National Youth
Orchestra
of Wales
Are you the future of music in Wales?
Registrations for Youth Orchestra of Wales 2025 auditions closed on 13 October.
However, if you would like to be considered for a late application, get in touch via nyaw@nyaw.org.uk.
“We’re thrilled to welcome back Kwamé Ryan as conductor, who last led the NYOW in 2022. This year, he’s chosen an exciting all-American programme, featuring Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture.
We’re honored to be invited back to the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford and the Fishguard Festival of Music in St Davids, reflecting the high regard for our performances. Additionally, we’ll perform in St Asaph and Swansea, creating an exciting four-date tour.
If you’ve never auditioned before, why not give it a go? Join the National Youth Orchestra of Wales!”
A note from NYOW Producer
Matthew Jones
National Youth Orchestra of Wales Producer
2025 Programme
Conductor: Kwamé Ryan
Kwamé Ryan, born in Canada and raised in Trinidad, received his early musical education on the island. He continued his studies in the U.K. and Hungary, focusing on Musicology at Cambridge University and conducting under Peter Eötvös. Ryan served as General Music Director of Freiburg Opera (1999-2003) and as Musical and Artistic Director of the National Orchestra of Bordeaux Aquitaine (2007-2013).
As a guest conductor in Germany, he led orchestras including the Radio Orchestras of Stuttgart and Bavaria, and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. In France, he conducted at Opera de la Bastille, Opera de Lyon, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.
In the U.S. and U.K., Ryan conducted numerous orchestras such as the Symphony Orchestras of Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Houston, and Boston, as well as the English National Opera and the London Philharmonia. He is also a frequent guest conductor with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ryan's contributions to music education have been recognized internationally, notably as Musical Director of the National Youth Orchestra of France and Director of the Academy for the Performing Arts at the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Proposed Repertoire: Corigliano: Tournaments, Gershwin (arr. Bennett): Porgy and Bess - A Symphonic Picture, Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Mason Bates: Resurexit
How to apply…
Apply by:
13 October 2024
Auditions:
13 November - 1 December
Video deadline: Sunday 24th November
Results:
*16 December 2024
Auditions:
Sunday 17th November (AM/PM) – St Asaph
Sunday 24th November (AM/PM) – Carmarthen
Saturday 30th November (AM/PM) – Cardiff
Sunday 1st December (AM/PM) – Cardiff
Rehearsals:
14th - 15th April 2025 (Strings Only)
21st July – 3rd August (Full Orchestra), UWTSD, Lampeter
Performances:
31st July, Fishguard Festival of Music, St Davids Cathedral
1st August, Three Choirs Festival, Hereford Cathedral
2nd August, St Asaph Cathedral (TBC)
3rd August, Brangwyn Hall, Swansea
*Week commencing.
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Cost: £700
This fee is a contribution towards your tuition costs, accommodation, food and board, travel within the residency and social activities. The full value received by each individual is over £1500 - but thanks to the generous support from our funders and supporters, we subsidise a significant part of the costs for everyone offered a place in a national ensemble.
Our Bursary Fund could help to cover some, or all, of the membership fees, so that no-one is deterred from applying for the NYAW Ensembles for financial reasons. If you have an annual household income of less than £70,000, you could be eligible for financial support.
Additionally, for the first time this year and with support from The Leverhulme Trust, we can offer full Fee Waivers and additional support towards travel expenses and other costs associated with NYAW membership for those who need it most.
Visit NYAW BURSARY FUND for full information including how to claim help toward audition costs and membership fees.
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Our Bursary Fund could help to cover some or all of the membership fees, so that no-one is deterred from applying for the NYAW Ensembles for financial reasons. If you have an annual household income of less than £70,000, you could be eligible for financial support.
Visit NYAW BURSARY FUND for full information including how to claim help toward audition costs and membership fees.
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Applicants should normally be of grade 8 standard although you do not have to have taken a grade 8 exam at time of audition. You should be aged between 16 and 22, on 31 August 2025. (This means that you may be able to audition aged 15, as long as you will be 16 by this date). We may take younger participants into the ensembles on occasions where extraordinary talent is shown. This will be solely at the discretion of NYAW. You must either have been born in Wales and/or currently living in Wales, or studying full-time in Wales.
NYAW reserves the right to exclude anyone from taking part in its ensembles at its reasonable discretion, to be exercised by senior staff or trustees.
For any questions about our eligibility criteria, please email us at: nyaw@nyaw.org.uk.