Part of what makes NYO special is that its musicians are teenagers: their youthful spirits give our performances their distinctive quality. But this brings with it the acute responsibility of ensuring that they all feel supported and safe.

Joining any big organisation can be daunting, but NYO is a friendly place, where NYO musicians look out for each other. Each year, roughly half will have played in the orchestra before, and we invite them to arrive at the first residency earlier, to help welcome newcomers as part of a Buddy Scheme. We have a Thinktank of representatives from each section of the orchestra, who make decisions about how NYO musicians live communally on residencies. Our Leader and Principal Players have dedicated training in supporting their peers.

Teenagers and parents are often anxious that NYO's intensive activities will distract from the educational demands of exams. NYO is a big commitment through the year and it’s true that the focus of NYO is on rehearsals and preparing for performance, which takes up a lot of time. We recommend that young people start their school work and exam revision well in advance, and come to NYO on top of their work, so that they are not under pressure. We try to ensure that there is some opportunity during the Winter and 

 Spring Rehearsal Residencies for study and revision. We encourage members to think of their time in the orchestra as a chance to develop not only their musicianship but their teamwork, leadership qualities, research skills and approach to balancing different ambitions – all of which will be invaluable in their future studies and careers. NYO fosters a culture of excellence and concentration, which flows back into school work and the ability to tackle exams.

Protecting your hearing is very important especially when you are a musician. NYO is a large orchestra and therefore makes a big sound – this is very powerful and amazing to hear but we also need to be very careful to protect everyone’s hearing. NYO works hard to ensure that the rooms we perform and rehearse in are suitably sized rooms for our sound and size. 

We expect you to come to all NYO activity with the right musical equipment. This includes earplugs to ensure you don’t damage your hearing. By signing your NYO Agreement, you agree to take responsibility for your own ear protection having read and understood our guidelines.

For full details of our Hearing Protection Guidelines, please click here.