NYOS LAB
| Spring Course | Saturday 4 - Thursday 9 April 2026 |
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| Spring Concerts | Friday 10 April 2026, 7.30pm - Perth Concert Hall Saturday 11 April 2026, 7.30pm - City Halls, Glasgow |
| Summer Course | Saturday 4 - Thursday 9 July 2026 |
| Summer Concerts | Friday 10 July 2026, 730pm - Perth Concert Hall Saturday 11 July 2026 - Dynamic Earth Pop-ups Sunday 12 July 2026, 3pm - Usher Hall, Edinburgh |
| Age Range | 14 - 22 |
| Grade Level | Grade 8+ or equivalent |
Each year, Scotland's national youth orchestra offers some of the most talented young musicians world-class training and prestigious concert opportunities, performing a range of outstanding classical music and collaborating with renowned conductors and soloists.
Upcoming NYOS Performances
Spring 2026 will see the NYOS orchestra will present a compelling programme of British orchestral voices, including Peter Maxwell Davies’ Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ A London Symphony. The summer programme ventures into the cosmos with Holst’s The Planets and Iris ter Schiphorst’s Gravitational Waves, inspired by the 2015 discovery of colliding black holes. Highlights include a performance of selected movements from Holst’s iconic suite at Dynamic Earth on Saturday 11 July.
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The concert was magnificent in all parts [...] We can be justly proud of the nearly 100 musicians filling the stage.
Ian Stuart Hunter
Perthshire Advertiser, August 2025
Applications & Auditions
Applications for the NYOS orchestras are now closed.
If you have applied we will be in touch with further information about your applications.
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Eligibility Information You are eligible to apply if you are an orchestral instrumentalist:
- Born in Scotland
- Living in Scotland
- Studying in Scotland
- Have Scottish family
Ages: 11-22
Grade: 8+ or equivalent.NB: Qualification is a guide only and you do not need to have taken any exams to apply.
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Application Guidelines For full details about our application process and auditions, please visit the Join Us section of our website.
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Fees & Financial Support Fees 2026
NYOS: £1,750
NYOS Development: £1,350Fees cover the costs of:
- Tuition from outstanding professional musicians
- The opportunity to perform with world-class conductors and soloists at Scotland's top concert halls
- Leisure time and extra-musical activities, including health and wellbeing sessions, technical exercises and masterclasses
- All residential accommodation for both spring and summer courses
- All meals
- Travel to concert venues
- NYOS branded merchandise
Financial Support
No young person who is offered a place on a NYOS course will miss out due to financial circumstances.
Finance should never be a barrier to joining the NYOS community and we encourage applying for NYOS to visit our Financial Assistance page page to see what support you might be eligible for. Auditions are free and course bursaries of up to 100% are available. In 2025, 56% of our orchestral participants received bursary support, and nearly a third of our players attended their orchestra completely free of charge.
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The playing impressed with its energy, dynamic vibrancy and artistic maturity.
Mario-Felix Vogt
Morgenpost, August 2025
Meet the musicians
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FAQs
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Is NYOS the right level for me? Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit...
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What are the course costs? Course costs vary depending on which orchestra you are a member of. You can find more information on membership fees here.
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Do I have to be available for all course dates? We expect participants to be available for all the course dates and commit to the orchestra and their fellow musicians. However if you do have any problems with the dates then please get in touch with us via email ensembles@nyos.co.uk to discuss this.
Participants may not be excused for one of the following reasons:
- They have chosen to attend another course or activity knowing that it will clash with a NYOS course with no mention to NYOS.
- Their family has booked a holiday.
- The related activity is of local or school level.
Participants may be excused from a course for specific reasons such as representing their country in another activity e.g. sport, or attending activities relating to further education studies e.g. university terms clash, graduations.
Participants should not book social activities or events that clash with NYOS courses.
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When is the closing date for applications? The closing date for all application forms and pre-recorded solo auditions is midnight on Sunday 12 October 2025.
For late applications and auditions, please contact ensembles@nyos.co.uk, if you haven't done so already.
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What will I have to prepare? Please prepare ONE piece of your own choosing and TWO orchestral excerpts.
For Timpani and Percussion applicants, please prepare FOUR orchestral excerpts- one Snare Drum, one Tuned Percussion and two contrasting Timpani excerpts. If you do not have access to Timpani then please prepare two Snare Drum and Two Tuned Percussion.
The orchestral excerpts can be found here.
If you wish to offer a doubling instrument, ONE additional excerpt must be prepared along with ONE piece of your choosing on this instrument.
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When will auditions take place? All solo auditions are via pre-recorded video. Please follow the instructions within our Recording Guidelines. Recordings must be of sufficient quality.
Everyone will also be invited to participate in a group in-person audtion. These will take place on the following days:
String auditions
Sunday 2 November 2025 - Glasgow
Saturday 29 November 2025 - EdinburghWind and brass auditions
Saturday 1 November 2025 - Glasgow
Sunday 30 November 2025 - EdinburghPercussion auditions
Saturday 1 November 2025 - Glasgow
Harp auditions
Sunday 2 November 2025 - Glasgow