Free for students and staff
Your invitation to join the National Open Youth Orchestra (NOYO) and BBC National Orchestra of Wales (NOW) musicians at the Barbican Centre
A concert celebrating our 10th year anniversary partnership with the Barbican Centre and Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Tuesday 30th June 2026, 2–3pm, at the Barbican Hall, London, EC2Y 8DS.
Last change to apply for tickets. Please fill our request form by 8th June 2026. Please note that all wheelchair user seats have now been allocated.
Don’t miss this opportunity for your students to experience orchestral music in a way that feels exciting, and genuinely for them. Eighteen NOYO musicians will perform alongside thirteen BBC NOW musicians, celebrating creativity, diversity and musical possibilities!
- Watch a truly inclusive ensemble in which 80% of musicians are disabled or neurodivergent – a great way to discover there’s no single “right way” to be a musician.
- Familiarise yourself with an exciting range of instruments including the Clarion, which can be played with head movement.
- Engage with the music in a relaxed environment, with audience participation encouraged by NOYO musicians, and presentation by a BBC TV personality.
- Try the Clarion before the concert begins.
To support learning, we will share free classroom resources in advance, inviting students to explore the orchestra, instruments and music ahead of their visit.
Programme
- Selections from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons
- A powerful piece by former NOYO musician Oliver Cross
- Music from BBC Ten Pieces
- A bold, newly reimagined piece co-commissioned with the BBC and written especially for NOYO by Charlotte Harding (more information about the piece in our BBC Proms news!)
Who should attend?
- Special schools and SEND settings: the performance will be sensory-aware, flexible and welcoming, with adjustments in place to support disabled and neurodivergent audience members.
- Mainstream schools wanting to encourage a diverse culture of music, looking to enrich music, PSHE, or cultural learning.
- Mixed-ability groups and students who may not usually attend concerts.
Register now. We can’t wait to welcome you.