NYO-USA Embarks on South American Tour

Led by conductor Marin Alsop, the National Youth Orchestra USA will tour South America in August 2024

Launched in 2013 by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) is a free audition-based program for exceptional musicians aged 16 to 19; this year’s edition has selected 103 members from all across the U.S. 

Following an intensive two-week training residency beginning in July 2024 at Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY) and a concert broadcast live in Carnegie Hall on August 5, the NYO-USA will begin a four-city tour of South America with conductor Marin Alsop and guest solo pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. 

NYO-USA’s repertoire for the concert broadcast live at Carnegie Hall and on tour includes Barber’s Symphony No. 1, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue featuring Thibaudet as soloist, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

The group’s tour includes debuts in Montevideo’s Auditorio Nacional del Sodre on August 8; Buenos Aires’s Teatro Colón on August 10; Brazil’s Theatro Municipal, in Rio de Janeiro on August 12; and the Sala São Paulo on August 14. This tour marks NYO-USA’s second tour to South America led by Alsop, who led the orchestra in 2017 in performances in Guadalajara, Quito, and Bogotá.

In addition to touring the cities that they will perform in, the NYO-USA musicians will also engage in peer-to-peer exchange with young musicians in São Paulo, serving as musical ambassadors for their country. 

In preparation for their performances, NYO-USA musicians will work with leading players from the nation’s top professional orchestras, and participate in ensemble and sectional rehearsals, masterclasses, and more. James Ross will return to lead both the NYO-USA and NYO2 as orchestra director during residency, also working closely with 2024 assistant conductors Tamara Dworetz and Carlos Ágreda.

A short video on the impact of cultural exchange within Carnegie Hall’s national youth ensembles, including NYO-USA, can be viewed below. 

“We are thrilled that NYO-USA has the opportunity to take part in this wonderful tour of some of South America’s finest cities and concert halls,” said Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director, Clive Gillinson in the press release. “Following their Carnegie Hall performance presented as part the Hall’s World Orchestra Week festival, which brings together top youth orchestras from around the world, these talented players will head south for a week of concerts, travel, and cultural exchange with peer musicians. This summer promises to offer truly memorable life-changing experiences for them, as they connect with music lovers wherever they go, serving as dynamic ambassadors for our country.”

“Music has always been a vital link between the vibrant societies of Brazil and the United States,” added Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S. “The NYO-USA's South American tour promises a blend of exceptional artistry and rich cultural exchange. It brings me great joy to see these interactions begin at an early age, as in this case. The tour will be another important initiative in celebrating the 200-year anniversary of Brazil-US diplomatic relations.”

“The National Youth Orchestra of the USA’s interaction with young musicians in Brazil will mark one more important — and innovative — musical partnership between Brazil and the US, very much in line with previous encounters that Carnegie Hall helped to promote — like Tom Jobim and Frank Sinatra — and which now have historical importance,” said Ambassador Adalnio Ganem, Consul General of Brazil in New York.