Carnegie Hall today announced the names of the 78 young musicians selected from across the country for the second season of NYO2, a three-week, intensive summer program for outstanding American instrumentalists ages 14–17. Launched in summer 2016 as an extension of Carnegie Hall’s acclaimed National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), NYO2 aims to expand the pool of young musicians across the country equipped with the tools to succeed at the highest level, with a particular focus on attracting talented students from communities underserved by and underrepresented in the classical orchestral field. Both NYO-USA and NYO2 are free to all participants and offer the promising, young musicians the unique opportunity to play alongside talented peers, learn from a world-class faculty, and perform with special guest artists on the stages of some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls.

The members of the 2017 NYO2 orchestra—hailing from 24 US states as well as Puerto Rico—have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as exceptionally talented musicians who would benefit from focused training and participation in an inspiring community of their peers in order to take their playing to the next level. Twenty-five musicians will be returning from last summer’s inaugural season, and 10 members of NYO2 2016 will be taking part in NYO-USA this summer. See below or click here for the names, instruments, and hometowns of the members of NYO2 2017. The previously-announced NYO-USA roster is also available here

Following an intensive residency at Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY) in conjunction with NYO-USA, the musicians of NYO2 will make their Carnegie Hall debut on Thursday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m. with conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, who will be returning to lead the orchestra for the second straight season. The program will include Copland’s Billy the Kid Suite, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919 version) in a side-by-side performance with members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and a set with special guest vocalist and bassist Esperanza Spalding. The orchestra will also perform in Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall two days prior, on Tuesday, July 18 at 7:00 p.m., in a concert that will feature Falla’s “The Three-Cornered Hat” Suite No. 2, performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra, in addition to the pieces listed above. Over the course of three days in Philadelphia, the NYO2 members will also have opportunities to interact with local young musicians.

As part of their residency, beginning July 1 at Purchase College, NYO2 musicians will work closely with select members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, an organization with its own deep commitment to education and artist training, thanks to a partnership between Carnegie Hall and the orchestra. NYO2 participants will also have side-by-side opportunities with members of NYO-USA, who will be in residency at Purchase College during the same period. Faculty members from NYO-USA, made up of principal players from some of the country’s finest professional orchestras, will also work with NYO2 students. In addition to orchestral rehearsals led by conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, the faculty will lead private lessons, master classes, chamber music readings, and other seminars on essential music skills. Additional workshops will explore the many different opportunities available to musicians beyond the concert stage, focusing on entrepreneurship skills and communications strategies and challenging NYO-USA and NYO2 members to design specific projects they can lead in their own communities.

 Esperanza Spalding

“We are thrilled to build on the success of NYO2’s inaugural season, and present these extraordinary young players on the Carnegie Hall stage for the very first time” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director. “The opportunity to work with members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Esperanza Spalding will be life-changing for these students, and we hope they will return home to their communities inspired to further develop their musicianship and use music to connect with audiences and people everywhere.”

“We welcome the opportunity to once again partner with Carnegie Hall and work with the gifted young musicians of NYO2,” added Philadelphia Orchestra President and CEO Allison Vulgamore. “Last summer saw them bring exciting training opportunities to young Philadelphia musicians, as well as a terrific free concert opportunity for our community, performing side-by-side with our own Philadelphia Orchestra members. We are delighted to bring them back to the City of Brotherly Love.”

Tickets for the Carnegie Hall performance, priced at $20–$50, are on sale now at the Carnegie Hall Box Office (57th Street and Seventh Avenue), by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or at carnegiehall.org. NYO2’s concert in Philadelphia is free and open to the public, with reservations available in mid-June.