Auditioning for NCO

Auditions will be open from Wednesday 13th May to the deadline on 9am Friday 31st July 2026.

Whether you’re new to NCO or you’ve been a member before, we would love to receive your audition. Everyone auditions afresh each year.

We are interested to hear from all young musicians, whatever their background, schooling or circumstances. We are particularly keen to increase representation in our orchestras from groups currently under-represented in classical music and to increase the number of children from state schools.

All auditioned NCO activities include world class in-person orchestral coaching with incredible tutors, guest artists and conductors. They also include access to our online activities and resources, which aid and inspire musical and social preparation and explore creativity and support wellbeing.

If you audition for NCO 2027 you will be auditioning to join orchestras who either meet for residential Orchestral Weeks or non-residential Orchestral Weekends.

If a young musician is offered and accepts a place in NCO 2027, they and their parent/carer make a commitment that the young musician will attend in full the activities for their orchestra – that’s either two Orchestral Weeks or two Orchestral Weekends in 2027. Members of the Under 14 Orchestra are also expected to take part in Winter Weekend, which takes place in November 2027.

Orchestral Weeks & Weekends

Orchestral Weeks Spring 2027

For those aged 11 as of 31st August 2026 (Under 12 Orchestra):
Sun 28th March – Sat 3rd April 2027 residential at Shrewsbury School and final concert at Shrewsbury School.

For those aged 12 as of 31st August 2026 (Under 13 Orchestra):
Sat 27th March – Sat 3rd April 2027 residential at Sherborne Girls’ School, Dorset and final concert at Lighthouse Poole.

For those aged 13 as of 31st August 2026 (Under 14 Orchestra):
Sun 4th April – Sun 11th April 2027 residential at Sherborne Girls’ School, Dorset and final concert at Bristol Beacon.

Orchestral Weeks Summer 2027

For those aged 11 as of 31st August 2026 (Under 12 Orchestra):
Sun 8th August – Sat 14th August 2027 residential at Sherborne Girls’ School, Dorset and final concert at Portsmouth Guildhall.

For those aged 12 as of 31st August 2026 (Under 13 Orchestra):
Sun 1st August – Sun 8th August 2027 residential at Sherborne Girls’ School, Dorset and final concert at Bristol Beacon.

For those aged 13 as of 31st August 2026 (Under 14 Orchestra):
Sun 25th July – Sun 1st August 2027 residential at Shrewsbury School and final concert at Nottingham Royal Concert Hall.

Orchestral Weeks Winter Weekend

For those aged 13 as of 31st August 2026 (Under 14 Orchestra) there will be an additional non-residential weekend culminating in a public concert, on Sat 20th November – Sun 21st November 2027 at Woolwich Works.

Orchestral Weekends Spring 2027

NCO London Orchestras Sat 27th & Sun 28th February 2027. One orchestra meets at Goldsmiths University and one orchestra meets at Regent High School

NCO Midlands Orchestra Sat 13th & Sun 14th March 2027 at Ruddock Performing Arts, Birmingham

NCO North Orchestra Sat 6th & Sun 7th March 2027 at Bolton School

NCO South West Orchestra Sat 13th & Sun 14th March 2027 at Blundell’s School, Tiverton

Orchestral Weekends Summer 2027

NCO London Orchestras Sat 19th & Sun 20th June 2027 One orchestra meets at Goldsmiths University and one orchestra meets at Regent High School

NCO Midlands Orchestra Sat 12th & Sun 13th June 2027 at Ruddock Performing Arts, Birmingham

NCO North Orchestra Sat 12th & Sun 13th June 2027 at Bolton School

NCO South West Orchestra Sat 22nd & Sun 23rd May 2027 at Blundell’s School, Tiverton

Who can join?

Everyone auditions for a place in our auditioned orchestras each year – players that have been an NCO member previously and players who are new to NCO, including those who may never have played in an orchestra before. This makes it fair for all young musicians interested in joining NCO.

It is free to audition, and auditions are submitted via a pre-recorded video.

