Carnegie Hall's National Youth Ensembles: 200+ Teen Musicians Prepare for Summer Residency and World Tour

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In total, 208 musicians take part in this year's program, representing 36 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

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This July, Carnegie Hall will bring together more than 200 of America's top teen instrumentalists to perform as part of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), NYO2, and NYO Jazz. From July 19–31, all three ensembles take part in an intensive training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY) before performing at Carnegie Hall and embarking on tours on three continents. In total, 208 musicians take part in this year's program, representing 36 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

After launching NYO-USA in 2013, Carnegie Hall built on this national program's success by introducing two additional ensembles— NYO2 , a sister orchestra for younger musicians, in 2016, and NYO Jazz in 2018. Each of these highly selective, free programs is dedicated to the proposition that talented young musicians thrive when they have the opportunity to expand their musical, social, and cultural horizons and share their artistry with audiences around the globe. Since 2013, more than 1,700 musicians have taken part in the program and more than 100 alums have gone on to join professional orchestras and ensembles.

Musicians from across the US arrive at Purchase College, SUNY to begin their training residency on Saturday, July 18 (NYO2 musicians begin their residency a few days earlier on July 15). During their residency, NYO-USA and NYO2 musicians work with leading players from America's top professional orchestras, and NYO Jazz is guided by a stellar faculty comprised of some of the finest jazz artists on the scene today as they prepare for their annual Carnegie Hall performances and tours.

Throughout the residency, the young musicians take part in full ensemble rehearsals, sectional rehearsals, master classes, private lessons, cross-ensemble music-making, and more. The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra's José-Luis Novo joins as director of orchestras, preparing the two orchestras ahead of the arrival of their guest conductors alongside assistant conductors Samuel Hollister and Yiran Zhao. Trumpeter Kris Johnson joins for the first time as NYO Jazz's bandleader, leading the ensemble during the residency alongside saxophonist Erica Von Kleist who joins as ensemble coach.

Two apprentice composers, Henry Golden (Bethesda, MD) and Ethan Hsu (Penn Valley, PA) will also compose new works, working closely with celebrated American composer Sean Shepherd, who serves as the composition program director and mentor/coach to the apprentices.

Each ensemble performs in Carnegie Hall 's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with stellar guest conductors and soloists ahead of their tours. All three concerts from July 30–August 1 are a part of Carnegie Hall 's United in Sound: America at 250 festival.

This summer's NYO-USA is comprised of 97 members—ages 16–19 and hailing from 32 states plus the District of Columbia—who have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as being among the finest players in the country, following a comprehensive national audition process. This summer's roster features 33 musicians who previously gained experience through NYO2. Click here for a full list of musicians, including hometowns .

In preparation for its array of performance activities in New York and across Europe, NYO-USA works with an impressive list of principal players from many of the nation's top professional orchestras during its training residency. All-star faculty joining include violinist and concertmaster Benjamin Bowman (The Met Orchestra), oboist Robert Walters (The Cleveland Orchestra), horn player and NYO-USA alum Nikolette LaBonte (Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra), and many more. Click here for a complete list of NYO-USA guest artists and faculty .

Conductor Karina Canellakis leads NYO-USA at the orchestra's annual concert in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Friday, July 31 before embarking on a four-city European tour. The orchestra makes its debut with Britten Pears Arts as part of “Summer at Snape” ( Aug. 8 ), and returns to Berlin's Young Euro Classic ( Aug. 4 ), Amsterdam's Concertgebouw ( Aug. 6 ), and the Edinburgh International Festival ( Aug. 10 ). The program includes Barber's Overture to The School for Scandal, Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F featuring Kirill Gerstein as soloist, and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra.

The 89 members of 2026 roster for NYO2—ages 14–16—are some of America's most promising young musicians, hailing from 27 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Click here for the full list of NYO2 musicians, including hometowns .

This summer's stellar NYO2 faculty includes associate concertmaster Susie Park (Minnesota Orchestra), oboist and NYO-USA alum Peter Davies (The Met Orchestra), clarinetist Ricardo Morales (The Philadelphia Orchestra), bassoonist Catherine Van Handel (The Cleveland Orchestra), and more. Click here for a full list of NYO2 guest artists and faculty .

This summer, conductor Mei-Ann Chen—who previously worked with the orchestra in 2022—leads NYO2 in the ensemble's annual concert at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, July 30 . NYO2's program includes Arturo Márquez's Danzón No. 2; Gabriela Lena Frank's "The Mestizo Waltz" from Three Latin American Dances; Michael Torke 's bluegrass-inspired Sky, which was composed in 2018 for guest violinist Tessa Lark; Gershwin's An American in Paris; and Respighi's Pines of Rome. Following their New York performance, NYO2 returns to the Dominican Republic for a five-day residency, including performances in Santo Domingo and Santiago , presented by Fundación Sinfonía.

In its ninth year, the 2026 NYO Jazz band features 22 members—ages 16–19 and hailing from across the US—who have each been recognized by Carnegie Hall as being among the finest jazz players in the country following a comprehensive and highly selective audition process. Click here for the full list of NYO Jazz musicians, including hometowns .

Led for the first time this summer by trumpeter and bandleader Kris Johnson, NYO Jazz players have the opportunity to work with some of America's top jazz masters as part of in-depth training workshops, including trumpeter Bruce Harris , drummer Jerome Jennings , ensemble coach and saxophonist Erica Von Kleist , trombonist Jennifer Krupa, guitarist Mike Moreno, bassist Jonathon Muir-Cotton, and pianist Shamie Royston. Click here for a full list of NYO Jazz faculty .

NYO Jazz performs at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, August 1 , led by Kris Johnson and featuring Grammy Award-winning vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater . Their summer 2026 program includes a commissioned work by composer, arranger, and conductor Jihye Lee; big band favorites from the Count Basie , Duke Ellington , and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis orchestras, as well as works by tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon and trumpeter Terence Blanchard ; and the group's second arrangement by an alum, trumpeter Skylar Tang, through an NYO Jazz commissioning project highlighting compositions from Terri Lyne Carrington's New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers.

Following their New York appearance, NYO Jazz debuts at SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco before performing across Asia in Taichung, Shanghai, and Beijing.

Tickets for the Carnegie Hall concerts are available on the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org , by calling 212-247-7800, or by visiting the Carnegie Hall Box Office at West 57th Street and Seventh Avenue.

For more information on discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts . Artists, programs, dates, and prices are subject to change.

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage NYO2 Mei-Ann Chen, Conductor Tessa Lark, Violin

ARTURO MÁRQUEZ Danzón No. 2 GABRIELA LENA FRANK "The Mestizo Waltz" from Three Latin American Dances Michael Torke Sky GERSHWIN An American in Paris RESPIGHI Pines of Rome

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Karina Canellakis, Conductor Kirill Gerstein, Piano

BARBER Overture to The School for Scandal, Op. 5 GERSHWIN Piano Concerto in F BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage NYO JAZZ Kris Johnson, Bandleader and Trumpet

With Special Guest Dee Dee Bridgewater , Vocals

NYO Jazz's stylistic range is highlighted in big-band gems and jazz standards; genre-crossing contemporary works, including a new Carnegie Hall commission by Jihye Lee; and an arrangement by NYO Jazz alum Skylar Tang.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Carnegie-Halls-National-Youth-Ensembles-to-Gather-200-Teen-Musicians-for-Summer-Residency-20260603)._