NYO partners with Young Sounds UK on a new mentoring project

The National Youth Orchestra and Young Sounds UK and are partnering on a unique role-modelling experience to empower musical mentors to support young musicians across the country.

NYO musicians will become role models for young people who are part of the Young Sounds Connect programme, an initiative designed to help pupils from low-income families sustain their musical learning beyond core lessons in schools, so they can keep developing their making music.

As part of this opportunity, NYO musicians will receive access to a bank of specialised resources and role-modelling training, which will draw on Young Sounds’ acclaimed work with BBC Orchestras and their Arts Council England funded Talent to Talent  project.

They will put the training into practice, attending musical events in their regional music hub to support young people on Young Sounds’ Connect programme. Working in partnership with the Department for Education and Arts Council England’s Music Hub network, the programme is now supporting nearly 1,000 young people across the country to sustain their music education. NYO’s teenage musicians will be acting as musical mentors at upcoming events in Sheffield, Yorkshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

I attended one of these music-making events in Liverpool. I got so much out of acting as a role model for other young musicians. I enjoyed setting an example of where learning and playing a musical instrument can take you and the opportunities that music can bring. I hope I inspired them to take music forward in some way in their lives.”
Erin
Viola, NYO Mentor

This project is part of the Department for Educations Music Opportunities Pilot.