Set sail with the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland in 2027
The sounds of the sea come crashing into Scotland’s concert halls to open NYOS’ exhilarating 2027 concert season
Featuring thrilling orchestral masterpieces, performed in collaboration with internationally acclaimed artists, NYOS is delighted to reveal next year’s programmes. In 2027, NYOS will bring together some of Scotland’s most talented young musicians to showcase the sheer joy and infectious enthusiasm that make youth orchestras so special – and the excitement will extend beyond the concert hall, with special pop-up performances at V&A Dundee and other locations around the city.
NYOS 2027 Programmes
In spring, NYOS sets sail on a musical voyage from gently gleaming, dawn-lit waters to the thunderous power of the open sea. Debussy’s La mer and Britten’s Four Sea Interludes provide a thrilling display, with every section of the orchestra contributing its own colours and textures to a vast musical canvas.
Led by acclaimed conductor Ellie Slorach, whose recent work with the RSNO and Royal Northern Sinfonia has attracted critical acclaim, the programme also celebrates exciting contemporary orchestral voices, with music by Jon Hargreaves, Salina Fisher and Grace-Evangeline Mason.
The energy and excitement continue into summer as NYOS welcomes back the internationally renowned Amatis Trio. Having dazzled audiences in their 2024 performances with Scotland's national youth orchestra, the trio returns for a rare Scottish performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in the bicentenary year of the composer's death. Conductor Jamie Phillips, praised for his “dynamic presence on the podium”, leads the orchestra in a programme bursting with virtuosity and excitement, culminating in the timeless drama of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.
The joy of NYOS won’t be confined to the concert hall! Audiences in Dundee will have the chance to experience the orchestra up close, as our young musicians take their music into the heart of the city in July 2027, with special pop-up performances at the V&A and other locations around Dundee.
NYOS Development 2027 Programmes
The musical adventure continues with NYOS Development, whose talented young players will bring the elemental power of Sibelius’ The Oceanides to life at Perth Concert Hall in spring. This richly atmospheric work was once described as “the finest evocation of the sea ever produced in music”.
Under the baton of young Scottish conductor Derrick Morgan, the orchestra will also be joined by Scottish violinist Emma Baird for Sarasate’s dazzling Carmen Fantasy, a virtuosic reimagining of Bizet’s celebrated opera, filled with irresistible melodies and fiery Spanish flair.
NYOS Development returns to Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Kirk in July 2027 for a summer concert celebrating musical ambition, discovery and joy. Under the direction of conductor Helen Harrison, the orchestra will perform Florence Price’s remarkable Symphony No. 1 in E minor. At its premiere in 1933, Price made history as the first Black woman to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra. The season concludes in exuberant style with the fourth of Malcolm Arnold’s Four Scottish Dances, a spirited celebration of Scottish folk traditions and a fitting finale to a year of extraordinary music-making.
Tickets for NYOS 2027 performances will go on sale in January 2027.