Orchestral days

Orchestral days are designed to support young musicians in the earlier stages of their playing, who are not already part of our auditioned orchestras. They are delivered around England for the children local to the venue by our friendly and experienced tutor team.

For example, we recently held Orchestral days in Devon and Dorset where children from Devon, Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset all signed up.

They are free to attend and open to any young musician in years 4-9 playing between grades 2-5. You don’t have to have taken grade exams or to audition to join.

Orchestral days typically run from 10-4pm and include learning a specially arranged ensemble piece in the morning and exploring creative composition and improvisation in the afternoon.

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Dates and locations for 2026 will be released in September 2025 and we'll list them on this page.

You can also sign-up to our enewsletter to receive updates when workshops become available.

We arrange our Orchestral days in partnership with local Music Hubs, School Trusts, Youth Music Organisations and Venues, to support progression in instrumental and ensemble music making. If you work for one of these organisations and would like to find out more then please email Tamsin, our Head of Engagement by visiting Our People page.

“Before my first NCO activity I had never even considered orchestra and didn’t know how awesome it could be! And now my music world has just opened entirely.”

Young Musician 2024