How do I join National Youth Choir (9-15 Years)? Each autumn, we look for new singers aged 9-15 to join our fantastic choir. If you’re passionate about singing and want to develop your musical skills, perform a wide range of music and make new friends, we’d love to meet you! How do I join the choir? To join the choir, you will need to do a short, online audition with members of our music team who are there to help you feel relaxed and sound your best. Our audition booking opens in September each year, and auditions will take place at selected dates and times in October and November. We do not offer auditions to join National Youth Choir (9-15 Years) at other time of year. We’ll be in touch about the outcome of auditions by December, and singers who are joining the choirs will be invited to take part in our residential singing courses in spring and summer the following year. For example, singers auditioning in autumn 2026 will do their first NYC course in spring 2027. Auditioning to join National Youth Choir is free. To keep our auditions open to everyone, we rely on donations from supporters like you. You can keep auditions free by making an optional donation to support this initiative when you sign up. How to book your free audition Auditions can be booked by parents or guardians each September during our booking window. This year, our booking window will run from 10am on Wednesday 9 September to 10am on 30 September 2026. The actual online auditions will take place on a range of dates and times between 17 October and 1 November. During this booking window, parents and guardians can register for a new account and book an audition slot using our online Singer Portal. It is not possible to register for a Singer Portal account before booking opens on 9 September. Book your audition from 9 Sept All our auditions are free. To keep auditions open to everyone we rely on kind donations from supporters like you. Please consider making an optional donation towards the cost of your audition when you sign up so that more young singers can experience incredible music-making opportunities. Issues booking your audition? View our step-by-step guide to booking auditions on our Singer Portal What happens at an audition? The audition was in October and although I was nervous because my voice had started to change, the audition went well, and the panel were very friendly. Our auditions take place online over Zoom and normally last between 10 and 15mins. Before the audition starts, you will have a chance to join the Zoom meeting early and talk to a friendly administrator who will put you at ease and check your Zoom settings are correct. Once the audition starts, two members of our music team will say hello and lead you through the session, so you always know what to do next. They will: Ask you about why you love singing and why you have chosen to audition Ask you to sing a bit of a song you have prepared Lead you through some vocal exercises to get to know your voice better Explore some musical exercises with you to help understand what you already know, how you think and your musical potential. These will depend based on your age and experience. You can find a full guide of what to expect on audition day, and some example exercises on our 'How to prepare' webpage. What happens after an audition? After all autumn auditions are over, we will send out an email to everyone who auditioned to let them know whether they have been offered a place in National Youth Choir. All emails will include feedback on what singers have done well and what they could improve. If a singer is offered a place in National Youth Choir, their email will include information about the choir they are joining, the voice part they have been allocated (i.e. which group they sing in within the choir based on the kind of voice they have). We will also be in touch with information about next steps like accepting the place, applying for Financial Assistance or booking courses. Got questions? If you have any questions about booking your free audition, what you can expect from the online audition or what residential courses are like, please contact Pip on [email protected] or, Amanda on [email protected] or 0191 249 3625 Manage Cookie Preferences