We welcome auditions for NCO 2027 from young musicians who:

  • are aged 8-13 years old (as of 31st August 2026) and
  • play an orchestral instrument to the appropriate standard and
  • are British citizens or are living/studying in the UK (please check with us if you are unsure)

Orchestral instruments are considered to be: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn, Cornet, Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Percussion, Harp, Violin, Viola, Cello or Double Bass.

Depending on your child’s age and playing experience, they will be eligible to audition for our residential Orchestral Weeks, our non-residential Orchestral Weekends or to be considered for either.

Orchestral Weeks
They are not available for this age range.

Orchestral Weekends
Grade 3+ for: Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn, Cornet, Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Percussion, Lever/Pedal Harp, Viola, Double Bass
Grade 4+ for: Flute, Violin, Cello
Audition requirement – two pieces via video audition.

Orchestral Weeks
Grades 4 – 8+
Audition requirement – two pieces via video audition plus orchestral excerpts if you play violin or cello.

Orchestral Weekends
Grade 3+ for: Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn, Cornet, Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Percussion, Lever/Pedal Harp, Viola, Double Bass
Grade 4+ for: Flute, Violin, Cello
Audition requirement – two pieces via video audition.

Orchestral weeks
Grades 5 – 8+
Audition requirement – two pieces via video audition plus orchestral excerpts if you play violin or cello.

Orchestral Weekends
Grade 3+ for: Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn, Cornet, Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Percussion, Lever/Pedal Harp, Viola, Double Bass
Grade 4+ for: Flute, Violin, Cello
Audition requirement – two pieces via video audition.

Orchestral Weeks
Grades 6 – 8+
Audition requirement – two pieces via video audition plus orchestral excerpts if you play violin or cello.

Orchestral Weekends
Grade 3+ for: Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn, Cornet, Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Percussion, Lever/Pedal Harp, Viola, Double Bass
Grade 4+ for: Flute, Violin, Cello
Audition requirement – two pieces via video audition.

What does it cost?

To take part in NCO there are membership fees as outlined below. We are pleased to offer financial support to help ensure everyone who is offered a place has the opportunity to take part.

Orchestral Weeks

The membership fee to take part in two Orchestral weeks in 2027 is:

  • Under 12 and Under 13 Orchestras (those aged 11 or 12 as of 31st August 2026) £2200
  • Under 14 Orchestra (those aged 13 as of 31st August 2026) £2400

Orchestral Weekends

The membership fee to take part in two Orchestral weekends in 2027 is:

  • £400

The true cost to NCO of providing a place in an NCO orchestra is more than double the fees above. NCO subsidises activities to keep fees as low as possible and works hard each year to raise the funds which cover the balance.

Our aim is that money doesn’t create a barrier to a child hoping to take part in our activities. We want any young musician, no matter their background or circumstance, to have the opportunity to accept their offer of a place in NCO. It is possible to have all or part of your child’s fees paid for you through our Financial Support programme.

NCO prioritises financial support for:

  • Families where the child is in state education and/or
  • Families who are entirely based in the UK, with working parent/s (including single parents and/or those who are also receiving benefits to supplement their employment income, unless they are unable to do so on medical grounds/another exceptional reason).

NCO support is means-tested so once your child has been offered a place, we ask for a range of information and supporting documents from those who would like to make an application for support.

For Orchestral Weeks, NCO will consider providing financial support on a sliding scale (25% – 100%) to families with a gross household income less than c. £80,000.

For Orchestral Weekends, NCO will consider providing financial support (100% or 50%) to families with a gross household income less than c. £60,000. For Orchestral Weekends only, NCO will also prioritise families who are living a considerable distance from where activity is taking place, as well as being on a lower income.

