Programme: Maurice Durufle Requiem

The National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland, previously known as Ulster Youth Choir, was established in 1999 by Christopher Bell and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. It has performed across Northern Ireland and beyond and has participated in the BBC Proms and Belfast Festival at Queens. The choir has also produced two commercial CDs and recorded for the BBC.  In December 2012 choir members travelled to London to join the Gabrieli Young Singers Scheme for a recording of Britten’s War Requiem alongside the Gabrieli Consort & Players conducted by Paul McCreesh. The recording won the BBC Music Magazine Award 2014 and in 2013 the organisation joined forces with the Irish Youth Choir for a combined concert in Christchurch Cathedral Dublin.  In 2014 & 2015 choir members formed part of BBC Proms Youth Choir performing Britten’s War Requiem with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in 2014. NYCNI returned to the BBC Proms in 2015 this time alongside the Vienna Philharmonic with concerts in Birmingham, The Royal Albert Hall and the Lucerne Festival Switzerland under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle.  More recently in 2019 NYCNI celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a concert in the Ulster Hall and tour to Provence France. Andrew Nunn has been Artistic Director of NYCNI since 2018.

Andrew Nunn graduated from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with an MMus in Conducting (Distinction) and works extensively with youth and adult choirs across the UK. In 2018 Andrew was appointed Artistic Director of the National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland. 

Andrew Nunn Andrew is Director of Choirs at the RCS Junior Conservatoire and has developed a choral programme of 6 choirs, involving over 300 students aged 7-18, with the Chamber Choir performing on BBC One Scotland on Christmas Eve (2017).  He has also prepared choirs for Britten’s Noye’s Fludde with BBC SSO and the children’s chorus for Britten’s Spring Symphony under Garry Walker and RCS Symphony Orchestra (2017).  Andrew has also worked extensively with the National Youth Choir Of Scotland (NYCOS), most notably conducting in Belgium for events broadcast on BBC 1 & 2 to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele (2017). Equally experienced working with prestigious adult choirs Andrew is Artistic Director of Les Sirènes, the female voice choir who won the 2012 Choir of the Year competition.  Andrew has worked as Director of Music with Bearsden Choir since 2014 and with a long standing commitment to music education has spearheaded the unique Choral Education Project (2016), involving 280 children from schools across Glasgow. He is also an established Kodaly practitioner, delivering modules at RCS and on the annual NYCOS Kodaly Summer School, and teaches conducting to RCS Musical Theatre Direction students on the Masters programme.