National Youth Choir awarded 3-year grant by the Leverhulme Trust

We are delighted to announce that National Youth Choir have been awarded a grant of £318,276 by the Leverhulme Trust, to support our work with young singers nationwide for the period between 1 September 2025 and 31 August 2028. 

The award will go towards our Financial Assistance programme, which provides bursaries for auditionees and qualifying National Youth Choir members aged 9-18 to attend our residential courses. A substantial portion of the funds will also be allocated to our SING! Programme, which provides high quality, accessible singing workshops for young people in areas of higher deprivation and with access to fewer creative opportunities.

This award will be the largest private grant ever awarded to National Youth Choir and marks a crucial step towards our vision of giving every young person a voice. 

National Youth Choir is a registered charity that exists to empower young people through the life-changing experience of singing together. We work nationally to extend musical opportunities to young people from all communities and backgrounds, support the development of passionate young musicians, and engage and inspire audiences through exciting choral performances. We believe these opportunities transform young people’s lives.  

The Leverhulme Trust is an independent charity that seeks to fund blue skies research and scholarship which has the potential to generate new ideas and research breakthroughs that benefit society. The Trust also aims to support a diverse range of scholars in their educational endeavours. Other recipients of the Trust’s Art scholarships for Under-18’s include National Youth Arts Wales, National Youth Theatre and the National Youth Jazz Collective. 

National Youth Choir’s Director of Development Rob Colbert said:

We are all so delighted that the Leverhulme Trust have awarded the National Youth Choir a most generous grant that will support young people who require financial assistance to take part in our auditions, residential programmes and targeted regional Sing! programmes. With this funding, we're creating a pathway for young choral artists to go from their school hall to large national concert halls while helping them grow their singing, confidence, communication and leadership skills to the highest level.