Three Concerts This Summer To Showcase Teen Musicians Performing with World-Class Artists at Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall will continue its summertime tradition, shining a spotlight on 200+ extraordinary teen musicians from across the country with concerts by the Hall’s three acclaimed national youth ensembles—the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), NYO2, and NYO Jazz. Each ensemble, collaborating with some of the world’s leading artists, takes to the famed Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage in July. This summer, the Hall celebrates ten years since the launch of NYO-USA and the establishment of its national youth ensembles, which for a decade have provided free training, performances, touring, and cultural exchange opportunities for more than 1,200 teenage musicians across the US.

On Friday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m., the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) performs the world premiere of Giants of Light by Valerie Coleman (commissioned by Carnegie Hall); Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique; and Barber’s Violin Concerto, featuring celebrated violinist Gil Shaham, under the baton of conductor Sir Andrew Davis. This concert by NYO-USA in the Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage will be heard by music lovers worldwide through the Carnegie Hall Live radio broadcast and digital series, created in partnership with WQXR.

The day prior to their Carnegie Hall performance, NYO-USA performs at the newly opened Groton Hill Music Center in Groton, MA. Following these two performances, NYO-USA embarks on a North American tour from July 16–28, making debut appearances at the Festival de Lanaudière in Joliette, Quebec; the Nashville Symphony’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center; the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center; the Frost Amphitheater in Stanford, California as part of Stanford Live; and the Rady Shell in San Diego. NYO-USA also returns to the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the orchestra performed as part of its 2014 US tour. This marks NYO-USA’s ninth major tour to music capitals around the globe, including appearances throughout Europe, Latin America, Asia, and coast-to-coast across the United States.

 

On Saturday, July 15 at 8:00 p.m., conductor Joseph Young leads NYO2—an inspiring orchestra featuring outstanding young musicians, ages 14–17—in his Carnegie Hall debut, joined by violinist Jennifer Koh. The program includes Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from On the Town; Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, with Koh as soloist; and selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.

Following this performance at Carnegie Hall, the NYO2 musicians travel to the Dominican Republic for the ensemble’s first-ever international residency and concerts. NYO2 musicians will give two concerts presented by Fundación Sinfonía at the Teatro Nacional Eduardo Brito in Santo Domingo (July 17) and the Gran Teatro del Cibao in Santiago (July 18).

Created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute in 2016, NYO2 aims to expand the pool of young musicians across the country equipped with the tools to succeed at the highest level, particularly those who come from communities that have often been underserved by and underrepresented in the classical music field. Each summer’s training residency has culminated in exciting concert at Carnegie Hall as well as residencies in previous years in Philadelphia and at the New World Center in Miami Beach.
 

NYO Jazz—an extraordinary ensemble launched in 2018 showcasing the bright future of American jazz—closes the concerts at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, July 25 at 8:00 p.m. Led by artistic director and bandleader/trumpeter Sean Jones and featuring Grammy Award-winning and NEA Jazz Master vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, the evening’s program will explore big band gems by Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Roy Hargrove and contemporary pieces that explore jazz’s influence on hip-hop, R&B, and pop. NYO Jazz also performs the world premiere of “The 29ers” by Sean Jones (commissioned by Carnegie Hall) and arrangements from Terri Lynne Carrington’s project “New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers.”

Following this Carnegie Hall appearance, NYO Jazz embarks on its second European tour from July 26 through August 10, making debut performances at the Festival da Jazz in St. Moritz, BBC Proms in London, Rheingau Musik Festival in Wiesbaden, and the Lucerne Festival. The band also returns to the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Young Euro Classic at the Konzerthaus Berlin, where they played to sold-out houses during their 2018 inaugural European tour. This summer marks NYO Jazz’s fourth tour playing at prestigious concert halls and festivals around the world, which has included performances throughout Asia and the United States.
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Each summer, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute brings together extraordinary teen classical and jazz musicians from across the country to form its highly-acclaimed national youth ensembles. Following a highly selective audition process and two-week training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York with faculty made up of principal players from top professional orchestras and leading jazz masters, these remarkable teenagers perform at Carnegie Hall and embark on tours to some of the great music capitals around the world, serving as dynamic music ambassadors.

This summer marks ten years since the establishment of Carnegie Hall’s national youth ensembles. Since launching the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (ages 16–19) in 2013, Carnegie Hall has built on the program’s success by introducing two additional ensembles. These include NYO2, a sister ensemble for younger teens (ages 14–17) in 2016, and NYO Jazz in 2018. Each of these highly-selective 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. Since the program’s inception in 2013, the ensembles have performed in leading concert halls in 17 countries around the world, thrilling audiences across Europe, North America, South America, and Asia, collaborating with internationally-renowned conductors and guest soloists.
 

NYO at 10: By the Numbers

1,274 young musicians have participated in the national youth ensembles
17 countries and 4 continents toured
18 world premieres
132,178 miles traveled
40+ guest artists including Marin Alsop, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Kurt Elling, Sir Antonio Pappano, Dianne Reeves, Gil Shaham, Esperanza Spalding, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Michael Tilson Thomas, Alisa Weilerstein, and more
50+ alums in professional orchestras or ensembles including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and more
36 radio, web, and TV broadcasts, reaching music lovers around the world
Click here to watch a special video about the tenth anniversary of Carnegie Hall’s national youth ensembles.

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Program Information 

Friday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Sir Andrew Davis, Conductor
Gil Shaham, Violin

VALERIE COLEMAN Giants of Light (World Premiere, commissioned by Carnegie Hall)
BARBER Violin Concerto, Op. 14
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

Sponsored by United Airlines, Airline Partner to the National Youth Ensembles

Tickets: $20–$50
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Saturday, July 15 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
NYO2
Joseph Young, Conductor
Jennifer Koh, Violin

BERNSTEIN Three Dance Episodes from On the Town
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto
PROKOFIEV Selections from Romeo and Juliet

Tickets: $20–$40
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Tuesday, July 25 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
NYO JAZZ
Sean Jones, Artistic Director, Bandleader, and Trumpet

with Special Guest
Dee Dee Bridgewater, Vocals

Hear timeless jazz standards; big-band gems by Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Roy Hargrove; and contemporary pieces that explore jazz’s influence on hip-hop, R&B, and pop.

Tickets: $20–$40

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