NYOGB announces Open Up: Running Riot! concert tour

The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYO) has revealed a new concert programme for spring, titled Open Up: Running Riot!. 

The NYO's concert tour will entail a performance exclusively for young people at Saffron Hall on 22 April, and a performance to the public at London’s Southbank Centre on 23 April, with a bustling programme that celebrates the power of music and unity. 

Taking inspiration from Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, a piece that will be performed in the concerts, Open Up: Running Riot! is set to express the rebellious spirit of NYO’s young musicians, who have teamed up with composers to celebrate difference and diversity. 

The performances will include Dinuk Wijeratne’s concerto for tabla and orchestra with a solo from Sandeep Das, as well as Téenek — Invenciones de Territorio by Gabriela Ortiz.

NYO chief executive and creative director Sarah Alexander said: 'Through their wholehearted commitment, our community of teenage musicians are speaking up for the life changing power of playing music together – they want every young person to have these powerful opportunities. 

'Music powerfully transcends boundaries and creates a space where culture, belief, experience and identity can be heard and shared. We are extremely excited to share this vibrant riot of musical colour from the stage at the Southbank Centre, as well as taking it directly to teenagers in schools and on our social media platforms.'

Alongside the concerts, NYO musicians will be running workshops in schools.

The London-based concert will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 26 May.

At the Southbank Centre, tickets will be free for under 19-year-olds. For tickets, visit: https://www.nyo.org.uk/2022