Next concert
St. John's Smith Square
Wednesday 18 March 2020 - 7.30 pm
Wagner The Flying Dutchman Overture
Elgar Sea Pictures
Strauss An Alpine Symphony
Conductor James Blair
Soloist Catherine Wyn-Rogers
The Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra is Britain’s leading orchestra for young musicians on the threshold of their professional careers. It provides invaluable experience to those who are studying or have recently completed their training, but are not yet established in the profession.
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Unlike many similar organisations in Europe and the USA, this orchestra does not benefit from any government subsidy. We receive no public funding of any sort and are therefore entirely dependent on the generosity of individuals, charitable foundations and corporate sponsors.
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Next auditions
The next round of auditions for all instruments will be held in January and February 2021.
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Our Influence over the years
Many ex-YMSO players hold or have held prominent positions in orchestras across the country. As a testament to how influential they feel their time at YMSO was, many of them have come back to the orchestra to tutor at rehearsals and also advise generally.
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"these students represent the next generation of orchestral musicians who will continue our great classical tradition into the new millennium. The orchestra needs all your encouragement and support."
Lord Menuhin
President 1993-1999
Press coverage
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"The string section of this fine young team was, not surprisingly, in fine fettle throughout a programme that culminated in what was almost certainly the most compelling account of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 4 yet heard from anybody in the hall - not excluding the various Russian and other European visitors and the CBSO."
Coventry Evening Telegraph
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"This was a well balanced programme, from the high drama of Weber’s Overture to the moodiness of Shostakovich’s great post Stalin symphony. Blair directed a well paced performance of the Der Freischütz Overture, with a finely poised slow introduction and an exciting allegro, with some thrilling horn playing. Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto was bright and sparkling, just as it should be."
Bob Briggs, Seen And Heard UK Concert Review
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"The value of the training supplied by the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra in bridging the gap between the colleges and the profession was amply proved at the concert in St John's Smith Square. The Tchaikowsky programme also confirmed their strength in the Romantic repertoire, grown from their association, since 1971, with James Blair, the YMSO's Artistic Director and Principal Conductor."
Margaret Davies, Musical Opinion no. 1466