# National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America

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 110 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.
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 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, California | Bernstein - 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 Kong | Tan 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 Republic | Bruckner - Symphony No. 6 (Bruckner) Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 22 (Mozart) |
| 2017 | Marin Alsop | | New York City, US Guadalajara, Mexico Quito, Ecuador Bogotá, Colombia | Mahler - Symphony No. 1 Adams - Short Ride in a Fast Machine Frank - Apu |
| 2018 | Michael Tilson Thomas | Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano | New York City, US Taipei, Taiwan Shanghai, China Beijing, China Seoul, South Korea Daejeon, South Korea | Gershwin - Piano Concerto in F Major Ted Hearne - Brass Tacks Sibelius - Symphony No. 2 |
| 2019 | Sir Antonio Pappano | Joyce 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) |
| 2020 | Carlos Miguel Prieto | | Online, over Zoom | Valerie Coleman - Excerpt from Umoja Igor Stravinsky - Excerpt from The Rite of Spring |
| 2021 | Carlos Miguel Prieto | | No 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 Suite |
| 2022 | Daniel Harding | Alisa 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. 5 |
| 2023 | Sir Andrew Davis | Gil 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. 14 |
| 2024 | Marin Alsop | Jean-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) |
| 2025 | Gianandrea Noseda | Ray 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. 2 |