostakovich - Excerpts from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Suite2022Daniel HardingAlisa Weilerstein, cello New York City, US Amsterdam, Netherlands Berlin, Germany(Young Euro Classic) Ravello, Italy Lucerne, Switzerland Elgar - Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 G. Mahler - Symphony No. 52023Sir Andrew DavisGil Shaham, violin (Barber) Hilary Hahn, violin (Tchaikovsky) Groton, MA (with Gil Shaham) New York, NY (with Gil Shaham) Joliette, QC, Canada (with Gil Shaham) Nashville, TN (with Hilary Hahn) Dallas, TX (with Hilary Hahn) Teton Village, WY (with Gil Shaham) Stanford, CA (with Gil Shaham) San Diego, CA (with Gil Shaham) Valerie Coleman - Giants of Light (commissioned by Carnegie Hall) Barber - Violin Concerto, Op. 14 Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique, Op. 142024Marin AlsopJean-Yves Thibaudet, piano New York City, US Montevideo, Uruguay Buenos Aires, Argentina Rio de Janeiro, Brazil São Paulo, Brazil Barber Symphony No. 1 Rhapsody in Blue Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)2025Gianandrea NosedaRay Chen, violin Clara-Jumi Kang (South Korea), violin New York City, US Osaka, Japan Tokyo, Japan Hong Kong Beijing, China Shanghai, China Seoul, South Korea Carlos Simon: Festival Fanfare and Overture Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor Rachmaninoff Symphony no. 22026Karina CanellakisKirill Gerstein, piano New York City, US Berlin, Germany (Young Euro Classic) Amsterdam, Netherlands Aldeburgh, UK (Britten Pears Arts) Edinburgh, UK (Edinburgh International Festival) Samuel Barber - Overture to The School for Scandal George Gershwin - Piano Concerto in F Major Béla Bartók - Concerto for Orchestra
See also List of youth orchestras in the United States List of youth orchestras
References
External links NYO-USA official homepage.