Carnegie Hall Announces Teen Musicians From Across US Selected for NYO Jazz in Summer 2025

Bandleader/Trumpeter Sean Jones Leads NYO Jazz at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, July 26 with Grammy Award-Winning Vocalist Luciana Souza as Special Guest, Followed by First NYO Jazz Tour to Latin America

Program Includes New Carnegie Hall-Commissioned Work by Dafnis Prieto, Pieces by Count Basie, Antônio Carlos Jobim and Ivan Lins, Vince Mendoza, Christine Jensen, and More As Talented Teens Travel the World as Musical Ambassadors

NYO Jazz

(New York, NY, April 9, 2025)—Carnegie Hall today announced the names of 23 extraordinary young musicians chosen from across the country for NYO Jazz, an intensive summer program that nurtures and showcases the talents of exceptional young American jazz instrumentalists (ages 16–19). The members of NYO Jazz 2025—hailing from multiple regions of the country—have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as being among the finest players in the US following a comprehensive and highly competitive audition process. The musicians who make up the 2025 ensemble will have the opportunity to play alongside talented peers; learn from world-class jazz masters; and perform at Carnegie Hall and abroad, marking the first time NYO Jazz tours Latin America. NYO Jazz—now in its eighth year—is offered free of charge to all participants, ensuring that all invited musicians have the opportunity to take part.

See below or click here for the complete roster, including the names, instruments, and hometowns of the members of NYO Jazz 2025.

The musicians of NYO Jazz will travel to New York in mid-July for an intensive two-week training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York. Led by artistic director Sean Jones, NYO Jazz players have the opportunity to train with some of America’s most celebrated jazz artists who will lead in-depth training workshops and master classes. A highlight of the residency will be NYO Jazz’s Carnegie Hall performance on Saturday, July 26 at 7:00 p.m. led by bandleader/trumpeter Sean Jones and featuring Grammy Award-winning vocalist Luciana Souza as special guest.

Following their New York appearance, NYO Jazz—joined by Luciana Souza—will embark on its first-ever tour of Latin America from July 27 to August 8, with debut performances in Brazil and the Dominican Republic. The complete tour schedule will be announced later this spring.

NYO Jazz’s diverse repertoire showcases big band jazz as a limitless art form, one that bridges genres, generations, and borders. For NYO Jazz’s 2025 concerts, Carnegie Hall has commissioned Cuban-American drummer and composer Dafnis Prieto to write a new work for the ensemble. NYO Jazz’s stylistic range will be further highlighted in pieces by Count Basie, John Clayton, Christian McBride, Vince Mendoza, and Christine Jensen as well as Brazilian composers including Antônio Carlos Jobim and Ivan Lins and new arrangements. The exciting program also features the band’s first-ever arrangement commissioned by an alum, trumpeter Janelle Finton, through an NYO Jazz commissioning project highlighting compositions from Terri Lyne Carrington’s New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers.

 

“We are thrilled to welcome these extraordinary young musicians to NYO Jazz’s 2025 roster,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “They have an exciting summer ahead, filled with training, performances, and touring alongside some of today’s leading jazz artists. The group’s debut tour to Latin America, featuring concerts in Brazil and the Dominican Republic, will highlight the incredible depth of talent and exceptional musicianship found across the United States. Latin America is home to a rich and dynamic music scene, guaranteeing that NYO Jazz’s first-ever tour to these countries will be a time of great musical exchange and discovery.”

Tickets for NYO Jazz’s concert at Carnegie Hall are now on sale for the general public. Tickets can be purchased at carnegiehall.org, by calling 212-247-7800, or by visiting the Carnegie Hall Box Office. Discounted student tickets will be available online for verified Student Insiders only, as well as to any student with valid ID at the box office or over the phone.


NYO JAZZ
2025 Roster


** Prior NYO Jazz member

California
Sam Chung, Baritone Saxophone (San Juan Capistrano)
Levi S. Farrar, Trumpet (Walnut Creek)
Harry Jo, Alto Saxophone (Pleasanton)
Jordan Klein, Trombone (Agoura Hills) **
Allie Molin, Trumpet (Mission Viejo)
Diego Quiñones, Trumpet (Albany)
Elena Weng, Piano (Sunnyvale)

Connecticut
Chloe Madrak, Tenor Saxophone (West Hartford)

Florida
Ryu Chan, Guitar (Miami)
Breck Cherry, Trumpet (Miami)
Sofi Longa, Bass (Miami)
Enzo Pulley, Drums (Miami)

Illinois
Nathaniel Harrigan, Trumpet (Crete)
Chloe Langford, Trombone (Mundelein)

Indiana
Braxton Headley, Bass (Fort Wayne)

Massachusetts
Brandon Fu, Tenor Saxophone (Weston)
Nola Gooch, Alto Saxophone (Foxboro)

New Jersey
Ben Collins-Siegel, Piano (Maplewood)

New York
Conor McMillen, Violin (New York)
Ezra Moran, Guitar (Brooklyn)

North Carolina
Ethan Oliver, Drums (Garner) **

Texas
Kysen Ellis, Trombone (Dallas)
Jack Keefe, Bass Trombone (Colleyville)
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About NYO Jazz

Each summer, NYO Jazz, led by artistic director Sean Jones, shines a spotlight on the depth of talent found among teen jazz players across the United States. The program offers talented young musicians, ages 16–19, the opportunity to perform as cultural ambassadors for their country, sharing a uniquely American musical genre with people around the world through an international tour. The members of NYO Jazz have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as being among the finest jazz musicians in the country, following a rigorous and highly competitive audition process.

Since its debut in 2018, NYO Jazz has performed at Carnegie Hall and embarked on acclaimed tours across Europe, Asia, and the United States. Guest artists in past seasons have included vocalists Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Jazzmeia Horn, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Alicia Olatuja. As part of their travel schedule, NYO Jazz musicians also have opportunities to meet and collaborate with young local musicians and experience the richness of different cultures and music.

In 2021, during NYO Jazz’s annual training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York, the band recorded its first full length studio album under the direction of artistic director and bandleader Sean Jones and featuring special guest saxophonist Melissa Aldana. It includes Carnegie Hall-commissioned works for the ensemble from each year of the program exploring themes including social justice, resilience, and the power of music to spark joy. The album, entitled We’re Still Here, was released in June 2022. NYO Jazz will release its second album—Live in Johannesburg—in June 2025.

NYO Jazz builds on the success of the acclaimed National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) and its sister ensemble for younger musicians NYO2—created by Carnegie Hall in 2013 and 2016, respectively—to bring together the finest young classical musicians from across the country each summer for training, performances and touring. Each of these prestigious national programs—free to all participants—is dedicated to the proposition that talented young musicians thrive when they have the opportunity to expand their musical, social, and cultural horizons and share their artistry with audiences around the globe.
 

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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 support has been provided by Veronica Atkins, Ronald E. Blaylock and Petra Pope, the Mark and Anla Cheng Kingdon Foundation, Clive and Anya Gillinson, Pershing Square Philanthropies, Melanie and Jean E. Salata, and the Victor and William Fung Foundation.

United Airlines®, Airline Partner to the National Youth Ensembles.

Additional support has been provided by Sarah Arison and Mary I. and John E. Hull. 

NYO Jazz is made possible, in part, by an endowment grant from the Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme Foundation.

 

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To learn more about NYO Jazz, visit carnegiehall.org/NYOJazz
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See more on YouTube.

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