Youth Orchestras
National Youth Orchestra of Ireland
The National Youth Orchestra of Ireland is a symphony orchestra for young musicians living anywhere on the island of Ireland. Currently the age range is 12-18 years. To participate in the orchestra, every player is required to audition or re-audition each year. The admission standard requires the performance of stock orchestral excerpts, and auditions are conducted each October by an independent m
The National Youth Orchestra of Ireland is a symphony orchestra for young musicians living anywhere on the island of Ireland. Currently the age range is 12-18 years. To participate in the orchestra, every player is required to audition or re-audition each year. The admission standard requires the performance of stock orchestral excerpts, and auditions are conducted each October by an independent music professional in 5 centres around Ireland, including two in Northern Ireland.
Once the young player meets the performing standard, the orchestra works with them and their family to meet any special needs they may have of a social, learning or any other kind – part of the routine process of induction. Besides qualifying players to participate, the adjudicator assigns a score which is used by the tutors in assigning a specific position in the orchestra.
Auditions are advertised on the NYOI website, and audition prep advice is provided. A small fee contributes to the cost of the process. Successful applicants represent about 50% of those auditioned, and typically each year about 35% new players join the orchestra, as 18 year-olds or others step out. Separately each November, the NYOI also runs auditions for Irish candidates - mostly older players - on behalf of the European Union Youth Orchestra for which it is the national partner.
Once admitted, the player is entitled to play in the two following residential courses – a seven-day one in winter (including one day for a concert performance) and a ten-day one in summer (including three performances). About every three years the summer course and performances are held overseas – most recently in Abu Dhabi, Lisbon and Amsterdam.
Many young players already play in a smaller local orchestra or ensemble at their school or college or in their local area – the NYOI provides the only opportunity in the Republic of Ireland for young people to rehearse and perform the full range of symphonic repertoire under professional guidance. According to its members, the NYOI provides playing opportunities of the highest artistic standards available in Ireland .
The NYOI has its own bank of instruments and equipment including auxiliary instruments that young players don’t routinely own (such as bass clarinet, contrabassoon, Cor Anglaise, timpani and other percussion instruments) – in many cases giving them their first experience of playing these. For players on a professional path this auxiliary instrumental experience is essential to their employability, their remuneration and hence their career prospects as orchestral artists.
Resource sharing (including instruments and equipment) between the NYOI and other orchestras – professional and youth ensembles – is continuous and routine to its way of working, as is partnership on shared projects in promoting the NYOI’s educational remit.
The residential courses are held in school holidays, using the premises of secondary boarding schools. Aside from the artistic challenges, forging a successful ensemble from 105 young individuals represents a formidable logistic challenge for which a professional team of 13 welfare staff, and 14 professional tutors including an orchestra manager are retained. To maximise the opportunities for participation, in 2017 the NYOI initiated anti-clash planning with other ensembles including those managed by the Association of Irish Youth Orchestras, since some of the players also play with other ensembles in the same periods.
The annual fee (unchanged for more than fifteen years @ €750 per member) contributes to but does not cover all of the residential costs of up to 105 players, including transport to and from the courses and to the end-of course concerts, as well as meals on the course and on the road. Fees are waived in about 10% of cases, at the discretion of the General Manager. A contribution to players’ subsistence, as well as the full artistic and educational costs of running the courses are covered by State grants augmented by modest box office income.
The artistic and educational staff are drawn from the NYOI’s roster of senior orchestral players and teachers, all Garda vetted since players under 18 years are considered vulnerable persons under child protection legislation. Guest conductors from Ireland and overseas are engaged based on their artistic reputation and on their track record with young players. On each course, the members of the orchestra have a players’ committee to ensure that any issues of concern – personal or artistic - are dealt with in a timely and appropriate way.
Artistic decisions – currently made by a sub-committee of the Board in dialogue with the guest conductor – reflect the orchestra’s strengths: in Summer 2023 for example the programme included a requirement for piano, celeste and tubular bells. The music for each section is circulated in advance, and tutors meet their players over a Zoom call to help them prepare for sectional rehearsals – a welcome post-pandemic innovation and a way of identifying any potential sources of anxiety or concern to individual members. Following a half week with section tutors and a rehearsal conductor in the course residential venue, the full orchestra comes together for tutti rehearsals with the visiting conductor on day 5.
At the end of the Summer course, the orchestra tours the programme to venues around Ireland: the Winter course involves only one performance. A professional recording is made of each programme for archive and promotional purposes, and for live streaming on YouTube.