If music is a beacon of hope, then the young musicians of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain are intent on spreading it far and wide. Over the summer, their Hope Exchange residences have seen these talented teenagers visiting local schools to inspire and give purpose to other young musicians. They also reached out on social media to ask members of the public to name pieces of music that symbolised hope. These results were then ‘recomposed’ into ‘Hope Medleys’ and released online (you can enjoy one of these medleys via the video below).

NYO’s Hope Exchange is culminating in a series of eclectic, thought-provoking concerts, culminating this weekend at the BBC Proms and Leeds Town Hall. Violinist Nicola Benedetti joins the NYO at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday August 7 for Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No 2, part of a programme that also includes Beethoven’s Eroica and a new work, CHANT, by young composer Laura Jurd – also inspired by the theme of hope.

By working in smaller, more flexible ensembles to allow for social distancing, every NYO musician will have the opportunity to return to the concert platform this summer. Says Sarah Alexander, the NYO’s Chief Executive and Artistic Director: ‘The NYO of Great Britain is committed to enabling young people to find their voice in and through orchestral music … There was a powerful sense [from the teenagers of the orchestra] that the NYO’s theme for 2021 had to be ‘hope’. Hope sustains us through our difficulties and helps us to keep going through uncertainty. While hope has enabled many young musicians to keep on practising through lockdown, it has been the joy and intimacy of listening to and creating music that has sustained that hope.’

For more information on the NYO’s Hope Exchange concerts, for which tickets are free for under-19s, visit nyo.org.uk/the-hope-exchange-2021