Ilan Volkov, conductor

Sage Gateshead & Royal Festival Hall
Percy Grainger     The Warriors 
Unsuk Chin              Mannequin (world premiere)
Béla Bartók             Concerto for Orchestra
 

Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent
Bach (arr. Elgar)   Fantasia & Fugue in C minor
Unsuk Chin              Mannequin 
Béla Bartók             Concerto for Orchestra

This Spring, we brought our epic sound and dynamite energy to an imaginative programme of daring composers.

The centrepiece of the concert was Béla Bartók’s hugely popular Concerto for Orchestra. Bartók researched folk tunes and their influence is felt throughout the work. The Concerto for Orchestra fuses traditions to create a cathedral of vivid sounds, shapes, melodies and emotions. Each family of instruments takes an equal role and NYO teenage virtuosity is revealed across the entire orchestra. 

Accompanying Bartók's masterpiece were works by Percy Grainger and renowned composer Unsuk Chin. Percy Grainger was one of the most original composers of his day. His ambitious ‘imaginary ballet’, The Warriors, is a helter-skelter of swift, bright, tuneful energy, vibrant invention and rhythmic drive. Epic in scale, it calls for 13 'tuneful percussionists' and three pianos to create a rhythm section like no other.

A familiar figure on the contemporary music scene, Unsuk Chin sees no boundaries between musical cultures. Her works regularly feature in the programmes of international orchestras and her music possess a powerful musical personality that has the ability to communicate with audiences far and wide. Commissioned to explore the unique teenage energy of NYO, Chin’s new piece Mannequin received its world premiere performance at Sage Gateshead.

Explore the stories behind the music and meet the artists.

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Fri 10 April - Sun 12 April
Southbank Centre

We were extremely excited to perform at Southbank Centre's first-ever Strive - a festival created by young people for young people that celebrates bold and vibrant creativity. 

During the 3-day celebration, we held a host of free events, from a flashmob to our composers' concert. We were also at the Strive festival market, where we asked young and old to Draw Your Music and get it performed instantly by our NYO alumni musicians. You can see the creative results here on our Instagram #DrawYourMusic.
 

Open Rehearsals

We held free open rehearsals on all our concert days. It's your chance to catch us behind-the-scenes when we rehearse before our concerts. See how we work with our conductor and what goes on to make a brilliant performance. Be on the look out for our future open rehearsals.

Instant Orchestra

​On Thurs 9 April at the Sage Gateshead, we worked with musicians of all ages in our first ever Instant Orchestra. Lead by Rachael McShane from Bellowhead, we explored the folk themes of our programme that influenced Bartók  and Grainger.