NYOS LAB

Find Your Creative Community

Do you want to make your own music but aren’t sure where to start? Are you ready to collaborate with fellow musicians on new creations?

NYOS LAB is designed to bring young musicians together to explore their creativity and create music together with the support of expert artists. Once a month, for 6 months, you will meet up to experiment with a range of approaches to music-making.

Starting by reimagining existing tunes, each session builds on your work and the expertise of our workshop musicians to explore new ways of creating music as a group, allowing you to develop a set of original tracks to share and perform in the final session.

Each session features the expertise of workshops musicians sharing the tricks and techniques they use to create new work. You will start the first session by reimagining existing tunes, and then building on your work with the other musicians in space to make music from scratch. Over the course of six sessions you will develop a set of original tracks that will be recorded and performed live for friends and family.

At the end of the course, not only will you have a recorded performance to share, but also the skills and confidence needed to create and perform your own music.

Whether you love jazz or trad, classical, pop, or hip-hop, whether you’ve been experimenting with your band for years, or just want to try something new, NYOS LAB pulls from a range of musical styles and traditions, to create a fun and inclusive space to express yourself.

Apply for NYOS LAB today

To apply for NYOS complete the application form below:

Apply for NYOS LAB

As part of your application we ask for a few things:

Your personal information and contact details
A 30-60 second video of you playing a piece of music that’s important to you
A brief statement telling us about the music you chose
A brief statement telling us why you’re applying to NYOS LAB and what you hope to get out of the course

You can find guidance on how to record yourself playing here.

We know you’re busy, and we don’t expect you to write an essay as part of your application. For the written questions, just give us 100 words or so to help us get to know you a little better.

And if you feel more comfortable speaking than writing, you have the option to record your answers. You can find advice on recording and sharing your answers here.

We want to get to know you, while keeping our application process as quick and easy as possible. If you're having trouble with any part of the process, please contact ensembles@nyos.co.uk and the team will be happy to help.

Deadline - Friday 19 September, 12pm

Course Dates and Structure

All sessions run from 12:30pm - 4:30pm and take place in Glasgow.

Sunday 5 October 2025
Sunday 9 November 2025
Sunday 7 December 2025
Sunday 11 January 2026
Sunday 8 February 2026
Sunday 8 March 2026

Requirements

Skill Level:

You should be confident playing your instrument independently
You should be curious and prepared to experiment
You should be able to play your instrument in common keys and tonalities
You should know common scales for your instrument
You DO NOT need to have done any exams
You DO NOT need previous improvisation experience
You DO NOT need to be able to read jazz charts

Age: 16-22

Scottish Connection:

Born in Scotland
Live in Scotland
Studying in Scotland
Have Scottish Family

Fees and Financial Assistance

The fee for NYOS LAB is £175, but bursaries are available, and you may be eligible for a free or subsidised place. We can also provide support for travel and accommodation costs helping you in getting to and from the course.

You can find out more about applying for financial assistance on the dedicated information page. You do not need to supply any financial information before applying. 

> Financial Assistance for NYOS Courses

If you have any questions or would like to know more, please email ensembles@nyos.co.uk 