Sofia Escobar and Mike Sterling rejoined the CYO for two special concerts, including the live screening of The Snowman.

Following on from our sold out  May concerts, we were delighted to have Sofia Escobar (Christine on the West End) and Mike Sterling (portrayed the Phantom on the West End and Broadway, over 1,000 shows) rejoin us for two more preformances.Standing ovations on both nights.  Venue: City Hall Cork Dates: 14th & 15th Dec 2013

CYO and their members wish to thank the public for their continued support

Cork were treated to two magical and unforgettable nights of West End Music.

In our latest concerts, Sofia Escobar, Mike Sterling, Linzi Hateley and Cork's own Michael McCarthy  took to the stage with Cork Youth Orchestra in a musical treat of hits from a variety of West End and Broadway shows. Two sell-out shows brought a hugely appreciative audience to their feet to acclaim the hugely talented orchestra and their guest stars.

Thank you Cork for your continued support.

Very special concerts presented by the CYO.

West End Stars: Sofia Escobar ( "Christine" in Phantom of the Opera)  Linzi Hateley ( "Madame Thenardier" Les Miserables) Michael McCarthy (Javert, Les Miserables) Mike Sterling (over 1,000 appearances as "The Phantom" in Phantom of the Opera) Appeared with the Cork Youth Orchestra for two very special concerts in the CITY HALL CORK on MAY 11th and 12th. Musical hits from Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Chess, My Fair Lady and many more made these concerts memorable.

Eoin English writes about the orchestras concerts with Michael Ball.

Looking forward to the concerts with Michael Ball, Eoin Englsh writes about this very special group of players.

With three weeks to our concerts with Michael Ball, the excitement is rising!

Our Orchestra leaders Molly O'Shea, and David McElroy, along with Jessica O'Shea, and Aishling Crotty pose for a Photo outside the City Hall.

Article in Cork Independent.

Cork Independent writes about the Cork Youth Orchestra, our trip to the European Festival of Youth Orchestras, and our upcoming concerts with Michael Ball.

All work an No Play...

Midterm and Halloween are on us, but rehearsals continue. Still the orchestra could dress up.

West-end Star MICHAEL BALL will join the Cork Youth Orchestra on Dec 8th and 9th.

Following on from our fantastic concerts with Colm Wilkinson last Christmas, the Cork Youth Orchestra are delighted to have another legend of the West-end joining us for what will be two very special concerts in Corks City Hall on Decmeber 8th and 9th. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster, and from Pro Musica, Oliver Plunkett St, Cork.

Been there, done that, what a memory!

We hope that all that travelled on the CYO Concert Tour to Italy had a great time. It was a tour that will live long in our memory, the concert in Montecatini in the fantastic Terme Tettuccio. Another concert in Piazza Duomo in San Gimignano, also wonderful.

But the highlight had to be the spectacular concert in the Loggia De Lanzi (on the main square in Florence [Piazza De Signoria]) in front of an estimated 2,000 people who gave the Cork Youth Orchestra, under its inspiring conductor Tomas McCarthy,  a standing ovation and would not stop until the orchestra performed an encore, then cheered the orchestra as they left the stage until the final player had departed.

Check out and like our Facebook page for loads of photos and videos. Well done to all involved, players, our conductor, soloist Flaithri Neff,  guest players, supervisors, logistics, doctors, and anyone else who helped to make this the best such a memorable Concert Tour.

Evening Echo article about our Concert in the City Hall on the 30th June, and our trip to Italy the following week.

Taking a full orchestra of 120 players to a festival in Italy is no small task. Not only will we have the arrangements of getting the players to Italy, accomodation, transport, meals, not to mention rehearsals and concerts. We will also will have two large refrigerated vans departing before the group with the larger instruments, percussion equipment, and a large amount of other logistical equipment which is needed for a fully functional orchestra.

The total cost of this trip is in the region of €150,000. We are delighted to announce that the Cork County Council have agreed to provide a substantial grant to help the orchestra on this trip. We are very grateful for their assistance, County Manager Tim Lombard, and Cllr John Collins recently joined the orchestra for a photo to announce this support. We are delighted that Cllr John Collins will travel with the Orchestra to Italy to meet with local Council officials in Florence, San Gimignano, and Montecatini with a view to develop links and  relations with these areas.

The Cork Youth Orchestra will truly be flying the flag for Cork and Ireland at the European Festival of Youth Orchestras!