Use the links below to find out more about the Hallé Youth Ensembles and their respective Music Directors.
Hallé Youth Orchestra
Hallé Youth Choir
Rory Macdonald
James Burton
Details of concerts
How to join
Hallé Youth Orchestra
The Hallé Youth Orchestra, founded in September 2002, is a symphony orchestra for talented young musicians across the region who do not benefit from the musical opportunities provided by full-time specialist music education.
The orchestra offers a unique opportunity to local young instrumentalists, under the age of 19, to experience the challenge and satisfaction of rehearsing and performing classical music to a very high standard. The works it prepares draw on the same rich variety of repertoire, from Classical and Romantic to scores of today, that is performed by professional orchestras.
Under the direction of its Music Director, Rory Macdonald, members enjoy a shared chance to develop their passion for, and commitment to, great music. The orchestra works regularly with both Mark Elder and members of the Hallé, and players have also benefited enormously from working with other artists of international standing including Heinrich Schiff, Cristian Mandeal, Baldur Brönnimann and Emma Bell as well as previous Music Directors, Edward Gardner and André de Ridder.
The Youth Orchestra rehearses weekly during term time and performs regularly at The Bridgewater Hall, the Royal Northern College of Music and other Manchester-based venues. Chamber ensembles from the Youth Orchestra performed at Manchester Art Gallery in November 2007 in celebration of the anniversary of the famous Art Treasures exhibition of 1857.
The Youth Orchestra toured Eisenach and Leipzig in eastern Germany in 2004 and the south of France together with the Hallé Youth Choir in 2006. The Youth Orchestra has also given performances in Edinburgh and Glasgow as part of the Festival of British Youth Orchestras in 2005 and at the Ryedale Festival in Yorkshire in 2007.
The Hallé Youth Orchestra has an associate membership scheme for younger or less experienced players to enhance their skills and understanding of orchestral playing without the pressure of public performance.
The Hallé Concerts Society is very grateful to the Musicians Benevolent Fund, the Esmée Fairburn Foundation, the Oglesby Charitable Trust and many individual benefactors for their continued support of the Youth Orchestra. Anyone interested in supporting the Youth Orchestra should contact Martin Glynn at martin.glynn@halle.co.uk or on 0161 237 7011.
To find out more about the Hallé Youth Orchestra, please contact the Youth Orchestra Assistant Anna Stuart, at hyo@halle.co.uk or on 07974 547 291.
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Hallé Youth Choir
The Hallé Youth Choir is a mixed-voice choir, founded in 2003, for singers aged twelve to nineteen in and around Manchester. The Youth Choir offers young people from across the region the opportunity to sing stimulating repertoire to an extremely high standard. Under the direction of Choral Director James Burton, Youth Choir members develop skills, such as vocal technique and communication with an audience through lively rehearsals, masterclasses and chamber groups.
Following its first appearance at the Royal Northern College of Music as part of the Brahms and Schumann festival in January 2005, the Youth Choir was delighted to return to the college as part of the Shostakovich and his Comrades festival. They performed Shostakovich's Folk Songs at the RNCM and at The Bridgewater Hall in a post-concert performance. Previous performances with the Hallé and Hallé Choir include Bach's St. John Passion and Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana. In July 2005 the Youth Choir sang alongside the Hallé and Hallé Choir at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms in a performance of Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, for which it has won critical acclaim from the national press.
The Hallé Concerts Society is very grateful to the Musicians Benevolent Fund, the Esmée Fairburn Foundation, the Oglesby Charitable Trust and many individual benefactors for their continued support of the Youth Choir. Anyone interested in supporting the Youth Choir should contact Martin Glynn at martin.glynn@halle.co.uk or on 0161 237 7011.
To find out more about the Hallé Youth Choir, please contact the Youth Choir Administrator Jennifer Watson, at hyc@halle.co.uk or on 07904 991 981.
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Rory Macdonald
Rory took up the post of the Hallé's Assistant Conductor in February 2006. Still in his mid-twenties, he has gained a wealth of experience working with some of Europe's most illustrious musicians and institutions, including Iván Fischer at the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Lyon Opera and Paris National Opera; Mark Wigglesworth at Glyndebourne Festival Opera; Kenneth Montgomery at Glyndebourne Touring Opera amongst others.
In September 2004 he joined the Jette Parker (formerly Vilar) Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where he conducted Philip Glass's Orphée in the Linbury Studio. He also worked with the Royal Opera's Music Director, Antonio Pappano, on Wagner's Das Rheingold and Verdi's Otello; this season they are working together on Wagner's Götterdämmerung, Berg's Wozzeck and Puccini's Tosca.
For a full biography of Rory Macdonald, please click here.
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James Burton
In May 2002, James Burton took up the position of Choral Director, and made his debut with the Hallé and Hallé Choir in December 2002 in the Hallé's annual Carol Concerts. He has conducted acclaimed performances of Handel's Messiah and in the forthcoming season will, for the fourth year in succession, conduct the Carol Concerts. James helped to establish the Hallé Youth Choir in October 2003 and has since been its Music Director. He has prepared the Choir and Youth Choir for a growing number of superb oratorio and opera performances.
In addition to his Hallé post, he is also the Assistant Conductor at Garsington Opera, Conductor of Schola Cantorum in Oxford, Associate Conductor at the St. Endellion Festival and Associate Conductor of the National Youth Choir.
For a full biography of James Burton, please click here.
For a biography of the Hallé Choir, please click here.
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