National Youth Choir (9-18 Years) Auditions Audition booking for the National Youth Choir (9-18 Years) has now closed. Please note that these auditions are for:National Youth Choir (9-15 Years) [formerly Boys' and Girls' Choirs]National Youth Choir (15-18 Years) [formerly Training Choir] Auditions will take place online from 21 October - 5 November 2023, with various dates and times available. If you have a passion and talent for singing with others that you want to take to the highest level, along with a readiness to learn, then a National Youth Choir audition can be the start of something amazing for you. We passionately believe that choral singing is for everyone and strongly encourage enthusiastic young singers from all backgrounds and musical styles to audition. We particularly encourage young people of Black, Asian & ethnically diverse backgrounds and those who are disabled to audition. Financial assistance is available to cover the £20 fee and anyone on free school meals can audition for free. As a member you’ll have the best choral training possible including unbeatable opportunities to develop skills in music, performance, recording, leadership and teamwork, and to grow in confidence and aspiration. You’ll sing alongside the most gifted young singers in the UK, developing your skills to the highest level, and making life-long friends. Our 9-18 year old members are asked to attend up to two residential courses each year, held during the spring and summer holidays at various locations across the country. Courses last between five and eight days. Costs for 2023 were £650 and £925 (depending on length), with generous financial support available. Curious about auditioning? Unsure about signing up to an audition without having a bit more info? Watch a recording of our digital Discovery Event to meet the conductors and find out about what to expect from auditions. Watch the Discovery Event recording Who can audition? You can audition for the National Youth Choir if you are a British citizen or a resident of the UK at the time of application. Our choirs are age-specific and the Age & School Year Guidance Table has full details. Download Age & School Year Guidance Table Boys undergoing voice change are welcome and encouraged to audition. We have a specialist ensemble which looks after boys through voice change. We passionately believe that choral singing is for everyone and strongly encourage all talented young singers from all backgrounds and musical styles to audition. We particularly encourage young people of Black, Asian & ethnically diverse backgrounds and those who are disabled to audition. Financial assistance is available to cover the £20 fee and anyone on free school meals can audition for free. Find out more about financial assistance All our auditions take place online (over Zoom), so you can audition easily from your home or school. Visit our Courses page to find out more about provisional course dates and fees for National Youth Choir (9-18 Years) in 2024 If you have any queries please contact Amanda Wood [email protected] or 0191 383 7355. Here’s how it all works Information for parents or carers Step 1 - Get ready to book Booking checklist: Make sure the person booking is a parent or carer Check the candidate is eligible to apply (age and citizenship – see above) Check the Age & Guidance Table to confirm which choir they should audition for Have a recent head and shoulders photograph of the candidate ready to upload – this should be in digital format (JPEG or TIFF) Visit our How to Book page for more information. Step 2 - Book an audition You can book a Zoom audition via our website and choose from a range of date and time slots. You will need to register / log in to 'My NYCGB' in order to book an audition. Visit our How to Book page for more information. Book your audition Step 3 - Prepare Once you've booked an audition, it's time to make sure the candidate is as prepared as possible. Head over to our How to Prepare page to watch this short video from former Artistic Director Ben Parry and former National Youth Choir member, opera singer Fizz Buckland. We would like all candidates to perform an unaccompanied song of their choice from memory. Please refer to the How to Prepare page. Step 4 - Audition The big day! We want to assess the candidate’s ability, potential, enthusiasm, and their readiness to learn. Our staff will help put them at ease on the day. Step 5 - Result We will send you an email with the result by the end of November once all auditions have taken place. If the candidate is successful, we'll invite them to accept their place in the appropriate choir for their age and ability, and also allocate them a voice part. We will send instructions about how to accept the place and, if new to the National Youth Choir, pay a one-off Membership Fee of £90. Once the place is accepted and membership fee paid, we will send an invitation and instructions to how to book Spring and/or Summer courses for 2024. Financial assistance is available Please note, voice parts allocated at audition may be re-assessed on each course so candidates should not worry if their voice might be changing. Where members miss two consecutive courses we ask that they audition with a view to regaining their place within the National Youth Choir. For more information visit these pages: How to book How to prepare Watch the digital Discovery Event recording Follow us on social media to keep up to date with announcements about auditions Manage Cookie Preferences