Outstanding Teen Musicians Selected for NYO2 in Summer 2019

By SBO+ Staff

Carnegie Hall today announced the names of the 80 young musicians selected from across the country for NYO2, a three-week, intensive summer orchestral training program for outstanding American instrumentalists ages 14 to 17.

The members of NYO2 2019—coming from 30 US states plus Puerto Rico—have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as exceptionally talented musicians who not only embody a very high level of artistry, but who also come from a wide range of backgrounds, representing a future for American orchestral music that includes communities which have often been underserved by and underrepresented in the field. In addition, 22 musicians who previously took part in NYO2 have been accepted to the 2019 edition of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA; ages 16–19) this summer.

Click here for the names, instruments, and hometowns of the members of NYO2 2019.

For the second consecutive year, the musicians of NYO2 will travel to Miami Beach for a weeklong residency, made possible through a continued partnership with the New World Symphony, America’s Orchestral Academy (NWS). As part of their training, NYO2 players have the opportunity to work with NWS Fellows leading up to a performance at the New World Center on Saturday, July 27 at 8:30 p.m. led by conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto. The program includes Stravinsky’s Pétrouchka, selections from Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat, and Gabriela Montero’s Piano Concerto No. 1, “Latin,” featuring the composer as soloist.

The New World Center concert will be made available to the community for free via WALLCAST, with the full performance viewable outdoors in SoundScape Park on the 7,000-square-foot projection wall of the building. During their time in Miami, the NYO2 members will also have opportunities to interact with local young musicians in the South Florida area through NWS community partner organizations, playing and learning side-by-side with one another.

Following their Miami residency, NYO2 returns to New York for a culminating performance at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m.

“We are thrilled to partner again with the New World Symphony to bring some of the most exceptional young musicians in the country to both New York City and Miami” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s executive and artistic director. “The opportunity to work with NWS Fellows and to learn from conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto and pianist Gabriela Montero will be life-changing for the NYO2 musicians. We hope they will return home to their communities inspired to further develop their skills and use music to connect with audiences and people everywhere.”

The NYO2 program begins with an intensive training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York in mid-July. The young musicians work with NWS Fellows as well as other professional players from top orchestras, and also have opportunities to make music side-by-side with members of NYO-USA and NYO Jazz. Joseph Young, Artistic Director of Ensembles at the Peabody Institute, returns as NYO2’s resident conductor, and the students also have the opportunity to work with James Ross, music director of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra in Virginia. The faculty leads private lessons, master classes, chamber music readings, and other seminars on essential music skills in preparation for the culminating concerts in Miami Beach and New York.