Nottingham Youth Orchestra was founded in 1985 by Derek Williams and the late Stephen Fairlie. It is a registered charity, which aims to promote the musical education and training of young musicians in full time education. In 1995 Sir Malcolm Arnold was appointed Honorary President and the orchestra celebrated its 10th anniversary with a tour to America. The organisation now comprises three orchestras involving some 240 players from 50 schools in Nottinghamshire and beyond who meet each week for rehearsals during term time.
The main orchestra has gained a reputation for its high standard of performance, in this country and on tours abroad, and is now an established part of the Nottingham music scene giving at least four major concerts in the Nottingham area each year. In recent years the orchestra has performed in Cyprus, Austria, Wales, Germany and Italy. At the Edinburgh International Festival 2002, NYO gave a world premiere performance of a new work commissioned by the orchestra - 'Mosaic' by Nick Sackman. In March 2003 the orchestra gave a highly acclaimed performance of Russian music at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall. The programme included another world premiere, 'The Death of Stalin' by Robert Steadman, with massed adult and children's choirs and a specially orchestrated arrangement of a Ukranian folk tune, 'Hopak'.
In July 2003 the orchestra played in the Music for Youth National festival at the Royal Festival Hall in London and was highly commended for its performance. The tour to Valencia, at the invitation of the Spanish organisers of the 16th Interrnational Festival of Youth Orchestras, was a great success and the orchestra received a standing ovation at their final concert in the magnificent Palau de la Musica. In September 2003, the orchestra took part in Masterprize, an international competition for young composers, preparing a new work for performance with members of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham. A number of players went to listen to the final of the competition at the Barbican in London which was broadcast live on Classic FM.
As an independent orchestra and a registered charity, NYO receives no local authority or state funding and depends on subscriptions and voluntary donations for its activities. As far as funds allow NYO will provide financial support to young musicians who would otherwise be unable to enjoy the facilities that we offer. For this we rely on individuals and corporate bodies for support.
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