NYO’s 164 teenage musicians invite you to join them and ‘choose your own adventure’, in an interactive YouTube concert at 7:00pm on Wednesday 30 September.
When exams were cancelled and concert halls shut, the nation’s most dedicated teenage musicians threw themselves into building a musical community online. Since March, they have celebrated and shared music with those who needed it the most: sharing joy and positivity through inviting the nation to play Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ on their doorsteps, brought street orchestras to life through the music of The Planets, and showed their drive and commitment to social justice and racial equality with a digital celebration of Errollyn Wallen’s Mighty River, a piece exploring themes of slavery and freedom.
Everyone who joins us on YouTube for this interactive concert will watch these three pieces, but the rest of the repertoire is determined by the choices you make throughout the 40 minute programme. From brand new music written by NYO’s teenage composers, to multi-tracks devised and recorded by NYO’s trombone section, and solo works created as part of our summer Mighty River project, where musicians researched and performed music by Black composers to celebrate and amplify music by a more diverse range of musical voices. At the end of each piece, audiences will have a choice of which direction to take on their musical journey, culminating in Errollyn Wallen’s Mighty River, played by a huge orchestra of NYO and NYO Inspire musicians.
The first video will premiere on NYO’s YouTube channel at 7:00pm on Wednesday 30 September, and will be available for 30 days afterwards: https://bit.ly/NYO-Autumn2020
Chief Executive and Artistic Director Sarah Alexander said: ‘There is an incredible energy and spirit in every digital performance in this unique concert. I believe this is because each one embodies the drive and dedication of the UK’s most brilliant young musicians; they made these digital recordings in their own homes, separated physically but absolutely committed to the collective cause of making music and together shining a light on issues they care about.’
Mighty River in concert – Southbank Centre – 24 October
NYO are delighted to be sharing a Mighty River of music at the Southbank Centre in October as part of their ‘Inside Out’ festival. Over lockdown, NYO musicians immersed themselves in learning more about the context and history of music by Black composers, and explored music by a wider range of compositional voices. A small group of our musicians will come together to perform Mighty River by Errollyn Wallen, and a selection of music they have learnt and loved over lockdown, live, in the Royal Festival Hall, to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Thursday 29 October. The performance itself will take place on 24 October without an audience.