The National Youth Orchestra (NYO) is launching an ambitious project to connect young people across the UK by inspiring them to pick up an instrument and play music together.

'As One' will be brought to life by NYO musicians in schools, music hubs and across social media.

Opportunities

The initiative celebrates ten years of 'NYO Inspire', a programme that has provided musical opportunities to thousands of young people who face barriers to making music a bigger part of their lives.

'As One' comes at a difficult time for music education provision. 42% of schools in England no longer enter any pupils for Music GCSE1, and the number of pupils opting to do Music at A-Level has fallen by 45% between 2010 and 2023.

There has been a 15% decline in children learning an instrument and 80% of young people believe more should be done to get their generation into orchestral music.

Support

4BR was informed that over the last ten years, 'NYO Inspire' has supported 5,000 young people. Last year, 82% of participants were state school educated and 41% were Black, Asian or ethnically diverse. Many musicians go on to secure a place in the NYO with programme alumni making up 39% of the current orchestra.

Over 50% of the current musicians in the orchestra are state educated, with musicians from every region in the UK represented.

Ground breaking

And in what is being described as "a ground-breaking moment", 'As One' will see NYO welcome aspiring musicians from across the UK to join them for their performance at this year's BBC Proms on Saturday 10th August.

Launching the campaign they said: "As part of 'As One', the NYO will engage with music educators across the country to ensure every young person has the opportunity to play music together.

They will work with local music hubs and schools to nominate teenagers to perform alongside NYO musicians at the BBC Proms. Members of the 160-person Orchestra will play their part sharing the joy of live performance at primary schools in their local community.

The NYO community will take to social media to bring a specially composed melody to life — written by NYO Resident Artist, Dani Howard."

The NYO community will take to social media to bring a specially composed melody to life — written by NYO Resident Artist, Dani Howard4BR

TikTok and Instagram

4BR was informed that the NYO musicians will share their interpretations of the 'As One' melody across TikTok and Instagram and invite other young people to pick up an instrument and play along, in their own unique way.

At the BBC Proms, the musicians will perform the 'As One' melody, which forms part of Dani Howard's newly commissioned piece.

This will give young people across the country the chance to witness the same melody they've been hearing throughout the summer, come alive at the hands of 250 musicians.

Brass band link

NYO Alumni, Tess Jackson, who recently conducted the NYO alongside the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain in an acclaimed performance of Gavin Higgins' 'Concerto for Brass Band and Orchestra' at London's Festival Hall, will conduct Dani Howard's new piece at the BBC Proms.

Speaking about the initiative, Sarah Alexander OBE, CEO and Creative Director at NYO said: "Our community of teenage musicians is taking the lead by inspiring other young people to pick up an instrument and experience the joy of playing music together.

They know first-hand about the benefits musical experiences can have on their wellbeing, so they're taking it upon themselves to share this with other young people.

The sight of 250 young musicians playing As One at the Proms highlights the need for young people to connect through profoundly positive experiences in orchestral music."