Review: The National Youth Orchestra-Shimmer at the Royal Concert Hall

If you’re looking for good in the world, this is it. Witnessing 160 teenagers uniting through music is both riveting and profoundly beautiful. Pouring into the concert hall from all directions, the National Youth Orchestra arrived in full force, instantly commanding the space with energy and purpose. The effect was immediate. Their discipline, focus and passion are second to none. Were it not for their youthful faces, you could easily believe this music was being played by musicians with decades of professional experience.

The theme for this year’s tour, Shimmer, could not be more fitting, setting the tone for the orchestra’s first tour of the year—and how fortunate Nottingham was to be included, with three of the players hailing from the city itself. These young musicians, drawn from diverse backgrounds across the country, came together as a single, formidable voice, surprising, moving and delighting their audience.

Opening the programme was Claude Debussy’s Ibéria, a vibrant evocation of Spanish life, bursting with castanets, dancing triplet figures in the winds and winding, sun-soaked melodies. Across its three interconnected movements, the orchestra led us from the lively bustle of streets and pathways to the shimmering nocturnal atmosphere of “The scents of the night,” where a hesitant oboe unfolded a seductive, impressionistic melody. The final movement, “The morning of a festival day,” burst forth with strumming strings and returning themes, propelling the music toward a dazzling, exuberant conclusion that blended Iberian vitality with Debussy’s unmistakable French refinement.

The showstopper was Anna Clyne’s Dance, a poetic and deeply expressive work involving Jewish and Irish folk traditions alongside echoes of 18th-century classical style. Celebrated cellist Inbal Segev joined the orchestra, immediately setting herself apart in a rose-coloured dress. From the opening movement, “when you’re broken open,” the cello sounded like a wounded voice—raw, exposed and achingly human. Segev’s playing was achingly tender, and so emotionally charged that a visible stillness passed through the hall. Pain and longing sang out from every phrase, forming the emotional centre of the entire programme. It’s as if the audience forgot to breathe for a long moment.

Equally inspiring was 18-year-old lead violinist Aki Blendis. Having learned the violin from the age of four, Blendis delivered each solo with precision and confidence. There was no sense of youthfulness here, only authority. Moving fluidly with his instrument, he radiated a musical language that felt entirely his own.

The evening concluded with Ravel’s Rapsodie Espagnole. It opened in a haunting, suspenseful atmosphere that kept the audience on edge, like the perfect prelude to a psychological thriller. As the work unfolded, the tension gave way to exuberance in the second movement’s energetic dance rhythms. By the final movement, “Feria”, the frenzy of a bustling Spanish night took over completely, an intoxicating swirl of sound, with percussion crashing and surging like the weight of charging bulls in the street.

At the heart of it all stood conductor Alexandre Bloch, whose command, clarity and musical sensitivity drew extraordinary performances from these young players. In his confident and compassionate hands, the orchestra became a remarkable example of the future of classical music: fearless, inclusive and unmistakably alive.

The National Youth Orchestra performed at the Royal Concert Hall on Tuesday, 6 January 2026.