National Youth Orchestra of Wales

The National Youth Orchestra of Wales (Welsh: Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Ieuenctid Cymru), founded in 1945, has the distinction of being the first national youth orchestra in the world and is Europe's longest-standing national youth orchestra. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the orchestra.

Based in the capital, Cardiff, the orchestra has an impressive history which has merited attention both within Wales and beyond.

The orchestra (abbreviation NYOW) numbers around 115 young players aged between 13 – 21 years who are auditioned and drawn from all over Wales, and who represent some of Wales' most talented young musicians.

The NYOW performs in some of the most prestigious concert halls in Europe including St David's Hall (Cardiff), the Bridgewater Hall (Manchester), the National Concert Hall (Dublin), Waterfront Hall (Belfast), Town Hall (Birmingham), Beethovensaal (Stuttgart), the Salle Erasme (Strasbourg) the Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt (Berlin), and most recently La Mortella on the island of Ischia, Italy

Successive generations of players have benefited from the guidance and tuition of internationally recognised professional musicians, many of them former members of the orchestra, and many well-known Welsh composers have been commissioned to write new works for the orchestra, such as Grace Williams, David Wynne, Daniel Jones, Arwel Hughes, former member Karl Jenkins, and founder member of the orchestra Alun Hoddinott. (Two dozen pairs of clogs were needed for the Orchestra's premiere of Karl Jenkins' Scenes From Wales in 2000.)

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Wikipedia