Thank you in advance for your time in providing this detail and for your transparency – it really does help us to best consider your request. We will ask you for some information about:

  • Your finances, including your gross annual income, dividends and company ownership, pension/s, savings and property ownership and any benefits or grants you receive
  • Where your child goes to school, including whether they are receiving any bursaries or scholarships or are eligible for Free School Meals or Pupil Premium
  • Your other dependants
  • Whether you have applied for grants from other sources e.g. charities or your local authority (we recommend this)
  • Any other circumstances which will affect your capacity to pay your child’s membership fees

As a charity, NCO raises funds to provide financial support to young musicians each year. In a normal year, our Financial Support programme has the capacity to support around 10 – 15% of our members, depending on the funding level we have raised. There is no guarantee we will be able to offer support for every application we receive, even if you’ve received support from us before. We recommend that you apply to other funding sources alongside your NCO Financial Support application as we are expecting significant demand for support.

If you have any questions about Financial Support that you would like to ask before your child auditions for NCO, please email financialsupport@nco.org.uk and we will be happy to help.

Notes for specific instruments

Depending on which type of activity (Orchestral Weeks or Orchestral Weekends) that you would like to audition for at NCO, there may be some different guidance depending on your instrument. This is because of the music that is played at the different activities, so that we know that young musicians will be comfortable and confident taking part in those activities.

To take part in Orchestral Weeks, bassoonists need to play bassoons in C, not transposing tenoroons or mini bassoons (in F or G). You can still audition for Orchestral Weeks on a tenoroon/mini bassoon as long as you are happy to commit to playing a full-size bassoon from February 2027.

Bassoonists can apply to take part in Orchestral Weekends on tenoroon, mini bassoon or bassoon.

Cellists auditioning to take part in Orchestral Weeks should be able to read tenor clef fluently.

Cellists auditioning to take part in Orchestral Weekends should have some familiarity with tenor clef.

If you are a cellist aged 11-13 on 31st August 2026 and are auditioning for the residential Orchestral Weeks, don’t forget to prepare your orchestral excerpt(s).

Cornet players are welcome to audition for Orchestral Weekends but it’s not possible to audition on cornet for Orchestral Weeks.

Euphonium players are welcome to audition for Orchestral Weekends but it’s not possible to audition on euphonium for Orchestral Weeks.

If you’re auditioning on French horn for Orchestral Weeks, it’s worth being aware that you may need to do some transposition as part of your playing at NCO. We prefer older players to have some familiarity with transposition, and you may need to ask your teacher for help with F and E flat in preparation for NCO activity, but it’s not essential for your audition.

If you are a harpist auditioning for Orchestral Weeks you need to be playing on a pedal harp.

If you are a harpist auditioning for Orchestral Weekends, you can be playing on a lever harp or a pedal harp and it’s OK if you change from lever to pedal between auditioning and first NCO activity.

Percussionists auditioning should be able to read musical notation.

We ask percussionists auditioning for Orchestral Weeks to prepare two contrasting pieces on different orchestral percussion instruments – one piece on a tuned instrument and one on a snare drum.

Percussionists auditioning for Orchestral Weekends can perform on two different orchestral instruments or can prepare one piece on drum kit and one on snare/another orchestral percussion instrument.

If you would like to talk to us about this before preparing your pieces, please email auditions@nco.org.uk

Trombonists auditioning for Orchestral Weeks should be able to read tenor clef fluently.

Trombonists auditioning for Orchestral Weekends can audition whether they read bass or treble clef.

You can audition on Tenor or Bass Trombone.

Tubas auditioning for Orchestral Weeks, should be able to read bass clef fluently.

Tubas auditioning for Orchestral Weekends can audition whether they read bass or treble clef.

Trumpeters may come across transposition at NCO; it is a good idea to practise some parts in A and C with your teacher.

If you are a violinist aged 11-13 on 31st August 2026 and are auditioning for Orchestral Weeks, don’t forget to prepare your orchestral excerpt(s).

Viola players auditioning for Orchestral Weeks should be able to read the treble clef fluently.

For viola players auditioning for Orchestral Weekends, we prefer them to have some familiarity with treble clef.

How to audition

You can find the step by step auditions process on our How to audition page, via the button below.

How to audition