The newly-formed National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America marked its inaugural season with a tour to Europe. The orchestra — made up of the brightest young players from across the USA — was conducted on the tour by Valery Gergiev. Tour dates included a concert at the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, Moscow, on 16 July.

The programme featured Sean Shepherd’s Magiya (specially commissioned for the orchestra), Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, with Joshua Bell as soloist, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No.10.

The tour followed a two-week training residency organized by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Institute, and the orchestra also visited Washington DC, St. Petersburg, and London (for a BBC Prom on 21 July) — in a tour organised in a collaboration between CAMI and HarrisonParrott.