National Youth Choir

National Youth Choir (NYC), formerly known as the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and the British Youth Choir, is a family of choirs for outstanding young singers, and those with outstanding potential, in the United Kingdom. It comprises a total of five choirs for around 900 young people between the ages of 9 and 25:
* National Youth Choir 9-15 (Female & Non-Binary), formerly National Youth Girls' Choir of Great Britain
* National Youth Choir 9-15 (Male & Non-Binary), formerly National Youth Boys' Choir of Great Britain.
* National Youth Choir 15-18, formerly National Youth Training Choir of Great Britain
* National Youth Choir 18-25, formerly National Youth Choir of Great Britain
* National Youth Chamber Choir, formerly Laudibus

The National Youth Choir also has a number of additional programmes and schemes, including its two Emerging Professional Artist programmes, the Fellowship and the Young Composers scheme, and its Learning & Engagement programme.

The organisation also has a strong community of over 1,000 former members, NYC Alumni, who often participate in performances alongside NYCGB's flagship choirs.

Background and performance history

Founded in 1983 by Carl Browning, the National Youth Choir is regarding as the UK's most exciting, innovative and accessible organisation for young choral singers. NYC inspires and empowers young people through the life-changing experience of singing together, is home to some of the best young singers in the world, and is a national champion for youth choral music.

Its five choirs have a membership of over 900 young singers aged 9 to 25 from across the UK. Through residential courses and special projects, NYC provides its young people with the best choral training, teaching and collaborations possible: unbeatable opportunities to develop skills in music and performance, leadership and teamwork, and to grow in confidence and aspiration.

National Youth Choir regularly gives high-profile performances at venues and festivals such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, the Royal Concert Hall Nottingham, Edinburgh Festival, Snape Proms and the BBC Proms as well as at events of national significance. High-profile international artists NYC has worked with range from Daniel Barenboim to Kylie Minogue, along with top choirs including The Sixteen, Tenebrae, The Tallis Scholars, BBC Singers and many others. The music it creates and performs encompasses a wide diversity of genres and vocal styles, and National Youth Choir regularly creates and releases audio and video recordings on its own record label, National Youth Choir Recordings, and online platforms.

NYC passionately believe that all children and young people, regardless of background and circumstance, should be able to make music with others, and should have the opportunity to discover and explore their musical talent and achieve at the highest levels.

A major and growing strand of National Youth Choir's work is its national Learning & Engagement programme which reaches over 3,500 young people each year. Working with regional music education hubs, schools and partner organisations including regional choirs and venues, NYC encourages more and more young people to sing together and pursue their passion and talent for singing at a regional and national level.

National Youth Choir also supports the development of emerging young professionals through its Fellowship programme for future choral leaders and performers, and its Young Composers scheme.

Musical Directors & Conductors

Current Creative Director

Lucy Hollins was appointed Creative Director of National Youth Choir in Spring 2023, succeeding Ben Parry, who held the position from 2012 to 2022.

Current Principal Conductors

* National Youth Choir 18-25 & National Youth Chamber Choir: Nicholas Chalmers
* National Youth Choir 9-15 (Female & Non-Binary): Joanna Tomlinson
* National Youth Choir 9-15 (Male & Non-Binary): Lucy Joy Morris
* National Youth Choir 15-18: Greg Beardsell

Former Conductors & Musical Directors

* Ben Parry
* Greg Hallam
* Robbie Jacobs
* Esther Jones
* Dominic Ellis Peckham
* Rachel Staunton

Recordings

National Youth Choir Recordings (NYCR)

National Youth Choir operates its own record label, National Youth Choir Recordings (NYCR), which releases music recorded by its choirs via Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and other major music streaming services. The label publishes new recordings each month, which are regularly featured on playlists curated by each streaming platform's editorial team, as well as being broadcast on national radio stations, including BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and Scala.

Notable releases include:

Antiphon
(by Jonathan Dove) - released April 2016
** Performed by National Youth Girls' Choir and National Youth Chamber Choir
** Conducted by Esther Jones

Spem in Alium
(by Thomas Tallis) - released September 2016
** Performed by National Youth Choir
** Conducted by Ben Parry

Balleilaka
(by A. R. Rahman arr. Ethan Sperry) - released September 2017
** Performed by National Youth Training Choir and Tarang Percussion Ensemble
** Conducted by Robbie Jacobs

Hymn to the Fallen
(by John Williams arr. Paul Lavender) - released November 2019
** Performed by National Youth Choir and Central Band of the Royal Air Force
** Conducted by Christopher l'Anson

Shenandoah
(arr. James Erb) - released August 2020
** Performed remotely by National Youth Choirs Alumni
** Conducted by Will Dawes

NMC Recordings partnership

National Youth Choir also partners with NMC Recordings to produce its annual Young Composers albums: a set of pieces for National Youth Choir 18-25 and NYC's Fellowship Ensemble composed by that year's cohort of Young Composers.

* '
Young Composers 1
'', released January 2020
* '
Young Composers 2
'', released January 2021
* '
Young Composers 3
'', released January 2022
* '
Young Composers 4
'', released January 2023

The next album in this series, Young Composers 5, is due to be released in January 2024.

Other notable recordings

In addition to the recordings organised and produced by National Youth Choir and its partners, its choirs are regularly invited to take part in recording sessions with top orchestras and conductors. Recordings featuring the choirs have been released on labels including EMI, Delphian, Decca, Signum, and Priory. These have included:

* Messiah...Refreshed!, with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (recorded at Abbey Road Studios, released on Signum Classics)
* The Great War Symphony, with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (recorded at Abbey Road Studios, released on Decca)
* Gloria - Te Deum, with Karl Jenkins and London Symphony Orchestra (released on Decca)
* The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, with Karl Jenkins and London Philharmonic Orchestra (released on Decca)

Notable former members

* Lucy Bailey of the Swingle Singers
* Rich Batsford - Pianist, composer and singer-songwriter
* James Burton - Conductor and Composer
* Stephen Connolly of the King's Singers
* Karen Danzig - Singer / songwriter
* John Daszak - Opera Singer
* Karen England of Opera Babes
* Joanna Goldsmith-Eteson of the Swingle Singers
* Rae Hendrie - Actress
* Andrew Johnston - Came 3rd in '' Britain's Got Talent''
* Louise Marshall - Singer with Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra
* Chris Neale of the Swingle Singers
* Wendy Nieper - formerly of the Swingle Singers
* Jon Robyns - West End star of Les Misérables and Avenue Q
* Ben Thapa of G4 (band)
* Henrik Wager of the Flying Pickets
* Laura Wright of All Angels

References

External links

Official website
*''Birmingham Post'' (15 April 2008)
"Review: National Youth Choirs of Great Britain at Symphony Hall"

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British choirs
National choirs
Youth choirs
Musical groups established in 1983
1983 establishments in the United Kingdom
Youth organisations based in the United Kingdom