Carnegie Hall

The National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) invites young musicians ages 16–19 to audition for its 2024 season. All application materials must be submitted using an online form administered by Acceptd, a service that provides a digital audition platform to many performing arts schools and programs. In order to start the NYO-USA application, you will need to create an Acceptd account. (If you already have one, you can start a new application using your existing account.) Once you create an Acceptd account, you will be able to start the NYO-USA application and save your progress at any point. If this is your first experience with an online digital audition service, we encourage you to allow enough time to upload and review the required application videos to make certain they represent your playing as effectively as possible.

Timeline

• Early June: Audition excerpts posted for 2024 program
• September 5, 2023: Application officially opens
• December 4, 2023: Application deadline
• December 12, 2023: Recommendation deadline
• February 9, 2024: Applicants notified of status via email; feedback provided shortly thereafter
• Early June 2024: Audition excerpts posted for 2025 program
• July 2024: Program begins

Students may apply for multiple apprenticeships based on their interests and experience. If you are applying to both the Orchestra Manager and Orchestra Librarian Apprenticeships you may submit the same materials to both applications.

• Video Essay: Please record your answer to one of the questions below. This is an opportunity for you to share your personality and interests, or a side of yourself that may not be evident from other elements of the application. There is no right or wrong answer to any of the prompts. A minute or two is a good length for many applicants, but shorter or longer videos are welcome. While we understand that not everyone may be comfortable speaking to a camera, our best advice is “be yourself.”
  • What is a non-musical interest or activity that you are passionate about and why?
  • If you could choose any composer to write a concerto for you, whom would it be and why?
  • What is your favorite non-musical creative work (book, painting, poem, movie, etc.) and why does it speak to you?
• Personal Essay: Please tell us a little bit about yourself, your experiences as a musician, and any educational or family background you may wish to share. Please also describe how participating in NYO-USA would help you advance your personal or artistic goals. Suggested length is 200–300 words, though shorter or longer submissions will be accepted.
• Recommendations: You will be asked to enter email addresses for two required references; a third is optional. Each reference will receive a link to an online recommendation form after you submit your completed application. Please note that this email will be sent directly from Acceptd (not Carnegie Hall or NYO-USA). Your references will have until December 12, 2023 to complete and submit their confidential recommendations. References who can address both your personal and musical qualities, such as your music teacher(s) and/or ensemble conductor(s), are preferred.
• Score Requirement (Composition Apprenticeship applicants only): Apprentice composer applicants are also required to submit two original scores (PDF files only) for any size of ensemble. If possible, please include a piece that shows some experience with varied instrumentation and orchestration. You may also upload video and/or audio recordings of your music if available, but candidates will be judged on their written scores—there is no expectation that recordings will be submitted.

Citizenship: NYO-USA is open to US citizens or permanent residents (green card holders) from all backgrounds.

Age Limit: You must be between the ages of 16 and 19 during the summer of your participation. For 2024, this means your birthdate must be between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2008, without exception. Please note that if you are under 18 at the time that you apply, the consent of your parent or guardian is required.

Grade Level: Participation in NYO-USA is limited to high school students within the age range above. You must be enrolled in high school or the equivalent level of homeschooling during the 2023–2024 academic year to be eligible for the 2024 NYO-USA program. Gap-year students who graduated from high school in 2023 (or earlier) are not eligible.

Invited students and their parent/guardian(s) are expected to arrange air or ground transportation to attend the NYO-USA program, traveling to/from the New York City area on designated arrival and departure dates. (If applicable based on the tour flight itinerary, the option to depart from NYO-USA via an airport outside of New York may be provided.) Each student must also arrange to have a valid passport by the deadline provided for visa and other travel requirements. Assistance to cover these travel costs is available in cases of financial need, and information about how to apply for a travel award will be provided to accepted applicants.

All other travel associated with participation in NYO-USA, including international and domestic flights between tour cities, airport transfers, sightseeing excursions, and all other ground transportation (including any activities during the residency period taking place outside of the Purchase College campus) is arranged and paid for by Carnegie Hall.