Youth Orchestra
Youth Orchestra
Join our dynamic orchestra for incredible young musicians and play Shostakovich 7 alongside members of the CBSO.
Through CBSO Youth Orchestra, young musicians work in collaboration with CBSO musicians and top conductors to develop their orchestral craft. Youth Orchestra members receive dedicated sectionals with our professional musicians to stretch and develop their skills.
To become a member of the CBSO Youth Orchestra, applicants need to undertake an audition. This takes place in front of a panel of CBSO musicians, just like a professional orchestral audition. We ask that applicants are working at a minimum of Grade 7 standard for strings and Grade 8 for woodwind, brass and percussion.
Thank you for your interest in CBSO Youth Orchestra.
We are currently reviewing our approach to supporting young musicians’ orchestral experiences now and in the future. This will involve a year-long consultation process with current and potential Youth Orchestra members and local partners. To this end, we will not be auditioning for the 2026-27 season. Our current membership of CBSO Youth Orchestra will continue into the 2026-27 Season and there will be smaller scale events and opportunities across the year.
For more information about music-making opportunities for young people in Birmingham, visit the Birmingham Music Education Hub website. You can also check out our other partner organisations: B:Music, BCMG, Ex Cathedra and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Junior Department. Those in the upper age range of Youth Orchestra are encouraged to apply for the 2027 CBSO Orchestral Residency.
If you would like to be added to a mailing list to be informed of any future opportunities, and to be involved in the consultation process, please email Helen Butcher (hbutcher@cbso.co.uk).
Get to Know Us
WHO
Open to all musician aged 13 – 26 who are undertaking formal education anywhere in the UK, the CBSO Youth Orchestra gives its members an unmatched opportunity to play music in prestigious venues with top professional conductors and soloists. Complementing the region’s existing youth and schools orchestras, the CBSO aims to have a youth orchestra that is dynamic, challenging and filled with dedicated young players who share the CBSO’s own passion for music.
WHEN & WHERE
The CBSO Youth Orchestra meets for a variety of opportunities across a season to rehearse and perform incredible orchestral repertoire. Receiving direction from professional conductors and CBSO musicians, our talented young musicians explore repertoire from Beethoven to Dani Howard, culminating in concerts in some of the best music venues in the West Midlands.
WHAT
As part of the CBSO Youth Orchestra programme over the coming season, we are keen to explore our young musicians' creativity and expand their skills. Members will have the opportunity to take part in our main course in October and workshops and small ensemble opportunities across the season, equipping them as musicians in the modern world.
BENEFITS
- Sectional coaching from CBSO musicians
- Performances with leading professional conductors
- The chance to play in Birmingham's Symphony Hall, one of Europe's finest orchestral concert venues
- Performing exciting and adventurous music, including regular world and UK premieres
- The support of the CBSO's management team - exactly like a professional orchestra
- The opportunity to perform in smaller ensembles across the CBSO's Season
COSTS
The cost of membership for the year will be £150.
Bursaries & Scholarships
We aim to make sure that money isn’t a barrier to getting involved. We ask musicians to contribute to the cost of their place in the orchestra, but we understand that for some musicians, any contribution may be out of reach. Thanks to support from the Leverhulme Trust, Gwynn Williams and the James Doolin legacy, grants are available to support musicians and to cover their fees and any travel expenses incurred as part of the course. We are also grateful for the support of the James Langley Memorial Trust and the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, who provide financial support for individual members to support further musical endeavours.
Youth Orchestra FAQ
Where and when does the CBSO Youth Orchestra meet?
The orchestra meets in the Autumn half term for a week long course of rehearsals followed by a concert. Rehearsals are usually between 10am and 5pm, with occasional evening sessions. Rehearsals are usually held in CBSO Centre, Berkley Street, Birmingham. Concerts are usually at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.
The CBSO Youth Orchestra members also meets in smaller numbers throughout the year for activities such as masterclasses, workshops and coaching for the CBSO Youth Orchestra Chamber Ensembles Training.
What standard and age do I need to be to apply?
Open to all musician aged 13 – 26 who are undertaking formal education anywhere in the UK.
You need to be at a minimum of grade 7-plus for strings, grade 8-plus for wind, brass and percussion. The orchestra aims to play challenging music to a very high standard, so it's not suitable for beginners, but how you perform in audition is far more important to us than your official 'grade' - so if you're keen to give it a try, and feel ready for the challenge, please do apply, even if you haven't yet taken (or aren't planning to take) your grade 8.
We regret we are unable to accept applications for membership of the CBSO Youth Orchestra on non-standard orchestral instruments (e.g. drum-kit, guitar, saxophone, keyboard etc.)
Do I have to live in Birmingham to join the orchestra?
No, the CBSO Youth Orchestra rehearses in Birmingham but accepts applications from young musicians anywhere in the UK. Applicants are no longer required to have a connection to the Midlands to apply. If you love playing your instrument, play to a high level, and want to come and experience the CBSO, we'd love to receive an application from you!
Are the courses residential?
No – members need to be able to get to and from central Birmingham on each day of the course.
Who's the conductor?
The CBSO Youth Orchestra doesn't have a permanent principal conductor or music director – we work with different conductors for each concert, including former CBSO Music Director Andris Nelsons, CBSO Principal Guest Conductor Edward Gardner, CBSO Associate Conductor Michael Seal, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and Kazuki Yamada.
Who are the soloists?
An important aim of the CBSO Youth Orchestra is to give its members a taste of what it means to be a member of the CBSO, including having the opportunity to perform with world-class guest artists. Therefore, our policy is to engage soloists who have already performed with the CBSO itself. These have included Katarina Karneus, Christine Rice and Lore Lixenberg (mezzo) Leon McCawley, Peter Donohoe, Joanna MacGregor and Steven Osborne (piano), Julian Bliss (clarinet), Alison Balsom (trumpet), Tasmin Little and Chloe Hanslip (violin) and Guy Johnston and Andreas Brantelid (cello). We don't usually engage non-professional or first-time soloists.
What do you play?
The CBSO has a worldwide reputation for adventurous and innovative programming, with particular emphasis on contemporary music. The repertoire of the CBSO Youth Orchestra reflects this – we aim to programme works that you would not normally expect to play in a Youth Orchestra. Recent works performed include Strauss’ An Alpine Symphony, Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony, Mahler's Seventh Symphony, Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe, Shostakovich's Eleventh Symphony, Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony, Bruckner's Romantic Symphony, Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, Walton's First Symphony, Nielsen's Inextinguishable Symphony, Bartók's The Wooden Prince and Korngold's Violin Concerto – music that we hope you'll find challenging and exciting, and probably won't get the chance to play anywhere else!
We also commission new music, and in February 2007 the Orchestra premiered Streamlines, a brand-new work, written specially for it by Tansy Davies. In 2009, we premiered another commission, Piu mosso by Luke Bedford, and in 2011 we followed this with a third new work, this time commissioned from the young British composer Ben Foskett. Charlotte Bray also wrote us a new piece for the 2013-14 season and, in February 2017, we premiered Breakbeat by Daniel Kidane. In 2023 we premiered Striations by Bergrύn Snæbjörnsdóttir. In July 2025, the CBSO Youth Orchestra will be performing a new commission by the composer and Youth Orchestra alumnus Christopher Churcher.
There will also always be great classics by composers like Stravinsky, Elgar, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, all with conductors and soloists who'll show you these works as you've never heard them before.
