National Youth Music Organisations (NYMOs)

What is the National Youth Music Organisation (NYMO) fund?

The National Youth Music Organisation (NYMO) fund sits proudly at the heart of Youth Music’s aim to encourage and nurture talent. It is one of our longest-running funding programmes.

The NYMOs cover a broad spectrum of musical genres from Western classical to South Asian classical, and contemporary Jazz to musical theatre, bringing together young people from across England and beyond, for inspirational advanced ensemble training and performance opportunities. They do this via a varied programme of residential courses, weekend workshops, concerts and outreach activities.

Youth Music campaigned for and initiated the NYMO fund in 2001 to support some of the country’s leading national youth music organisations in bringing together talented young musicians, at a national level, for inspirational training and advanced ensemble performance opportunities. The fund also enables NYMOs to widen access to the unique opportunities they offer and acts as a lever to attract further sponsorship and trust funding. It continues to play a key role in the sustained growth and success of these vibrant organisations.

How the NYMO fund works

Financed with contributions from Arts Council England, the Music and Dance Scheme at the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and Youth Music, the fund’s objectives are:

• To support flagship organisations offering high quality advanced music and performance opportunities to young people across England
• To ensure that any young person with sufficient musical ability and talent can benefit and take part in NYMO activity, regardless of their financial circumstances
• To support NYMOs to foster musical excellence, and to provide stimulating and challenging musical experiences
• For NYMOs to play an active part in creating links with the wider music education field, schools, music services and other prevocational institutions and a window onto the profession

Find out more about the NYMOs by clicking the links below and visiting their pages on this site:

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Music for Youth
Music for Youth is the world’s largest youth music festival.  For nearly four decades Music for Youth has been showcasing the eclectic and energetic mix of musical styles created and performed by young people.

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The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain
The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain (founded in 1952) and the National Children's Brass Band of Great Britain (founded in 2004) offer the finest young brass players in the country between the ages of 8 and 18 the best possible musical experience.

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The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain
The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain fulfills a vital role in keeping Great Britain’s reputation for musical excellence alive and for kindling a passion for singing in young people. NYC offers the highest performance and training standards to bring young people into contact with the repertoire, quality of work, ethos and pleasure of choral music.

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National Youth Jazz Collective
Youth Jazz Collective - a new initiative, currently parented by Birmingham Conservatoire, designed to support the creative and educational needs of the young jazz musician through regional outreach projects and an annual national summer school

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National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
National Association of Youth Orchestras The National Association of Youth Orchestras exists to support young people making music together.  Membership is open to all youth orchestras and ensembles throughout the UK.  The Association offers a range of opportunities, events and publications to support its members. 

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The National South Asian Youth Orchestra
SAMYO is the UK's National South Asian Youth Orchestra, the first of its kind in the world. The orchestra uniquely combines musicians and compositions from the North and South Indian classical traditions, and the most talented young performers of the country. 

National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain
NCO gives musically-talented children aged 7-13 the training/opportunity they need to play in full, age-banded symphony orchestras. NCO’s nine national/regional ensembles are truly inclusive: 500-strong, membership is 50:50 split between the State and Independent sectors with ethnic-minority musicians accounting for 10%. And it’s HUGE fun!

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Youth Music Theatre: UK
Youth Music Theatre: UK provides inspiring residential music theatre projects for young people across the country, as well as a range of innovative outreach projects. In 2008, YMT: UK premieres nine new musicals and seven Studio workshops, working with over 1200 young people.

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