Welcome to the
National Schools Symphony Orchestra
11th – 18th July 2021
Applications are now OPEN!
The team here at NSSO are currently working hard planning a vibrant 2021 experience for our young musicians. Understandably, as we all continue to face a worldwide pandemic, there are still some uncertainties to overcome. However, at this time we remain confident NSSO 2021 will take place at Malvern College in July even though we might have to adapt our concept to respond responsibly to the challenges the performing arts are facing.
The wellbeing and safety of our members is paramount to our organisation, as such, we will continue to adapt and develop our procedures, in line with advice from the UK Government, relevant governing bodies and our colleagues at Malvern College, to create a safe and resilient environment that doesn’t compromise the overall nature and quality of the NSSO experience.
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PROJECT SUNRISE
In late March 2020, when lockdown overtook the country, many arts and educational organisations, in the UK and beyond, postponed or cancelled most, or indeed all, of their events and activities. At NSSO we resolutely embraced change rather than postponement or cancellation and launched Project Sunrise with our partners GoodMusic Publishing and PartPlay. Midway through the audition cycle and ensembles not yet complete, our members still submitted almost 200 media files to create a virtual performance of the opening of Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss.
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NSSO’s Digital Celebration
As lockdown continued it was clear that the 2020 course could no longer be the annual meeting of more than 200 young musicians for a week at Malvern College. So, following the huge success of Project Sunrise, we launched a three-month long Digital Celebration of our combined musical talent.
We provided members with the opportunity and materials to take part in more virtual performances (supported by our tutors), chamber music, multi-piano ensembles and singing projects, as well as a prize competition each month. There was also support and encouragement from Nicola Benedetti, Vasily Petrenko and Sir Mark Elder.
The resulting five short films can now be viewed over on the Digital Celebration page. They offer an insight into the warm, inclusive spirit of NSSO, and all that we value about our engagement with young people – ensuring that everybody can contribute effectively and happily to successful music-making at their own level of ability and experience.
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Shortlisted for Best Classical Music Education Initiative 2020
This Music and Drama Education Excellence award, sponsored by Classic FM, honours an educational project which has used classical music in an innovative way, shown musical excellence and has had a positive impact on a significant number of participants.