ORCHESTRAS AND CHOIRS

National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain

National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain

The National Youth Orchestra, hailed as “the most uplifting orchestra in the world” by The Times, brings together young players and composers, inspiring others through fresh powerful performances.

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Introducing... Alex Edmundson, 17

Alex Edmundson, 17, from Lancashire, has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for five years.

“I was only seven when I started playing the French horn. I heard my parents’ amateur orchestra playing Mozart’s Horn Concerto and loved the rounded sound. I fell in love with it immediately.

“I am a student at Chetham’s School of Music (a specialist music school in Manchester) and a tutor told me about the National Youth Orchestra when I was 12. He thought I should go along for the experience of auditioning. I didn’t think I’d get in because I was so young, but I did.

“I was quite scared when it came to my first residential course with the orchestra, but they were all really welcoming and inviting and I felt at home straight away. I’m now in my fifth year. It’s given me great opportunities. Orchestra experience is so limited for young people - there’s nowhere else in Britain where I could find an orchestra for my age group.

“Just being around so many other people who are as interested in music as you are is great. It’s easy to be inspired by the amazing conductors, but you can also get inspired by your peers, which is incredible. There are 14 or 15 players in the horn section and you can learn things whether they are better than your or not. They all work really hard and have an amazing level of dedication. It’s a chance to be part of a team and I’ve developed so much as a horn player.

“When we perform together it’s amazing. When you pull it off and you know it’s gone off well it’s just an amazing feeling. Last year we were playing Strauss’ Four Last Songs, and I had a really beautiful horn solo. I was really nervous and worried and had to work really hard. When it came together in the performance it was so emotionally moving. I came off stage in bits, almost crying.

“I’ve made friends in the orchestra who will last a lifetime. In a way you are working with your future colleagues. When I leave school I hope to go to music college, I’d like to be a professional musician. I’m really interested in the idea of teaching too. I have learnt that developing young people is amazingly important. I want to inspire other people in the way I’ve been inspired.”

Visit the official website for
www.nyo.org.uk