Carnegie Hall

Timeline

• Approximately late July 2024: Audition excerpts posted for 2025 program
• September 5, 2024: Application opens
• December 3, 2024: Application deadline
• December 16, 2024: Recommendation deadline
• February 6, 2025: Applicants notified of status via email; audition feedback provided shortly thereafter
• July 5–August 7, 2025: Program dates
• Late July 2025: Audition excerpts posted for 2026 program

Instrumentation

NYO-USA will be accepting applications for the 2025 season on all standard orchestra instruments, including harp.

Application Fee

There is a $30 application fee, payable online via major credit card at the time you fully complete and submit your application. To apply for a fee waiver on the basis of financial need, please email a completed fee-waiver application to nyo-usa@carnegiehall.org before you submit your application. Upon approval, we will provide you with a promo code to be entered during the payment step of your application on Acceptd. Fee waiver requests must be received no later than December 1, 2024.

Application Requirements

• Audition Videos (details below)
• Personal Essay: Please tell us a little bit about yourself, your experiences as a musician, and any educational or family background you 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 16 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.

Audition Videos

All applicants to NYO-USA are required to record a series of audition videos that include the content outlined below. Each performance segment must be recorded in one take with no editing (though you may and should select the best of several takes). All videos must be recorded within eight months of the application deadline. Professional equipment and/or studio space is not necessary for a successful application to NYO-USA. With attention to a few details, your music making can be conveyed using readily available consumer electronics. Many past participants have recorded successful applications using iPhones or other smartphones. Please refer to our Video Guidelines for additional information and suggestions for effectively recording your audition.

Required Video Segments:

• Introduction: Before performing your solo selection, please include a spoken introduction in which you state your name, instrument, hometown, and title of the solo work you have chosen.
• Solo Piece: Please record a 2–3 minute solo piece or a movement/section of a longer work that best represents your musicianship. This can be any music of your choosing, with or without accompaniment. If the piece is longer than three minutes, you may record one or more sections totaling 2–3 minutes, as long as you do not edit your own performance. An excerpt from a recent pre-existing recording (made within the last six months) may also be submitted.
• Excerpts: Include one video per work of the required orchestral excerpts for your instrument. Wind players wishing to demonstrate proficiency on an auxiliary instrument should include the relevant excerpt. Please note that if there are two excerpts from the same movement, we prefer that they be uploaded as one video segment. Excerpts for the 2026 season will be posted in July 2025.
• Video Essay: Please record your answer to one of the questions below. This is an opportunity for you to share more of 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 go anywhere tomorrow, where would it be and why?
  • If you could build your dream ensemble, whom would you choose to play with and why?
  • What is your favorite non-musical creative work (book, painting, poem, movie, etc.) and why does it speak to you?

Eligibility

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 2025, this means your birthdate must be between July 1, 2005, and June 30, 2009, 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 2024–2025 academic year to be eligible for the 2025 NYO-USA program. Gap-year students who graduated from high school in 2024 (or earlier) are not eligible.

Travel Arrangements

Invited students and their parent/guardian(s) are expected to arrange air or ground transportation to attend the NYO-USA program, traveling to/from Purchase, NY 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.

Accessibility

Carnegie Hall and its national youth ensembles are committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities. NYO-USA welcomes qualified applicants with disabilities, whether or not they need reasonable accommodations. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs reasonable accommodations to complete this application, or if you have questions regarding reasonable accommodations, please contact nyo-usa@carnegiehall.org.