Carnegie Hall: NYO Jazz Embarks On Two-Week European Tour In Summer 2023

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(NEW YORK, NY; June 28, 2023)—This summer, Carnegie Hall’s critically-acclaimed national youth jazz orchestra NYO Jazz—led by artistic director/trumpeter Sean Jones—returns for its sixth year featuring 22 of the most outstanding teen musicians from across the US, showcasing the legacy and bright future of American jazz. Following an intensive two-week training residency in New York and a concert at Carnegie Hall on July 25, this extraordinary ensemble—joined this summer by Grammy Award-winning vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater as special guest—embarks on a six-city European tour.

NYO Jazz’s tour stops this summer include return visits to the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam (July 30) and the Young Euro Classic festival at the Konzerthaus Berlin (August 6) where the ensemble played to sold-out houses and received standing ovations and rave reviews in its 2018 inaugural European tour. The band makes debut performances at the Festival da Jazz in St. Moritz (July 28), the BBC Proms in London (August 1), the Rheingau Musik Festival in Wiesbaden (August 4), and the Lucerne Festival (August 9).

For NYO Jazz’s 2023 concerts, Carnegie Hall has commissioned a new work by Sean Jones. Titled “The 29ers,” the new piece is inspired by jazz figures born on the 29th day of a given month, from Duke Ellington to Wycliffe Gordon (who wrote “We’re Still Here,” the unofficial NYO Jazz theme song) to Jones himself. NYO Jazz’s diverse program will also include two arrangements from Terri Lyne Carrington’s project “New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers”—Carla Bley’s “Lawns” and Noriko Ueda’s “Uneven Pieces,” as well as big band gems by Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Roy Hargrove and contemporary pieces that explore jazz’s influence on hip-hop, R&B, and pop.

NYO Jazz’s touring activities have been designed to allow America’s finest young musicians to share their artistry with international audiences while also experiencing the richness of other cultures and music. As part of their travel schedule, NYO Jazz players will have the exciting opportunity to tour the cities in which they will be performing as well as continue the cultural exchange and peer-to-peer activities that have become a hallmark of Carnegie Hall’s national youth ensembles.

Click here to watch a special video about the tenth anniversary of Carnegie Hall’s national youth ensembles.

“We are very excited that NYO Jazz will be returning to Europe in summer 2023, including appearances at some of its most prestigious music festivals,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “The top-class musicians who make up NYO Jazz’s 2023 roster are among the finest jazz players in the nation, passionate not only about music, but also dedicated to connecting with people across cultures. It promises to be a transformational summer for them with training by esteemed jazz artists and extraordinary performances of America’s beloved art form abroad as they serve as musical ambassadors for their country.”

“The big band has always been America’s orchestral format and one of the most wide-ranging ensembles ever devised,” said Sean Jones, NYO Jazz’s Artistic Director and Bandleader. “And jazz music is the cultural, sonic depiction of our nation. When you have young musicians who are that talented, that vibrant performing our music all over the world, it gives us a sense of national pride — it truly represents E pluribus unum, “out of many, one.” We have a vibrant program representing the depth and breadth of America’s Jazz Orchestra and we are thrilled to share it with our brothers and sisters across Europe this summer.”

The members of NYO Jazz 2023—hailing from multiple regions of the country—have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as being among the finest players in the US following a comprehensive and highly competitive audition process. This summer’s ensemble will feature four musicians who are returning to NYO Jazz, now in its sixth year. The musicians who make up the 2023 ensemble will have the opportunity to play alongside talented peers, learn from world-class jazz masters, and perform on the stages of some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and music festivals. NYO Jazz is offered free of charge to all participants, ensuring that all invited musicians have the opportunity to take part. Click here for a full list of musicians.

In preparation for their performances and tour, the musicians of NYO Jazz will travel to New York in early July where they will spend the first week of their training residency on the campus of Purchase College, State University of New York, followed by their second week of training in Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Education Wing. Led by artistic director Sean Jones, NYO Jazz players have the opportunity to train with some of America’s most celebrated jazz artists who will lead in-depth training workshops and master classes, and more. Click here for a full list of faculty this summer, as well as bios for Sean Jones and 2023 guest artist Dee Dee Bridgewater.

About NYO Jazz
Each summer, NYO Jazz, led by artistic director Sean Jones, shines a spotlight on the depth of talent found among teen jazz players across the United States. The program offers talented young musicians, ages 16–19, the opportunity to perform as cultural ambassadors for their country, sharing a uniquely American musical genre with people around the world through an international tour. The members of NYO Jazz have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as being among the finest jazz musicians in the country, following a rigorous and highly competitive audition process.

Since its debut in 2018, NYO Jazz has performed at Carnegie Hall and embarked on acclaimed tours across Europe, Asia, and the United States. Guest artists in past seasons have included vocalists Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, and Jazzmeia Horn. In summer 2023, Dee Dee Bridgewater joins the band as special guest at Carnegie Hall and on tour to some of Europe’s prestigious concert halls and leading festivals. As part of their travel schedule, NYO Jazz musicians also have opportunities to meet and collaborate with young local musicians and experience the richness of different cultures and music.

In 2021, during NYO Jazz’s annual training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York, the band recorded its first full length studio album under the direction of artistic director and bandleader Sean Jones and featuring special guest saxophonist Melissa Aldana. It includes Carnegie Hall-commissioned works for the ensemble from each year of the program exploring themes including social justice, resilience, and the power of music to spark joy. The album, entitled We’re Still Here, was released on June 24, 2022.

NYO Jazz builds on the success of the acclaimed National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), celebrating its tenth anniversary this summer, and its sister ensemble for younger musicians NYO2—created by Carnegie Hall in 2013 and 2016, respectively—to bring together the finest young classical musicians from across the country each summer for training, performances and touring. Each of these prestigious national programs—free to all participants—is dedicated to the proposition that talented young musicians thrive when they have the opportunity to expand their musical, social, and cultural horizons and share their artistry with audiences around the globe. Since the program’s inception in 2013, the ensembles have performed in leading concert halls in 17 countries around the world, thrilling audiences across Europe, North America, South America, and Asia, collaborating with internationally-renowned conductors and guest soloists. Over the last decade, more than 1,200 young musicians have performed in the Hall’s three national youth ensembles, creating a unique musical community, spotlighting musical excellence found across the United States, and transforming countless lives.

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NYO JAZZ – SUMMER 2023 EUROPEAN TOUR

Friday, July 28 at 9:00 p.m. CEST
Hotel Reine Victoria, Theatersaal, Festival da Jazz, St. Moritz (Switzerland)
NYO JAZZ
Sean Jones, Artistic Director and Bandleader/Trumpet