Since 2013, Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute has invited talented musicians ages 16 – 19 to audition for its National Youth Orchestra of the USA (NYO-USA) to play together, learn from top musicians and prepare for a concert tour - either national or international – with a world-class conductor and soloist. Ten years later, nearly 1,300 young musicians have taken part, with more than 70 of its alumni going on to achieve positions in professional orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Houston Symphony. The initiative also launched two offshoots – NYO2, for students ages 14 –17, which endeavors to reach students from communities that generally have less access to classical music opportunities, such as rural areas and low-income neighborhoods, and NYO-JAZZ.
A Tempo host Rachel Katz headed up this past week to SUNY-Purchase, where the musicians spend their residency, and shares parts of her interview with three of the musicians - double bass player Bria Rives, oboist Izaiah Cheeran, and violinist Nicholas Yoo. The program also includes interviews with Sarah Johnson, Chief Education Officer and Director of the Weill Music Institute, and Orchestra Director James Ross.
