Talented French horn player Joshua Osborn-Patel from Bromsgrove School has successfully auditioned and gained a place in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYO). This is an extraordinary accomplishment since over 720 musicians from across the UK applied, all playing at Grade 8 Distinction standard and were assessed by some of the UK’s very best orchestral tutors. Out of the 720, only 164 received an offer of a place.
Joshua, who has been playing the French horn for 6 years and is a Music and Academic Scholar at Bromsgrove said, “It was a lovely surprise to receive the letter advising me that I had been offered a place with the NYO. I feel very proud to have been given the opportunity and I’m particularly looking forward to playing with them at the Barbican Centre, London in January”.
Founded in 1948, NYO is the world’s greatest orchestra of teenagers. The orchestra was awarded The Queen’s Medal for Music in 2012, in acknowledgement of its world-class standards and long-standing contribution made to classical music in the UK. In 2017, the orchestra was awarded the RPS Ensemble Award, the UK’s highest classical music accolade.
As well as attaining the highest levels of brilliance in orchestral performance, NYO challenges its teenage musicians to engage in all kinds of other musical and extra-musical activity. During NYO Residencies, they are asked to take a high degree of personal responsibility within the orchestra. All NYO Musicians take a leadership role within the NYO Inspire programme, by sharing their musical skills to help other teenager musicians develop or introduce them to classical music.