Carnegie Hall

 (April 18, 2019; NEW YORK, NY)—Carnegie Hall today announced that the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) will return to the BBC Proms in London for the first time since the orchestra’s inaugural 2013 season, performing on Sunday, August 11, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano will lead NYO-USA in Strauss’s Eine Alpensinfonie and Berlioz’s Les nuits d'été featuring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. The concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and filmed for delayed viewing on BBC Four TV, to air on Friday, August 16.

The orchestra’s European tour also includes a performance as part of the Young Euro Classic series at Konzerthaus Berlin (August 6) with mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly, as well as at the Edinburgh International Festival (August 9), Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam (August 13), and Elphilharmonie Hamburg (August 14) with Ms. DiDonato. The tour marks NYO-USA’s debut in Berlin, Edinburgh, and Hamburg. The orchestra last appeared in Amsterdam in summer 2016.

Before traveling overseas, NYO-USA returns to Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts (August 1)—the orchestra’s first appearance there since summer 2014—leading up to their annual summer concert at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, August 3 at 8:00 p.m. featuring mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard. NYO-USA’s repertoire for summer 2019 includes Berlioz’s Les nuits d'été, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, and Strauss’s Eine Alpensinfonie (see below for individual concert listings). The concerts will also include new works written for the orchestra by NYO-USA’s 2019 apprentice composers Benjamin S. Beckman and Tyson J. Davis.

“We are thrilled that the National Youth Orchestra of the USA will be returning to London, Amsterdam, and Tanglewood in summer 2019 under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano, as well as making exciting debuts in Berlin, Edinburgh, and Hamburg” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director. “This promises to be an unforgettable summer of new discoveries for these talented young players, offering opportunities to present extraordinary performances around the world while serving as dynamic musical ambassadors for their country.”

National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America – 2019 Tour

Thursday, August 1 at 8:00 p.m.
Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood (Lenox, MA)
Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor
Isabel Leonard, Mezzo-Soprano

BENJAMIN S. BECKMAN Occidentalis (World Premiere)
HECTOR BERLIOZ Les nuits d'été, Op. 7
RICHARD STRAUSS Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64


Saturday, August 3 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall (New York, NY)
Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor
Isabel Leonard, Mezzo-Soprano

HECTOR BERLIOZ Les nuits d'été, Op. 7
RICHARD STRAUSS Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64


Tuesday, August 6 at 8:00 p.m.
Konzerthaus Berlin, Young Euro Classic (Berlin, Germany)
Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor
Dame Sarah Connolly, Mezzo-Soprano

TYSON J. DAVIS Delicate Tension (World Premiere)
HECTOR BERLIOZ Les nuits d'été, Op. 7
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100


Friday, August 9 at 8:00 p.m.
Usher Hall, Edinburgh International Festival (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor
Joyce DiDonato, Mezzo-Soprano

TYSON J. DAVIS Delicate Tension
HECTOR BERLIOZ Les nuits d'été, Op. 7
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100


Sunday, August 11 at 11:00 a.m.
Royal Albert Hall, BBC Proms (London, UK)
Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor
Joyce DiDonato, Mezzo-Soprano

BENJAMIN S. BECKMAN Occidentalis
HECTOR BERLIOZ Les nuits d'été, Op. 7
RICHARD STRAUSS Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64


Tuesday, August 13 at 8:00 p.m.
Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, SummerConcerts powered by BankGiro Loterij (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor
Joyce DiDonato, Mezzo-Soprano

BENJAMIN S. BECKMAN Occidentalis
HECTOR BERLIOZ Les nuits d'été, Op. 7
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100


Wednesday, August 14 at 8:00 p.m.
The Grand Hall, Elphilharmonie Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany)
Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor
Joyce DiDonato, Mezzo-Soprano

TYSON J. DAVIS Delicate Tension
HECTOR BERLIOZ Les nuits d'été, Op. 7
RICHARD STRAUSS Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64

About the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America
Each summer, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute brings together the finest young musicians from across the country (ages 16–19) to form the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). Following a comprehensive audition process and a three-week training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York, with faculty made up of principal players from top professional US orchestras, these remarkable teenagers embark on a tour to some of the great music capitals of the world, serving as America’s dynamic music ambassadors. As part of their travel schedule, NYO-USA musicians also have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with local young musicians and experience the richness of the local culture.

Launched in summer 2013 to great acclaim, the first-ever National Youth Orchestra of the USA presented concerts with conductor Valery Gergiev and violinist Joshua Bell to enthusiastic audiences at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC; St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia; and at the BBC Proms in London. The 2014 orchestra, led by American conductor David Robertson with violinist Gil Shaham as soloist, made its debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City, followed by a coast-to-coast US tour. In 2015, NYO-USA, with conductor Charles Dutoit and pianist YUNDI, made its debut in China with a seven-city tour, performing at some of the country’s greatest concert halls, including the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. In 2016, the orchestra performed with conductor Christoph Eschenbach and pianist Emanuel Ax at Carnegie Hall before embarking on a European tour with Valery Gergiev and Denis Matsuev. In 2017, the orchestra traveled to Latin America for the first time, performing in Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia under the direction of Marin Alsop. And last summer, NYO-USA returned to Asia, performing in Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, and Daejeon with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

NYO-USA is one of Carnegie Hall’s three acclaimed national youth orchestras, which also includes NYO2 for outstanding classical musicians (ages 14–17), and NYO Jazz for the nation’s finest jazz instrumentalists (ages 16–19). 

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Lead Donors: Hope and Robert F. Smith, Marina Kellen French and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, The Kovner Foundation, Beatrice Santo Domingo, and Nicola and Beatrice Bulgari.

NYO-USA Sponsor: United Airlines®, Official Airline of Carnegie Hall.

Major funding has been provided by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Carl Jacobs Foundation, and JMCMRJ Sorrell Foundation.

Additional funding has been provided by Sarah Arison, The Jack Benny Family Foundation, Mary Anne Huntsman Morgan and The Huntsman Foundation, and Jolyon Stern and Nelle Nugent.

Founder Patrons: Blavatnik Family Foundation; Nicola and Beatrice Bulgari; The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; Marina Kellen French and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation; The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation; Ronald O. Perelman; Robertson Foundation; Beatrice Santo Domingo; Hope and Robert F. Smith; Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon; and Joan and Sanford I. Weill and the Weill Family Foundation.

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

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What the press have said about the National Youth Orchestra of the USA:

“The performance exuded vitality and confidence.” — The New York Times

“This very large orchestra not only played with ferocious spirit and genuine personality, but it also produced refined performances notable for credible polish.” — Los Angeles Times 

“It was the kind of night that reassures classical music lovers that the art form will survive well into the future.” — Musical America

“Throughout, the playing was of the highest caliber: controlled, precise, crisp, and nuanced, with perfect ensemble.” — Classical Voice North America 

“Carnegie Hall may have created the best music camp ever.” — National Public Radio 

“With their debut this week it already seems safe to say that the future of classical music in America is stronger than it was even one month ago!” — The Times, London 

“The whole ensemble played with electric commitment.” — The Guardian 

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To learn more about NYO-USA, visit carnegiehall.org/nyousa.

Like NYO-USA on Facebook at facebook.com/nyousa.

Follow NYO-USA on Instagram at instagram.com/nyo.usa.

See more from NYO-USA on YouTube at youtube.com/nyousa.

2013 BBC Proms photo by © Chris Lee.