The Ulster Youth Orchestra is the national youth orchestra of Northern Ireland and showcases the very best of our young musical talent. This year, our concerts will be led under the baton of prestigious conductor Michael Seal, who last led the orchestra in 2017, at the Guildhall in Derry/Londonderry and the Ulster Hall in Belfast.
The Ulster Youth Orchestra aims to develop young people through music by providing a creative, nurturing and inclusive environment in which talented, young musicians enhance their personal and musical development by receiving the highest standard of musical tuition, orchestral experience, and performance opportunities.
Celebrated as one of the leading youth orchestras in the UK, the award-winning Ulster Youth Orchestra was initiated by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in October 1993. Working in close association with the Education Authority, the organisation brings together the most talented young instrumentalists aged 14-23 from throughout Northern Ireland for residential courses and concerts, CD recordings, special projects, workshops and events.
The Ulster Youth Orchestra is a cross-community organisation. Annual auditions ensure the young players are selected purely based on musical ability regardless of religion or social background. The orchestra brings the remarkable chance for our best young musicians to take on an ambassadorial role for Northern Ireland in the national and international concert world.
Since the first course in 1994, the orchestra has involved approximately 2000 young musicians from all sections of the community and played to total audiences of over 15,000 in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, England, Scotland and Germany.
