National Youth Orchestra of Canada: Facing Change with Transparency

This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en: Français (French)

In early November, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) announced a necessary restructuring of their summer training program, transitioning to a four-week intensive format from its previous five-week schedule. After assessing their financial situation, the national organization saw a need to pull back in some areas to ensure long-term financial stability.

“Rather than driving ourselves right off the cliff, we can see the cliff in sight,” says CEO Christie Gray. “Now it’s time to kind of slow down and say, ‘Let’s scale back a little bit for the sake of organizational health, run a balanced budget, and live within our means.’”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, NYO Canada has been running at a deficit. Rising rates for transportation, accommodation, food, and facilities have made running the program a much more costly endeavour than it had been in the past. In considering these financial realities, NYO Canada made a commitment to transparency and to keep its community in the conversation.

“Ultimately, I’m responsible for the organizational health, and I will take a lot of responsibility for what happens … but also, it’s not my organization,” says Gray. “It belongs to 65 years worth of alumni, faculty members and everybody who worked so hard to build [it].” With this in mind, NYO Canada aims to maintain an open dialogue with past, present and future members, while also remaining transparent with the wider community.

Gray is especially receptive to feedback from NYO faculty and musicians about the effectiveness of the restructured program. “This is an opportunity to try something,” she says. “It will be interesting to see how it all plays out—whether we want to tinker with it after this first year of trying it, or if we want to make other changes as we go.”

The program will now feature a concurrent chamber music and orchestral model, where musicians will participate in both streams during the core weeks. Previously, the two disciplines were more separate. Practise in chamber music would be completely wrapped up before the musicians moved on to working in orchestral sections. Gray anticipates this new model—where students do chamber music and orchestral rehearsals on the same day—will allow participants to quickly recognize transferable skills and apply them appropriately.

NYO Canada at Symphony SPLASH! (2025)
Photo: Kevin Light Photography

Continued Dedication to Young Musicians

Despite the program restructuring, NYO Canada will maintain its full $23,000 scholarship and $1,500 honorarium for each participant.

“There was no question that we would eliminate any of that support for the musicians,” says Gray. “They should not be the ones to have to sacrifice in order to keep the program moving along.”

As an equitable organization, NYO Canada seeks to eliminate financial barriers for musicians across Canada. “We’re looking at developing the talent of the youth of the country,” says Gray. “We really want to make sure that it’s available to everyone who deserves to be there, not just people who can afford to be there.”

With the wellbeing and success of young people at its centre, the organization aims to find the best ways to support them for years to come.