Always on
This project successfully funded on 31st March 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
This project successfully funded on 31st March 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
FOR THE LOVE OF SINGING: help raise £30,000 to SAVE NYCNI, launch the Bursary Fund and deliver workshops in schools across Northern Ireland.
The National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland (NYCNI) is the champion of youth choral singing in Northern Ireland.
We are the only organisation of our kind — a unique, national pathway for young singers aged 8–25 to develop exceptional musical skills, grow in confidence and experience the transformative power of singing together.
In 2025, we suffered a devastating blow. Our core funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland was withdrawn, leaving a £60,000 shortfall.
NYCNI was on the brink of disappearing.
But we refused to let that happen.
A new board came together with determination and belief. We secured emergency funding to keep the organisation alive in the short term. Now, we are turning to our community to help secure its future.
Under the inspiring leadership of Artistic Director Andrew Nunn, NYCNI continues to deliver excellence, ambition and belonging for hundreds of young people each year. For many singers, NYCNI is not simply a choir — it is a place where they find their voice, their confidence and lifelong friendships.
Outreach and engagement sit at the heart of our mission.
In 2024/25 alone, we delivered 53 schools workshops across Northern Ireland — visiting 42 post-primary schools and 11 primary schools, from Derry to Dungannon, Belfast to Ballymoney. We worked directly with over 200 young singers through uplifting, skills-building workshops led by our professional music team.
That same year, we delivered 1,446 auditions, selecting 360 of the most talented young people aged 8–24 to form our five choirs: Boys’ Choir, Girls’ Choir, Junior Choir, Training Choir and Senior Choir.
And despite our funding crisis, our work has not slowed.
Since launching our Winter 2025–26 engagement programme, we have already delivered two open audition evenings and 15 schools workshops — with at least 15 more scheduled in the coming weeks. We have engaged with over 750 young people to date. This has been achieved on a shoestring budget, through careful stewardship and extraordinary commitment. Demand from schools is increasing. Young people want to sing. Communities want this work. Our reach is growing — even without secure funding.
Now we need stability to match that demand.
We are seeking to raise £30,000 to secure the future of NYCNI and ensure young voices continue to flourish across Northern Ireland:
We are unique in Northern Ireland.
We are active.
We are needed.
And we must continue.
This is why we sing.
With your support, we can protect opportunity, safeguard excellence and ensure young voices continue to rise across Northern Ireland. Thank you.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made