National Youth Orchestra of the USA

The United States may well be the epitome of a “melting pot” in which the greatest diversity of ethnic groups combines to form a new national culture. This also applies to the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, founded in 2013 on the initiative of New York’s Carnegie Hall, which brings Black and white musicians together, along with youngsters with Asian or Hispanic backgrounds. But they all have one thing in common: they are between 16 and 19 years old and are among the finest young musicians in the country. And that’s why they are led every summer by sought-after conducting stars: Valery Gergiev got them started, while Christoph Eschenbach and Marin Alsop and, most recently, Michael Tilson Thomas and Sir Antonio Pappano have led the ensemble.

In the summer of 2022, Daniel Harding will take over the baton for Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, a work demanding everything from the orchestra that goes into great symphonic playing: opulent sound and delicate nuances, intimacy and expressivity, virtuosity and soulful lyricism. The American cellist Alisa Weilerstein will also bring these qualities to the fore with Edward Elgar’s elegiac Cello Concerto.