Carnegie Hall

(NEW YORK, NY; June 24, 2024)—This July, more than 100 outstanding teen musicians from 34 US states come together as the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). Following an intensive two-week training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY) and a concert in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on August 5 as part of World Orchestra Week (WOW!), this talented group of instrumentalists (ages 16–19), embark on a four-city South American tour. Led by Marin Alsop, repertoire for NYO-USA’s concert at Carnegie Hall and on tour includes Barber’s Symphony No. 1, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue featuring guest soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

NYO-USA’s tour stops this August include debuts in Montevideo’s Auditorio Nacional del Sodre (August 8), Buenos Aires’s Teatro Colón (August 10), and Brazil’s Theatro Municipal, in Rio de Janeiro (August 12), and the Sala São Paulo (August 14). While on tour in South America, the NYO-USA musicians will have the chance to take part in peer-to-peer exchange with young musicians in São Paulo as well as tour the magnificent cities that they will perform in. This marks NYO-USA’s second tour to South America led by conductor Marin Alsop, who led the orchestra in 2017 in performances in Guadalajara, Quito, and Bogotá.

Cultural exchange is a key part of participating in NYO-USA, as members act as dynamic musical ambassadors for their country. Click here to watch a video on the impact of cultural exchange within Carnegie Hall’s national youth ensembles.

The orchestra’s concert at Carnegie Hall on August 5 will be heard by music lovers worldwide through the Carnegie Hall Live radio broadcast and digital series, created in partnership with WQXR.

 

 

“We are thrilled that NYO-USA has the opportunity to take part in this wonderful tour of some of South America’s finest cities and concert halls,” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director. “Following their Carnegie Hall performance presented as part the Hall’s World Orchestra Week festival, which brings together top youth orchestras from around the world, these talented players will head south for a week of concerts, travel, and cultural exchange with peer musicians. This summer promises to offer truly memorable life-changing experiences for them, as they connect with music lovers wherever they go, serving as dynamic ambassadors for our country.”

 

 

"Music has always been a vital link between the vibrant societies of Brazil and the United States,” said Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Brazilian Ambassador to the United States. “The NYO-USA's South American tour promises a blend of exceptional artistry and rich cultural exchange. It brings me great joy to see these interactions begin at an early age, as in this case. The tour will be another important initiative in celebrating the 200-year anniversary of Brazil-US diplomatic relations."

 

 

"The National Youth Orchestra of the USA’s interaction with young musicians in Brazil will mark one more important—and innovative—musical partnership between Brazil and the US, very much in line with previous encounters that Carnegie Hall helped to promote—like Tom Jobim and Frank Sinatra—and which now have historical importance," said Ambassador Adalnio Ganem, Consul General of Brazil in New York.

 

  

Prior to their tour, NYO-USA will take part in Carnegie Hall’s historic summer concert festival—World Orchestra Week (WOW!), a celebration of international youth orchestras—scheduled to take place from August 1–7. Inspired by the Hall’s three critically acclaimed national youth ensembles, this ambitious international initiative brings five youth orchestras from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America to New York City for high-level music making with some of today’s most internationally renowned artists plus cultural exchange activities among the orchestras, including a massive play-in event led by Gustavo Dudamel to include all 700 young musicians. Carnegie Hall’s NYO-USA and NYO2 perform alongside the National Children’s Symphony of Venezuela, the Africa United Youth Orchestra, the Beijing Youth Orchestra, the European Union Youth Orchestra, and the Afghan Youth Orchestra.

The members of the 2024 orchestra—ages 16–19, hailing from 34 US states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico—have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as being among the finest players in the country following a comprehensive and highly selective audition process. This summer’s orchestra features 15 musicians who previously played with NYO-USA, as well as 30 musicians who gained experience through NYO2, a program for younger players ages 14–17, and one musician who previously performed as part of NYO Jazz. NYO-USA and NYO2 are offered free of charge, ensuring that all invited musicians have the opportunity to take part. Click here for a full list of musicians.

