We celebrated 10 years of our independent record label, National Youth Choir Recordings (NYCR) on 2 October 2025.

To mark this milestone, a double album, entitled ‘This Is Our Song’ was released exactly 10 years to the day that the first single was released on the NYCR label.

The album is a compilation of favourite recordings of National Youth Choir from the past decade, featuring thousands of young voices from across the UK, singing at the very highest level.

Listen to the album now

The lead track is a new commission, ‘I’m Here’, written by Roderick Williams, in collaboration with National Youth Choir (18-25 Years), which received its world premiere performance at the 2025 Three Choirs Festival in Hereford.

Over the past decade, thousands of young people have found their voices through the National Youth Choir, discovering the power of music to inspire, connect, and transform. This album is a celebration of their journey – from the first note sung in rehearsal to the moments of magic captured in the recording room and on stage.

We have been honoured to collaborate with some of the most exciting  conductors, guest ensembles, composers, arrangers, soloists, producers, and engineers whose artistry has helped shape these recordings. We spoke with many of those that contributed their talents to this album to celebrate this huge achievement and hear about their involvement in NYCR and what it means to them. 

Eric Whitacre, composer of The Seal Lullaby: “The National Youth Choir sound is the best version of the British choral sound. When I’m composing it’s the sound I have in my head. You get the cleanest purest singing sound; there’s an electricity and a vibrancy to it that you just don’t get from other kinds of choirs.”

Kristina Arakelyan, former National Youth Choir Emerging Professional Artist and composer of Willow: “As a composer, you write the music and then you hand it to the performers, and you trust [them]. But what an opportunity when those performers happen to be some of the greatest singers in the country, led by the most brilliant conducting teams. I am absolutely delighted with the National Youth Choir’s recordings [of my music]; they have such a vibrancy and energy, and it was done with so much care.”

Greg Beardsell, conductor on tracks Cough Cough and The Change We Need: “Recording pushes all performers to reach a higher level of music-making. The music must not only be accurate - a challenge in itself - but must also convey meaning, expression, and interpretation. Recordings are permanent, and for a young singer who has never experienced a studio setting, the process can be daunting, tiring and frustrating. Yet these are valuable challenges to overcome. The experience raises their expectations of themselves, motivating them to sing with greater precision, deeper musicianship, and more expressive intent in the future.”

Jo Tomlinson, conductor on tracks Willow, From the Green Heart of the Water, Non Nobis Domine and Grow: “Of course doing recordings with young people is challenging, but it’s also immensely rewarding; they can see the results of such hard work. I’ve been lucky enough to experience recording with the very youngest singers in our organisation and the oldest end with the Fellows. And to see that journey, with the youngest ones’ excitement but also exhaustion, and then the real professionalism of our oldest members - it really showed me the journey you go through as part of National Youth Choir.”

Lucy Hollins, Creative Director of National Youth Choir: “We’ve had 10 amazing years of National Youth Choir Recordings and we’re looking forward to what’s coming next. Our members are at the heart of absolutely everything we do at National Youth Choir, and we’re excited to keep sharing their voices with the world.”

This Is Our Song is more than an anniversary collection. It is a testament to ten years of music-making, to the ambition and creativity of thousands of young voices, and to the enduring joy of singing together.

This Is Our Song was released on Thursday 2 October and is now available to stream and download on all music platforms.

Explore our whole back catalogue of National Youth Choir Recordings tracks now

Browse our recordings