National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain - New Year tour

The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain is giving a pair of New Year concerts, in Leeds and London, conducted by John Wilson. The orchestra of 163 teenagers aged 14 to 19 performs in Leeds Town Hall (3 January 2015) and the Barbican, London (4 January 2015). Working with the orchestra for the second time, John Wilson will be conducting a programme which consists of Elgar's orchestration of Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in C Minor, Respighi's Pines of Rome and Elgar's Symphony No. 1.

The orchestra was founded in 1948, and draws its musicians from all backgrounds and from every part of the UK. The young players come together three times a year to rehearse. Each residency is coached by leading conductors, tutors and soloists, and culminates in a high profile concert tour (including an annual Prom).

The January 2015 concerts are the first public outing for the current configuration of players after casting in November 2014. Prior to the concerts on 3 and 4 January, the players will come together for a week's residency at London's Goldsmith's College, which concludes with a three day stay at Highbury Grove School, a specialist comprehensive school in Islington. The players presence will involve the school's teenagers in workshops and performances and is intended to raise interest in music and spread the orchestra's ethos. As part of the orchestra's mission to reach as many people as possible, tickets for young people (under 26 at Leeds and under 25 in London) are only £5