Germany's youngest top-level orchestra

"During the course of my life, music has rewarded me with many precious moments, none of which are more rewarding than working with talented young people. The National Youth Orchestra of Germany brings together the most promising musical talent" (Kurt Masur).

Play, promote, inspire!

The National Youth Orchestra of Germany, founded by the German Music Council in 1969, is one of the world’s leading youth orchestras. The best of the younger generation of musicians from all over Germany can demonstrate their skills by making regular national and international concert tours under the direction of celebrated conductors such as Kurt Masur, Sir Simon Rattle, Kirill Petrenko and Sebastian Weigle.

The young musicians aged between 14 and 19 audition for the German National Youth Orchestra in front of an expert jury – just as professionals do. With a team of instructors and changing conductors, in an environment of intensive work phases, the orchestra devotes itself to exacting orchestral works from all periods.

An Ambassador of German culture

The National Youth Orchestra has performed in numerous projects of epochal impact. These include concerts in Israel, memorial concerts for the victims of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a performance in the former concentration camp in Theresienstadt, in 1998 the “Thank You America!” tour, led by Kurt Masur, or in 2000 a tour through Poland led by Gerd Albrecht under the motto “Poland and Germany – together at the heart of Europe”. The orchestra worked together with choreographer John Neumeier and the HAMBURG BALLETT in 2008, visited South Africa as part of the cultural program preceding the World Cup football games in 2010; and, that same year, performed with rock musician Sting. In 2011, the National Youth Orchestra of Germany performed in the Berlin Philharmonie concert hall for the first time, conductor: Sir Simon Rattle. On the occasion of this concert, a foundation was established to support the National Youth Orchestra of Germany. In 2013, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra assumed a mentoring role for the German National Youth Orchestra, as finalised in a document signed in June of that year. In the last years, tours took the orchestra to India, Venezuela, Ecuador, Belgium, Austria, China, Italy, Slovenia, Tunisia, to the three Baltic States and Romania. Numerous concerts in Germany complete the orchestra’s international stage experience.

An orchestra that leaves traces

Many former orchestra members currently play in professional orchestras or are well-known soloists – a testimony to the outstanding worth of this project sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Daimler AG, DekaBank, the City of Bonn and the German Orchestra Union.