NYO Odyssey in Reviews

The NYO Odyssey tour is over and the reviews are in! NYO marked an astonishing start to the year with a celebration of orchestral music in London, Nottingham, Coventry, Liverpool and online.

The NYO Odyssey tour is over and the reviews are in! NYO marked an astonishing start to the year with a celebration of orchestral music in London, Nottingham, Coventry, Liverpool and online, with a live-stream from the Barbican Centre!

Britten’s thought-provoking Four Sea Interludes, the Anna Clyne’s ballet score RIFT and the tremendous Also sprach Zarathustra by Strauss, performed by 156-piece NYO with conductor Alexandre Bloch, caused ripples of excitement through the audience and beyond.

NYO prepared a few surprises for the audience – from NYO Associates performing their own composition on stage to NYO making the audience move to the rhythms of waltz with a luscious Blue Danube by Johannes Strauss as an encore.

Everything about this Barbican appearance by the National Youth Orchestra at the start of its four-city tour was a celebration
4/5
The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain played with virtuosity, panache and heartfelt enjoyment
4/5
Full forces swung with hallucinatory impetus into a totally together charge, full-throttle horns edging lustrous string sound
5/5
Nothing blasts off the cobwebs like a visit from the National Youth Orchestra — 160 of Britain’s most talented teenage musicians
4/5
the young players carried it off with the skill born of hard work, commitment and a joyful sharing of musical talent
Reviewsgate
5/5
New Year feelings of gloom and despondency were jettisoned thanks to the National Youth Orchestra

NYO Inspire activities were held alongside the concerts, creating break-through experiences for young musicians from local communities. After the tour culminated in Liverpool, NYO musicians headed to secondary schools in Oldham to lead two days of musical activities and spread the spirits of NYO with Play the School programme, which is back in action for the first time since lockdown.

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Photography © Mark Allan.