In preparation for their performances and tour, the musicians will arrive on July 20 from across the country for an intensive training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY), just north of New York City. NYO-USA musicians will work with leading players from America’s top professional orchestras, and take part in full ensemble and sectional rehearsals, master classes, and more. James Ross returns as orchestra director to lead both NYO-USA and NYO2 during the Purchase College residency, working closely with 2024 assistant conductors Tamara Dworetz and Carlos Ágreda. Click here to see a full list of this summer’s faculty, as well as bios for Marin Alsop and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

For high-resolution photos of NYO-USA, Marin Alsop, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet for editorial use only, click here. (photo credit required)

About Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the USA
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 training residency at Purchase College, SUNY, with faculty made up of principal players from top professional US orchestras, these remarkable teenagers perform at Carnegie Hall and embark on a tour to some of the great music capitals of the world, serving as America’s music ambassadors. As part of their travel schedule, NYO-USA musicians meet and collaborate with local musicians and experience the richness of other cultures.

NYO-USA has been praised for “exuding vitality and confidence” (The New York Times) in its performances. Following annual concerts at Carnegie Hall, NYO-USA has toured Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Since 2013, the orchestra has been invited to perform at leading international festivals and on landmark stages around the world, including the BBC Proms in London, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, Lucerne Festival, and Teatro Mayor in Bogotá, among many others. In the more than ten years since the ensemble’s creation, NYO-USA has worked with extraordinary conductors and guest artists, including Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Sir Andrew Davis, Joyce DiDonato, Daniel Harding, Sir Antonio Pappano, Carlos Miguel Prieto, David Robertson, Gil Shaham, Michael Tilson Thomas, Alisa Weilerstein, and more.

NYO-USA is one of Carnegie Hall’s three acclaimed national youth ensembles, which also includes NYO2 for outstanding classical musicians (ages 14–17), and NYO Jazz for the nation’s finest jazz instrumentalists (ages 16–19). Over the last decade, well over a thousand young musicians have performed in the three ensembles, creating a unique musical community, spotlighting musical excellence found across the United States and transforming countless lives.

To learn more please visit: carnegiehall.org/NYOUSA

NYO-USA – Summer 2024 South American Tour

NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Marin Alsop, Conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Piano

BARBER Symphony No. 1
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade

Thursday, August 8 at 7:30 p.m. UST
Auditorio Nacional del Sodre
Montevideo, Uruguay

Saturday, August 10 at 4:00 p.m. AST
Teatro Colón
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Monday, August 12 at 8:00 p.m. BST
Theatro Municipal
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Wednesday, August 14 at 8:30 p.m. BST
Sala São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil
 

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

“Some of the best young orchestral players in America.” — 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

“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

“In the best moments, the listener completely forgets that it's not the Philharmoniker at work here, but teenagers.” — Lucerne Zeitung

“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.
Follow NYO-USA on Twitter at #NYOUSA.
See more from NYO-USA on YouTube at youtube.com/nyousa.

 

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World Orchestra Week Lead Donors: Hope and Robert F. Smith, Michael ByungJu Kim and Kyung Ah Park.

Major funding has been provided by Ronald E. Blaylock and Petra Pope.

NYO-USA Lead Donors: Hope and Robert F. Smith, The Kovner Foundation, and Beatrice Santo Domingo.

Global Ambassadors: Michael ByungJu Kim and Kyung Ah Park, Hope and Robert F. Smith, and Maggie and Richard Tsai.

Major funding has been provided by Veronica Atkins, Mercedes T. Bass, Ronald E. Blaylock and Petra Pope, Lorraine Buch Fund for Young Artists, Estate of Joan Eliasoph, Clive and Anya Gillinson, The Carl Jacobs Foundation, Melanie and Jean E. Salata, JMCMRJ Sorrell Foundation, and United Airlines®, Airline Partner to the National Youth Ensembles.

Additional funding has been provided by the Alphadyne Foundation, Sarah Arison, The Jack Benny Family Foundation, Mary Anne Huntsman Morgan and The Huntsman Foundation, IAC, Stella and Robert Jones, Martha and Robert Lipp, Beth and Joshua Nash, The Netherland-America Foundation, The Morton H. Meyerson Family Foundation, and David S. Winter.

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.

 

 

Photo by: Chris Lee