NYO welcomes teenagers from all UK backgrounds and different levels of musical ability into its community to play, share and experience orchestral music.

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 At the heart of this community is NYO: an inspirational orchestra of 160 teenagers playing together at an exceptionally high level of musicianship, celebrated internationally as ‘the world’s greatest orchestra of teenagers.’ Driven by their passionate commitment to bring classical music to their generation, each NYO musician plays their part as a leader and role model. They share music, enthusiasm and skills through the NYO Inspire and NYO Unite programmes, encouraging thousands of other young people to enjoy orchestral music and aspire for their own progression.

Since 1948, this organisation has played a pioneering and vital role to support the aspirations of musical teenagers, acting as a beacon for the transformative power of music education.

2025 was a busy year for NYO with three residencies and performances across the country, including Sheffield, Birmingham, Manchester, Smape Maltings, Warwick and Nottingham as well as the BBC Proms in London, which reached over 25,000 young people, which is a 40% increase on the previous year. 

The charity’s Inspire programme offers free opportunities for teenagers who want music to be a bigger part of their lives, but face barriers and lack of opportunity to progress. The 2025 programme took place across a variety of locations including Plymouth, Ilfracombe, Exeter and Torquay, involving over 2,000 young people, and consisted of workshops and mini concerts as well as tours of state schools, where the teenage musicians performed concerts and ran workshops. 

NYO Unite took place across 6 days in Blackpool, Birmingham, Barnsley, Brighton, London and Newport, with around 1,000 musicians taking part. The days involved creative activities, enabling the young people to explore their own musical ideas, and sessions on technical accuracy and ensemble cohesion.