Illuminate roundup and reviews 

We launched into 2025 with a dazzling tour in London, Nottingham and Coventry.
Illuminate Barbican

The first Orchestra residency and tour of the year has now come to an end and the reaction to Illuminate has been glowing! We kicked off the New Year with glimmering performances at the Barbican, Warwick Arts Centre and Nottingham Royal Concert Hall. 

Together with conductor Jaime Martín, the Orchestra delivered dazzling performances of Ravel’s Boléro, Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Catamorphosis and Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4, The Inextinguishable. And, it’s official: the audience loved it. Find out what the reviewers had to say. 

 

The big tunes featured some magical legato playing with exceptionally warm string tone, especially from the fine viola section. Graceful winds lit up the burbling allegretto, while superbly handled duelling timpani were matched by brass that was both bold and secure.
The Guardian
4/5
With so many teenagers on stage — I lost count after 150 — and lighting effects erupting like an Eighties disco, one expected something pretty spectacular... But I was unprepared to be so overwhelmed emotionally.
The Times
4/5
The young players and Martín seized the moments of struggle and triumph with playing of heart-stopping fervour.
The Telegraph
4/5
NYO proves once again that our musical future is in very good hands.
Reviews Gate
5/5
I could almost feel the glaciers cracking and the lava fields shifting beneath my feet as the mountains spat out ash and flames, and the waterfalls rained down on splitting rocks.
Elementary WhatsOn

Couldn’t make it to a concert hall? The performance at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, was recorded for a broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 14 January 7.30pm. 

Tune in

NYO Open activities took place alongside the performances and brought musical opportunities to young musicians from London, Coventry and Nottingham. 

  • Over 1,000 young people witnessed their generation get behind orchestral music in concert halls with our Free for Teens offer 
  • 1,000 school students from Nottingham joined us for a special schools performance in Albert Hall 
  • 140 young musicians joined the NYO community through Side by Side rehearsals with the Orchestra 

Thank you for playing your part in the NYO Community. To keep up to date with news from The National Youth Orchestra, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and X!

Related news