‘among the elite institutions of its kind …’ - the New York Times
The European Union Youth Orchestra is one of the world’s most prestigious and dynamic orchestras, as evidenced by the thousands of fine young musicians, from all 28 European Union Member States, who audition every year for a chance to join the Orchestra. It was founded in 1976 by Lionel and Joy Bryer, and since then has developed into one of the world’s most prestigious and dynamic orchestras, providing an exceptional bridge between music colleges and the professional music world for almost 3,000 alumni. A group that includes conductors, soloists, and orchestral musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and so the list goes on…
For almost four decades, from New York to Nicosia, Seoul to São Paulo, Moscow to Mumbai, the EUYO has partnered with some of the greatest names in classical music including Marta Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Jessye Norman, Mstislav Rostropovich and particularly its three notable Music Directors: Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink, and current Music Director Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy. The EUYO is known for its technically challenging repertoire: inspirational works, some wild, some deeply moving.
It comes as no surprise, with such expertise, that the EUYO has received significant international accolades, including the Olympia Prize from the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, the ‘Prix d'Initiative Européenne’, the Grant for Young Artists awarded by The Praemium Imperiale and the ‘European Media Prize’.
The EUYO is evidence to support Aristotle’s notion ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’. While the Orchestra fosters exceptional individual talent, one of its founding principles was to demonstrate, through the metaphor of an orchestra, the European ideal of a community working together. Since 1976, the EUYO has been a cultural ambassador for the European Union, nurturing cultural development, communication and leadership skills amongst succeeding generations of Europeans. Appropriately, therefore, the EUYO’s Patrons include the Heads of State and Government of the 28 European Union Member States and the Presidents and Commissioners of the EU, and the Orchestra is supported by funds from all 28 EU Member States, together with the European Union's own Culture Programme.