National Youth Choir

The National Youth Choir, formerly known as the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and the British Youth Choir, is a family of choirs for outstanding young singers, and those with outstanding potential, in the United Kingdom. It comprises a total of five choirs for around 900 young people between the ages of 9 and 25:
 * National Youth Choir (9-15 Years) Female & Non-Binary, formerly National Youth Girls' Choir of Great Britain
 * National Youth Choir (9-15 Years) Male & Non-Binary, formerly National Youth Boys' Choir of Great Britain
 * National Youth Choir (15-18 Years), formerly National Youth Training Choir of Great Britain
 * National Youth Choir (18-25 Years), formerly National Youth Choir of Great Britain
 * National Youth Chamber Choir (18-25 Years), formerly Laudibus

The National Youth Choir also has a number of additional programmes and schemes, including its three Emerging Professional Artist programmes, the Fellowship, Young Conductors and Young Composers schemes, and its Learning & Engagement programme.

The organisation also has a strong community of over 1,000 former members, National Youth Choir Alumni, who often participate in performances alongside National Youth Choir's flagship choirs.

Background and performance history
The National Youth Choir was founded in 1983 by Carl Browning, with its five choirs have a membership of over 900 young singers aged 9 to 25 from across the UK.

The NYC regularly gives performances at venues and festivals such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, the Royal Concert Hall Nottingham, Edinburgh Festival, Snape Proms and the BBC Proms as well as at events of national significance. High-profile international artists NYC has worked with range from Daniel Barenboim to Kylie Minogue, along with top choirs including The Sixteen, Tenebrae, The Tallis Scholars, BBC Singers and many others. The music it creates and performs encompasses a wide diversity of genres and vocal styles, and NYC regularly creates and releases audio and video recordings on its own record label, National Youth Choir Recordings, and online platforms.

National Youth Choir also supports the development of emerging young professionals through its Fellowship programme for future choral leaders and performers, its Young Composers scheme and its Young Conductors programme (launched in 2024).

Current Creative Director
Lucy Hollins was appointed Creative Director of National Youth Choir in Spring 2023, succeeding Ben Parry, who held the position from 2012 to 2022.

Current Principal Conductors

 * National Youth Choir & National Youth Chamber Choir (18-25 Years): Nicholas Chalmers
 * National Youth Choir (15-18 Years): Greg Beardsell
 * National Youth Choir (9-15 Years) Female & Non-Binary: Joanna Tomlinson
 * National Youth Choir (9-15 Years) Male & Non-Binary: Lucy Joy Morris

Former Conductors & Musical Directors

 * Ben Parry
 * Greg Hallam
 * Robbie Jacobs
 * Esther Jones
 * Dominic Ellis Peckham
 * Rachel Staunton

Recordings
National Youth Choir operates its own record label, National Youth Choir Recordings (NYCR), which releases music recorded by its choirs via Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and other major music streaming services. The label publishes new recordings each month, which are regularly featured on playlists curated by each streaming platform's editorial team, as well as being broadcast on national radio stations, including BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and Scala.

National Youth Choir also partners with NMC Recordings to produce its annual "Young Composers" albums: a set of pieces for National Youth Choir (18-25 Years) and NYC's Fellowship Ensemble composed by that year's cohort of young composers.

Notable former members

 * Rich Batsford - Pianist, composer and singer-songwriter
 * James Burton - Conductor and Composer
 * Karen Danzig - Singer / songwriter
 * Rae Hendrie - Actress
 * Andrew Johnston - Came 3rd in Britain's Got Talent
 * Jon Robyns - West End star of Les Misérables and Avenue Q
 * Ben Thapa of G4 (band)