National Youth Music Organisations
National Youth Music Organisations provide opportunities for thousands of young people to take part in making and enjoying music.
National Youth Music Organisations
What are National Youth Music Organisations?
Co-funded by Arts Council England and the Department for Education, our fifteen National Youth Music Organisations develop young musicians across a range of musical genres – from black music to folk, jazz to Indian classical, choral singing to musical theatre. Some have a particular focus on supporting young people who face disadvantage or disability.
They offer large-scale, inclusive performances, music programmes, residencies and workshops, as well as industry experience. They work together to help grow young people’s skills and knowledge, playing a major role in the creativity, diversity and ambition of England’s world-class music scene.
Meet our National Youth Music Organisations
Awards for Young Musicians
Awards for Young Musicians supports young musicians from low income-families, helping them to overcome financial and social barriers. Whatever the genre or style, its programmes help young people from across the UK to fulfil their musical potential.
British Youth Music Theatre
BYMT is a national performing arts education charity and the largest commissioner of new musicals in the UK. It helps young people and developing artists to navigate training and careers, with around 2000 11-21 year olds taking part in its workshops, performances and other projects each year.
National Youth Folk Ensemble
The National Youth Folk Ensemble enables young people throughout England to create and perform inspiring new arrangements of folk music. It’s part of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, which champions the folk arts at the heart of England’s rich and diverse cultural landscape.
SAMYO (Milap Festival Trust)
SAMYO is the UK’s national youth orchestra for Indian music, providing performance and training opportunities for young people across England. It produces a unique and diverse soundscape which blends Indian classical music with music from around the world. SAMYO is part of Milap Festival Trust - an international Indian arts and culture company.
Music for Youth
Music for Youth’s vision is to ensure that every young person can achieve their musical potential by performing the music they love. The music charity works with people aged 25 and under, staging a series of large-scale festivals and concerts across the UK each year, including the Music for Youth Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
National Children’s Orchestras of Great Britain
NCO supports children aged 8-14 to be happy and healthy through transformative orchestral experiences and performances of exceptional quality. It aims to help children to realise their full potential, whilst making lifelong friends and having fun!
National Youth Choir
NYCGB champions choral singing and music-making across the UK. Its choirs have over 900 members aged 9-25 years and it introduces choral singing to more than 4,000 young people in schools and communities each year. Its Young Composers and Fellowship schemes support musicians in the early stages of their careers.
National Youth Jazz Collective
The National Youth Jazz Collective brings together young jazz musicians to develop their skills, passion and experience. With a focus on small group improvisation, it supports 8-18 year olds from across the country to learn to improvise, compose, arrange music and lead bands.
National Youth Orchestra
The National Youth Orchestra enables teenage musicians to build confidence, optimism and skills through orchestral music. It offers a safe, welcoming and creative environment where young people from all backgrounds can play music together and make new friends.
Open Up Music
Open Up Music offers award-winning programmes to help young disabled people access music education. The charity is behind Open Orchestras - which supports special schools to set up accessible orchestras - and the National Open Youth Orchestra - the world’s first disabled-led national youth orchestra.
Orchestras for All
Orchestras for All aims to break down barriers to give every young person the life-changing experience of making music together. Its programmes are accessible to all, regardless of instrument skill level, additional needs or background.
Pagoda Arts
Pagoda Arts aims to introduce Chinese Culture to a wide and diverse community and to develop its unique Youth Orchestra to be at the cutting edge of contemporary and classical Chinese and Western music.
The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain
The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain is the UK’s leading brass band charity for children and young people. It exists to give the brightest young brass and percussion musicians the opportunity to develop their musicianship, play together and inspire others.
UD
UD is a London-based music organisation bringing communities together around Black music and Black music culture. With over 20 years of experience in nurturing and supporting Black and culturally diverse artists, UD acts as a bridge between burgeoning talent and the music industry.
Sound and Music
Sound and Music is the UK’s national organisation for new music. Its mission is to maximise opportunities for people to create and enjoy new music - supporting composers to develop their work and enabling young people to explore their musical creativity.
Want to learn more?
National Youth Music Organisations will double
21 March 2023Find out more about the eight new National Youth Music Organisations.
The National Youth Orchestra: ‘It’s about much more than playing music’
What happens when you bring together more than a hundred teenage musicians for a one-off orchestral performance? We joined the National Youth Orchestra for a special day of music-making activities.
National Youth Music Organisations are just one part of a portfolio of music and cultural education programmes we co-invest in. Read more about our work with children and young people.
