National
NYJO develops open-access programmes with clearly established pathways for progression, in which achievements are celebrated at every level.
Our national programme is based around Widening Access partnerships where we develop initiatives that respond to our partners’ work and their communities’ needs.
Our Learning projects always culminate in the opportunity to perform to a supportive audience, giving young people the chance to develop skills and confidence on stage.
If you would like to find out more about our National work, please contact us at [email protected].
Widening Access
Our Widening Access partnerships are designed to create sustained impactful participation work nationally. We deliver year-round jazz education programmes in partnership with Music Education Hubs, schools and educators across the country.
Partners provide local knowledge and infrastructure to identify need, facilitate provision and ensure sustained impact.
In 2025 we are running bespoke Widening Access projects in:
- Essex
- Humberside & North Lincolnshire
- Lancashire
- Leicestershire
- Ramsgate
- Manchester
- Dorset
We Out Here
Read all about our tuba workshops in the Family Field at We Out Here Festival 2025, inspired by Township Jazz and the music of Abdullah Ibrahim.
Ramsgate
Find out more about our 2025 Ramsgate Summer Project, exploring South African rhythms and melodies through the Marimba, Tuba and Spoken Word.
Dorset
Find out more about how we explored music and freedom through the lens of Township Jazz during our 2025 workshop series across schools and care centres in Dorset.
Manchester
Find out more about our work in Manchester across 2025, helping young people and local educators to build their confidence in engaging with creative music-making.
Humberside
The 2025 edition of our First Time Jazz Tour visited 8 secondary schools, performing to over 1,100 young people, 64% of whom had never seen live jazz music before.
Lancashire
Find out more about our 2025 project led by Fergus Quill, working with Lancashire Schools Jazz Orchestra to build confidence in improvisation.
Essex
Turning up the Volume on Wellbeing: Read more about our 2025 Music & Mental Health Pilot in Essex secondary schools.
North Lincolnshire
Find out more about our music education project involving four schools in North Lincolnshire during 2024.
Luton
Read all about our pilot project in Luton earlier in 2024, inspiring the next generation of musicians at Challney High School for Boys.
NYJO Network
The NYJO Network seeks to support peer learning and development between music educators around the country who want to:
- Forge partnerships with other organisations facing similar challenge
- Share ideas and learnings
- Work together to widen access to their programmes
The Network meets across the year to share the success and challenges of music education in their areas. The hope is that by bringing organisations together, we can work to support each other in meeting challenges, celebrating success, and finding new ways of working collaboratively to strengthen the sector to the benefit of all.
If you’re interested in joining the NYJO Network, please contact NYJO’s Learning Programmes Producer Beth Ismay at [email protected].
Beth Ismay, our Learning Programmes Producer, was a participant on the Clore Leadership 2024 Inclusive Cultures programme. Read her reflections on the nature of ‘ambition’, and how it comes into play in her work at NYJO.