Can I audition for the NYC annual programme on a course? Expand If you are a current National Youth Choir Annual Programme member or a current Training Choir member, you must book an external audition. As the Annual Programme starts at the beginning of September and includes a Tour, candidates need to receive their audition results before the Summer course in order to be able to sign up for the Annual Programme. If you are unable to make any of the dates available, an external audition with Director Ben Parry will be considered only in exceptional personal circumstances and on a case to case basis.
NYC INTERNATIONAL TOUR: What if the NYC tour clashes with my Graduation? Expand Unfortunately the timing of the tour is fixed and fits around NYC’s participation in the 12thWorld Symposium of Choral Music in New Zealand. If you are a current member of NYC 2018/19 and are unable to take part in the 2019/20 annual programme, there may be other opportunities to perform with NYC during special concerts throughout the year, for example at Christmas concerts and at BBC Proms. Click here to download the Annual Programme guide 2019/20
NYC INTERNATIONAL TOUR: Is the NYC international tour part of the annual programme? Expand Yes, the tour is included as part of the full annual programme. Click here to download the Annual Programme guide 2019/20
COURSES & MEMBERSHIP: What does membership involve? Expand This FAQ updated: 4 April 2019 National Youth Boys' Choir, National Youth Girls' Choir, National Youth Training Choir Choir places and NYCGB membership If your audition is successful, we will offer you a place in the National Youth Boys' Choir, Girls' Choir or Training Choir, depending on your age and current ability. If you haven't had a place in one of our choirs before, you'll pay a one-off NYCGB membership fee of £85 on accepting your place (financial assistance is available). This includes a concert folder, which you'll be given on your first course. Residential courses We offer all Boys' Choir, Girls' Choir and Training Choir members two residential courses per year. These are held in the majority of state school Easter and Summer holidays*. You can attend both, or one - it's up to you (but please see the Are courses compulsory? FAQ). * Training Choir members can choose one of two Summer courses. Special projects From time to time, we may also offer Boys' Choir, Girls' Choir and Training Choir members the opportunity to sing in one-off concerts or events. These special projects are always optional, and do not count as courses, so don't affect your membership if you can't do them. National Youth Choir Choir places and NYCGB membership If your audition is successful, we will offer you a place in the National Youth Choir for the coming academic year (September - August). If you haven't had a place in one of our choirs before, you'll pay a one-off NYCGB membership fee on accepting your place. (Fees for 2018/19 were £85. Fees 19/20 tbc.) This includes a concert folder, which you'll be given on your first course. Financial assistance is available, for details click here. Annual Programme and re-auditions Unlike other NYCGB choirs, the National Youth Choir operates a year-round Annual Programme of four projects. There is a non-residential introductory weekend in the Autumn, a non-residential Christmas concert project, a short residential course in the Easter holidays, and a long residential course in the Summer holidays. National Youth Choir members are expected to commit to all four projects in their Annual Programme including the International Tour. Another special feature of the National Youth Choir is that all members must re-audition annually to retain their place and to be eligible to take part in the following year's Annual Programme. Special projects We frequently offer National Youth Choir members the opportunity to sing in one-off concerts or events. These special projects are always optional, and financial assistance is available to support cost of participation if required.
AUDITIONS: Who can audition? Expand This FAQ updated: 20 September 2018 Membership of NYCGB is open to British citizens and anyone who is a resident of the UK at the time of application (excluding non-domicile applicants). Our choirs are age-specific. Girls can audition from School Year 6 and boys can audition from School Year 5. Our Age Ranges & Eligibility Table has full details. DOWNLOAD THE TABLE Please note (1): Book your audition on a convenient date, location and time and, if successful, the panel will allocate you to the appropriate choir for your age and ability. Applicants aged 18 on 31 August in the year of application should audition for National Youth Choir in May/June. Applicants for Boys', Girls' and Training Choir should audition in the Autumn. Please note (2): Boys undergoing voice change are welcome and encouraged to audition. We have a specialist ensemble within our National Youth Boys' Choir called Cambiata Voices which looks after boys through their vocal development.
