Carnegie Hall’s Three Youth Orchestras To Perform In-Person And Online Starting Tonight

Tonight kicks off a series of concerts in New York by Carnegie Hall’s three ensembles of over 200 young musicians from across the United States and Puerto Rico.

The ensembles—NYO-USA, NYO2 and NYO Jazz—have participated in recent weeks in an intensive training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York. After their upcoming performances at Carnegie Hall, they will tour across the country and around the world, the first time they have done this since 2019.

NYO Jazz will perform at 8 p.m. tonight at Carnegie Hall, led by artistic director and bandleader Sean Jones; this concert will feature the Grammy Award-nominated singer Jazzmeia Horn. NYO-USA will perform tomorrow night, July 29, at 8 p.m. at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Daniel Hardin; cellist Alicia Weilerstein will also perform. This concert will be webcast on WQXR.org. NYO2 will perform at Carnegie Hall at 8 p.m. on August 1; this concert will be conducted by Mei-Ann Chen and will feature pianist Aaron Diehl.

Following NYO-USA’s Carnegie Hall performance, the orchestra will return to Europe, with concerts in Ravello, Lucerne, Berlin and Amsterdam. NYO Jazz will tour the United States for the first time, performing in Cleveland, Chautauqua, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, Madison and Washington, D.C. NYO2 will return to Miami Beach for a five-day residency in partnership with the New World Symphony.

The National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, whose musicians are ages 16-19, was launched by Carnegie Hall in 2013, This was followed in 2016 by NYO2, a sister ensemble for teens 14 to 17, and NYO Jazz in 2018.

Carnegie Hall said each of these programs, which are offered free to participants. “is dedicated to the proposition that talented young musicians thrive when they have the opportunity to expand their musical, social and cultural horizons and share their artistry with audiences around the globe.”

Since 2013, the ensembles have performed in 15 countries worldwide and collaborated with well-known soloists and conductors.

Concerts by the three orchestras while they tour will be streamed on Carnegie Hall’s website and also will be available to watch free on demand on medici.tv.

“We are thrilled to bring the top-quality musicians of NYO-USA, NYO2 and NYO Jazz together again for an extraordinary summer of music-making,” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s executive and artistic director. “This summer is especially meaningful as it’s the first time since 2019 that the ensembles will perform at Carnegie Hall and embark on tours across the United States and the world, acting as musical ambassadors for our country. The musicians featured in the three ensembles remind us of the incredible musical talent in the USA, coming from almost every part of the country. They are not only superb players but also fine citizens of the world, dedicated to connecting with people across cultures.”