European Union Youth Orchestra

The European Union Youth Orchestra is one of the world’s pre-eminent symphony orchestras. Founded in 1976, the EUYO has worked with great artists such as Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Founding Music Director Claudio Abbado, former Music Director Vladimir Ashkenazy, former Music Director and current Conductor Laureate Bernard Haitink, and Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko.

The EUYO is Orchestra in Residence with two residencies and its Summer Home at Grafenegg. The Orchestra is a Cultural Ambassador of the European Union, and as such the EUYO’s Honorary President is the President of the European Parliament, and its Honorary Patrons include the Presidents of the EU Commission and European Council, as well as the Heads of State and Government, the ministers of foreign affairs and culture of the EU member states.

In 2020 Orchestra faced the challenges posed by the coronavirus lockdown by expanding its activities, creating a new EUYOdigital web space to help our players with the best training possible, and organizing the European Music Gallery Festival, a series of 23 socially distanced physical concerts in 19 countries across the EU and the UK that involved around 300 musicians.