AUDITIONS: When and where are the auditions? Expand This FAQ updated: 4 April 2019 We hold auditions for our choirs each Autumn at locations around the UK*. Auditions for the National Youth Boys' Choir, National Youth Girls' Choir and National Youth Training Choir are held in October/November. Booking opens in mid to late September. Auditions for the National Youth Choir are held from 4-21 May 2019 in Manchester, London, Birmingham and Newcastle. Booking opens on Monday 8 April and the booking deadline is Monday 29 April 2019. The National Youth Choir auditions are earlier because the choir has a special Annual Programme which runs from September 2019 to August 2020. FIND OUT MORE Please note (1): You are free to choose the audition location which suits you best. If your audition is successful, you'll be invited to join the choir appropriate for your age/ability. Please note (2): We only publish audition locations, and not venues, for safeguarding purposes. Audition venues are usually located centrally and easily accessible by public transport. You'll receive venue details with your confirmation email when you book your audition. *We are able to offer auditions to current Boys' Choir and Girls' Choir members on their summer courses.
AUDITIONS: How much do auditions cost? Expand This FAQ updated: 4 April 2019 It costs £35 to book an audition, and you will also need to pay for your travel to the venue. If you receive free school meals, then your audition is free and we will support reasonable travel costs. If you do not receive free school meals you may still be eligible for financial support to cover travel costs. Click here for more information about financial assistance. To access this support, you just need to tick a box when booking your audition, and then complete a simple online form. If you are a current member of the National Youth Choir Annual Programme re-auditioning is free. Please note: We provide an official auditions accompanist at all audition venues, so you don't need to book / pay for your own.
AUDITIONS: How do I book an audition? Expand This FAQ updated: 4 April 2019 You can book NYCGB auditions via a separate area of our website called My NYCGB. You can register for this area at any time and create a user profile. Go to https://my.nycgb.org.uk or login to My NYCGB here If you are an external candidate (you are not a current member of NYCGB) please click on register. You will need to follow the instructions, including completing your online profile. Once logged in click on Auditions section on the left-hand side. Select the audition you would like to attend, noting the different locations and venues. Complete all the required information, selecting your preferred time slot. If your chosen time slot is not available, this means this time is already fully booked, and you should select another time or date. If you require financial assistance for your audition, please tick on financial assistance when completing the booking and follow this link to our financial assistance page on our website to complete the form https://www.nycgb.org.uk/financial-assistance NB: If you have forgotten your password, you can click on forgotten password to re-set it. This will send you an email to your registered email account. Please follow the instructions in the email and log back on. If you get stuck you can always contact us: Please contact Amanda Wood for Boys’, Girls’ and Training Choirs. [email protected] 0191 383 7355 Please contact Elizabeth Curwen for Fellowship, Young Composers and National Youth Choir Annual Programme: [email protected] 0191 383 7334 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm). Go to My NYCGB
AUDITIONS: What do I need to bring to the audition? Expand This FAQ updated: 8 November 2018 You must bring sheet music for your accompanied song, in the key that you will sing it in, for the accompanist. We also recommend that you bring a bottle of water to keep hydrated, as not all our audition venues have drinking water facilities.
AUDITIONS: How can I improve my sight-reading? Expand This FAQ updated: 26 September 2018. We ask all audition candidates to do a sight-reading test, and other musicianship tests, as part of their audition. The kind of things you'll be asked to do depend on your age, and are listed on the How to prepare page: FIND OUT MORE A lot of people get worried about this part of the audition. The good news is that this is not the 'trick' bit where we are looking to catch candidates out. We want candidates to do well - and to help you we have a whole online course of musicianship videos, hosted on our YouTube channel. We'd recommend watching as many of them as you can, starting with the introduction. WATCH THE VIDEOS