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I am seeking further sponsorship for The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYO).  To do so, I am commencing something that is extremely bold, brave and brilliant if I pull it off: pushing my Dad across England on a Tandem from west to east on the C2C route. That’s 150 miles across the Lake District and the highest road in the Pennines in three days. Click here to see the hills: http://www.c2c-guide.co.uk/route-profiles/

In addition, I plan to run a fundraising concert in Bothwell in late August and I would love as many people to come to that as possible. I will send the details of the concert out nearer the time.

NYO has been brilliant to me and I have written an account of my NYO experience below. For those of you who would like to see me in action, here's a link to the NYO Blog which has various pieces of writing, some pictures and videos of current members. If you follow it, you will be taken to a video showing the party spirit of NYO (I'm in the video at the bottom):

http://nationalyouthorchestra.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-is-how-nyo-likes-to-party.html

NYO is so more than just an orchestra. I am in my second year of membership with the NYO and I have gained immensely from my experience with the orchestra. During my first year, I was wowed by the energy and enthusiasm of the players within the orchestra, the amazing variety of opportunities available for members to broaden their minds, and the strong sense of community within the orchestra – with a particular emphasis on making friends and team-bonding during courses which in turn produces exciting music-making! 

The total cost of running the NYO this year is almost £1.4 million. This covers all the activities that members experience on the amazing musical journey, the opportunities that are offered to young people during the orchestra's travels around the country and all the work behind the scenes that makes it possible. Orchestra fees and income from concerts amount to about £200,000 so the orchestra needs to raise a whopping £1.2 million.  While there are substantial grants received by the orchestra from various organisations - such as Youth Music and the National Lottery - and from generous supporters, finding sufficient funding is tough in this economic climate and each member of the orchestra has been challenged to raise at least a further £150 to help the organisation reach their goal.

As of this August 6th, I will have learnt a violin part for more than 13hrs worth of music and will have had hundreds of hours of practice and rehearsal. The repertoire has varied from famous symphonies and concertos to UK premieres.

So, what has NYO done for me? Well, where do I start - there have been so many highlights! Last year, NYO gave me an amazing opportunity to take part in a cultural exchange with the Youth Orchestra of Bahia, Brazil as one of ten from the orchestra. To be involved in such an exciting project as an ambassador has given me a sense of eagerness in my everyday life to develop as a person and to work with people to produce a greater good. I visited Portugal and Brazil – a once in a lifetime travelling experience – and also had the opportunity to meet amazing young people from the opposite end of the world who I immediately bonded with through music – despite my absolutely terrible Portuguese! I have always valued the importance of orchestral playing, especially in the development of children to adults, and my experience with YOBA has only strengthened that further. If you would like to hear me with YOBA then search for the Youth Orchestra of Bahia on YouTube.

Then came the most amazing concert of my life: playing at the BBC Proms in London! Without a doubt, this was my greatest experience on stage. Everyone in the orchestra got such a great buzz of excitement playing at the Proms: with a fully filled concert hall in a venue of such awe, with cameras tracking every step of the journey, with the beautiful tender moments that come with music making of such a high standard and with the roar of delight from the audience as the orchestra played that final chord!... Cannae whack it!

However, these experiences, like most things in life, come with hard-work. NYO had a rigorous working schedule that prepared us for such challenges and which has given me greater confidence in life than I ever had before. I ultimately believe that this will go with me through every aspect of my life.

I would urge you to hear this orchestra through one of the many ways that are available. Go to the following page, if you are in England in early August 2011,to be see where you can  hear us live: http://nyo.org.uk/index.php?/whats-on/performances. For those of you who are unable to see us live, our concert at the BBC Proms on the 6^th of August is going to be broadcast on BBC 1 or BBC 2 very shortly after that!

The experiences that I have had, the training that was required and the amazing people that I worked with at NYO are what I am forever grateful for. I would be very grateful for any level of donation.

“A zinger of a performance, from an orchestra worth funding to the skies.”

The Times

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