National
NYJO’s national programme is based around the growth of a network of ‘National Under 18s Collectives’, developed in partnership with local venues and sector organisations. Our partners offer support with local knowledge and infrastructure to help us identify need, facilitate provision and ensure sustained impact.
Led by NYJO Emerging Professional musicians, our National Collectives provide young people across the country with the chance to engage in regular jazz skills’ development, and offer frequent performance opportunities, 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].
National Under 18s Collectives
Our National Under 18s Collectives are for young people aged 13 – 18, who are Grades 3+ on their instrument (including vocalists). Regular sessions are delivered by our talented NYJO Emerging Professional (18 – 25 year old) musicians, providing young people across the country with access to sustained, high quality jazz skills’ development.
The Collectives usually meet 8 – 10 times across the year, offering participants the chance to make friends with other musicians interested in jazz, grow their ensemble skills, and develop their confidence in improvisation. They also perform regularly at local venues and festivals, giving young people the chance to take their first steps into their local jazz scenes! If you’re interested in joining any of our Collectives, please get in touch today at [email protected].
Manchester Collective
For young people aged 13 – 18 who are interested in exploring the world of jazz, experimenting with improvisation, and experiencing playing live music with others.
Coventry Collective
Our NYJO Under 18s Coventry Collective will launch with a 2-day holiday project from Tuesday 18 – Wednesday 19 August, hosted by Warwick Arts Centre!
Liverpool Collective
Our NYJO Under 18s Liverpool Collective will launch with a 2-day holiday project from Tuesday 27 – Wednesday 28 October, hosted by Future Yard!
National Outreach
Alongside our National Under 18s Collectives, we also deliver a range of first-access projects around the country. Through this work, we are always aiming to help remove some of the barriers people face when accessing arts and music. We want to show young people that the possibilities of instrumental learning are open to them, whatever their gender, cultural background, or financial circumstances.
Read about our recent national outreach work here, and as always, get in touch at [email protected] if you have any questions or queries.
Birmingham
Across January – March 2026, NYJO delivered a series of workshops with young people in B:Music’s B:and Together programme, led by our Emerging Professional musicians.
Leicestershire
Across February – March 2026, three Leicestershire secondary school ensembles got the chance to work with NYJO Emerging Professional musicians.
Newcastle
In February 2026, we spent 3 days working with young people aged 13 – 18 in balletLORENT’s Youth Academy creating their own original music.
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.
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 challenges
- 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 Lead Beth Ismay at [email protected].
Network Digital Hub
We are delighted to announce that our brand-new NYJO Network Digital Hub has launched!
This Hub has been designed as a place to share best practice in the training and professional development of musicians interested in growing their skills as jazz educators, and increasing their confidence in delivering sessions focused on improvised music-making.
Free to explore until the end of April.
An Ambitious Redefining
Beth Ismay, our Learning Programmes Lead and host of the NYJO Network sessions, 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 at her blog post for Clore linked below.
