National Youth Choir and Inspire Music, the Nottinghamshire Music Hub, celebrate 10 years of fruitful partnership in 2026.

Over this time the partnership has enabled over 6000 young people across the region to experience the life-changing joy of singing together.

The opportunities to sing have included massed performances at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, workshops in schools and in 2024 a National Youth Choir SING! region was launched in Nottinghamshire, offering a chance for keen singers aged 9 -13 to take their singing further over a series of weekend workshop days.

Since then, 169 young singers have taken part in the workshops, and 21 of those have auditioned to join National Youth Choir. These young people wouldn’t have auditioned for the choir if it weren’t for SING! in Nottinghamshire, and the hope is that many more will follow in their footsteps as the pathway continues.

After taking part in SING! workshops, the participants reported that they felt their singing had improved, they felt more confident and that they enjoyed meeting other local young people who liked singing too.

Inspire Music is part of Inspire, an organisation for the cultural and learning services for Nottinghamshire, which includes the libraries service. National Youth Choir host SING! workshops at cultural venues across the county, including the wonderful library in Mansfield town centre, thanks to the in-kind support from this partnership.

As Peter Gaw, CEO of Inspire and a big supporter of the partnership with National Youth Choir and the Royal Concert Hall Nottingham, recently said reflecting on 10 years of Inspire as an organisation: 

“This has been a decade of remarkable achievement, made possible through this partnership, support and belief in what Inspire can deliver for Nottinghamshire’s communities.”

Back in 2016, the collaboration between Inspire Music and National Youth Choir began on the largest stage in the region, the Royal Concert Hall Nottingham. The partnership has always focused on providing incredible performance opportunities to young people. Over time the scope of the projects has evolved, moving away from two large-scale events a year, towards an annual Inspired Christmas event and more focused activity in schools and workshops.

In an era when shifts in funding and staffing have often meant that long term, sustained projects are hard to achieve, the partnership has found a shared sense of purpose and values.

Lucy Reid, Music Services Manager for Inspire said:

“Partnership and collaboration sit at the heart of everything we do at Inspire, and our 10-year journey with the National Youth Choir and the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham is a powerful example of what can be achieved when organisations grow together.

What began as a gentle testing of the a cappella waters has evolved into a full-blown confidence in part singing, musicianship and expressive performance. Year by year, we have watched our young people discover new abilities, take creative risks, and find their voices both musically and personally.

This shared commitment to nurturing potential has shaped not only the sound we create, but the culture of courage and joy that surrounds it. We are deeply grateful to everyone who makes this work possible.”

Inspired Christmas, the annual performance event at the Royal Concert Hall Nottingham, has continued to feature young people from secondary schools across Nottinghamshire performing together as a massed choir with expert vocal leaders from National Youth Choir. For this event, young singers come together from schools across the region to learn brand-new music and meet other young people who love to sing. In the evening, they share these new pieces, as well as performances with their own school choirs, with an audience of schools and families.

The National Youth Choir and Inspire Music partnership has developed over the years. Over this time, National Youth Choir have visited and delivered singing workshops in many of the secondary schools across Nottinghamshire.