Welcome to iayo.ie
The Irish Association of Youth Orchestras is the all-Ireland resource organisation for youth orchestras in Ireland.
Funding: Creative Youth Nurture Fund

The Creative Youth Nurture Fund is a pilot scheme from Creative Ireland that will support youth-led cultural, artistic and creative engagement by young people aged between 6-24 years.
The Nurture Fund will support individuals and organisations that can reach specific groups of young people that are too often seldom heard, to nurture their creative passions and ignite their creative potential.
Applications must be completed online and submitted via submit.com by Friday, 9 June 2023 at 5pm.
Participate in a Youth Orchestra Survey

Charlotte O’Donoghue, a PhD candidate in Music at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, is carrying out research into youth orchestra participation in Ireland.
Charlotte would like young people to fill out a survey about their experiences of youth orchestras in Ireland, the survey is expected to take about 15 minutes to complete. Participation in this study is voluntary and anonymous. Young people aged 8-26 years from orchestras around Ireland are invited to take part in the study.
Esker Festival Orchestra Announce Soloists

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Esker Festival Orchestra. Esker Festival Orchestra’s 10th anniversary celebration will feature performances of Gustav Mahler’s legendary Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’.
Esker Festival Orchestra is delighted to announce the vocal soloists for its Summer concerts. This exciting collaboration will feature two amazing members of the Irish National Opera Studio, Kathleen Nic Dhiarmada, and Madeline Judge.
Applications Open for the Esker Festival Choir 2023

For the first time, Esker Festival Orchestra are establishing a Festival Choir. The Esker Festival Orchestra will be open to all enthusiastic choral singers of all ages from all over Ireland. The only requirement is that you can read music to a reasonable level and have some experience singing in choirs.
Funding: The Arts Council Announce Further Funding

The Arts Council have announced a number of funding opportunities including the Agility Award, the Young People, Children, and Education Bursary Award and the Music Bursary Award.
Katharine Mac Mághnuis Appointed as Director of the IAYO National Chamber Music Workshops

We are delighted to announce that Katharine Mac Mághnuis is the new Director of the IAYO National Chamber Music Workshops. Katharine has tutored at our workshops for over 10 years and wishes to thank the outgoing Director, Katharina Baker for her stellar guidance and inspiration over the years.
Be a Friend of IAYO!

Celebrate Ireland’s youth orchestras and help to give young musicians from all over Ireland the opportunity of a lifetime to perform at the Festival of Youth Orchestras at the National Concert Hall.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the Festival of Youth Orchestras, IAYO launched a Friends scheme – an opportunity for everyone who is passionate about Ireland’s youth orchestras and the Festival to support us and the amazing work of our members.