Beyond NYO

NYO Alumni

NYO players continue to achieve great things in their developing musical lives. Some earn places in the National Children’s Orchestra or National Youth Orchestra of GB and many take up music at leading music colleges and universities. Over the last forty years former members have freelanced with, or joined the ranks of most of the major UK professional orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Opera House, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, among many others. For those heading towards different careers, we often hear that music making continues to be important for them and they are part of the UK's vibrant amateur music making scene.

Here we share the successes of NYO & NYJO's past players in the music profession, starting with perhaps the most well known of musicians from a fantastic family who have really put Nottingham on the musical map...

Sheku Kanneh Mason MBE

Sheku Kanneh Mason MBE. NYO is proud to share Nottingham with the celebrated Kanneh-Mason family. Both Sheku and Braimah Kanneh-Mason started in NYTO, and subsequently Isata, Sheku and Jeneba Kanneh-Mason have each performed concertos with the senior NYO: concerts that were a highlight for NYO youngsters and audience!
The link below takes you to the Join page where you can scroll down to Read Sheku’s message about his time in NYO.

Mahaliah Edwards

Mahaliah (Mae) Edwards was a member and leader of all 3 NYO orchestras. After studying at the Purcell School and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Mae returned to tutor NYIO in recent years. She is an ambassador for Black Lives in Music as well as for music education and outreach work. She has successful career as a performer and session musician with some impressive TV and live performance credits.

Matt Glendening

NYO alumnus Matt Glendening was an NYO Needham Scholarship winner and went on tour with NYO in 2012. In 2021 Matt was appointed principal clarinettist with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

Nicola Hands

Nicola Hands was a member of NYO from 2000-2005 and, for four of those years, was principal oboe.

Since graduating with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in 2013, Nicola has forged a successful career as a freelance oboist, playing with such orchestras as English National Opera, Philharmonia Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra and more.

Nicola is also the Artistic Director of the Tailleferre Ensemble, a chamber group dedicated to promoting women in music, and she has released 3 albums. In March 2025 the Tailleferre Ensemble will be sharing their talents at an inspirational workshop for NYO's woodwind players.

Nicola has very fond memories of playing in NYO, and the orchestra provided a formative experience for her current career.

Tailleferre March 2025 Woodwind Workshop information here

Clare Hammond

Clare Hammond played in the NYIO and NYO as an oboist between 1995 and 2001, and gave her first two piano concerto performances with the orchestras. She has many fond memories of going on tour with NYO and made some close friendships that last to this day. Clare is now a concert pianist, was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society's 'Young Artist Award', and performs regularly in recital and with orchestras across Europe. She returned to Nottingham in March 2023 to perform Rachmaninov's Paganini Variations with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at The Royal Concert Hall and again in the summer of 2024 as part of the BBC Proms regional concerts. Read more about her work here.

Mark Lewandowski

Award winning jazz bassist and composer Mark Lewandowski has many fond memories of his time at NYO and NYJO. He studied at the Guildhall and New York’s prestigious Juilliard School and, whilst in London, became a frequent co-performer to mainstays of the British jazz scene. Since relocating to New York City, Mark has achieved an incredible list of performance credits including being a frequent member of the Wynton Marsalis quartet. He continues to tour internationally and has multiple recording credits.
If you don’t know about him, he’s one to look up!

Carla Rees

Carla Rees was principal flute of NYO from 1993-1995, performing Nielsen's flute concerto with the orchestra in Denmark, as well as going on the 10th Anniversary USA tour. She has very happy memories of her time in the orchestra, playing fantastic music with great friends.

Carla went on to study at the Royal College of Music and has forged a career specialising in low flutes (particularly alto flute) and collaborating with composers to create new repertoire. She has given several hundred premiere performances and frequently performs in international festivals. She has recorded more than 30 CDs and appeared on music for film, TV and radio. Carla is Artistic Director of the East Midlands-based chamber ensemble, rarescale, and Director of Tetractys Publishing, a specialist publisher of music for low flutes. In 2021 she was made the first Professor of Low Flutes and Contemporary Flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London.