Carnegie Hall

(NEW YORK, NY; June 3, 2026)—This July, Carnegie Hall brings 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.

“We are thrilled to welcome the outstanding musicians of NYO-USA, NYO2, and NYO Jazz this summer,” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director. “Each year, these remarkable ensembles bring together the finest young students from across the country who share an extraordinary commitment to music and a deep curiosity about the world around them. During their New York residency and subsequent tours, they will challenge and inspire one another, develop lasting friendships, and grow both as musicians and as young leaders. We look forward to sharing their artistry with audiences at Carnegie Hall and around the globe as they serve as exceptional cultural ambassadors for the United States.”

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.
 

National Youth Orchestra of the USA:
Summer 2026 Details

Photo: Chris Lee

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.

NYO2: Summer 2026 Details

Photo: Fadi Kheir

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.
 

NYO Jazz: Summer 2026 Details

Photo: Todd Rosenberg

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.

Program Information

Thursday, July 30 at 7:00 p.m.
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
_________________________________________

Friday, July 31 at 7:00 p.m.
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
_________________________________________

Saturday, August 1 at 7:00 p.m.
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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Click here to learn more about supporters of Carnegie Hall’s national youth ensembles.

All three national youth ensembles are supported by the following:

Lead Donors: Hope and Robert F. Smith, The Kovner Foundation, and Beatrice Santo Domingo. Global Ambassadors: Michael ByungJu Kim and Kyung Ah Park, Hope and Robert F. Smith, and Maggie and Richard Tsai.

Major funding has been provided by the Mark and Anla Cheng Kingdon Foundation, Clive and Anya Gillinson, Pershing Square Philanthropies, and the Victor and William Fung Foundation.

United Airlines®, Airline Partner to the National Youth Ensembles.

Additional funding has been provided by Sarah Arison, and Mary I. and John E. Hull.

Major funding for NYO-USA is provided by Lorraine Buch Fund for Young Artists, JMCMRJ Sorrell Foundation, and the H.S. Beau Bogan and Elliot M. Friedman Fund for Orchestra Conductors.

Major funding for NYO2 and NYO Jazz is provided by Veronica Atkins, and Melanie and Jean E. Salata.

Additional funding for NYO-USA has been provided by AlixPartners, The Jack Benny Family Foundation, and Xiaoshan Ren.

Additional funding for NYO2 has been provided by Ernst & Young LLP, and The Laufey Foundation.

Additional support for NYO Jazz has been provided by The Laufey Foundation.

NYO Jazz is made possible, in part, by an endowment grant from the Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme Foundation.

Lead support for United in Sound: America at 250 is provided by Hope and Robert F. Smith and Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Major Corporate Sponsor: Bank of America

Additional support provided by the Hearst Foundations.

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Ticket Information

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.