A message from Sophie Lewis, Managing Director

Due to the current threat posed by the COVID-19 virus, it is with deep regret that I must inform you of NCO’s decision to cancel the forthcoming spring residencies and concerts due to take place in April for the Under 12, Under 13 and Main Orchestras.  In addition, all regional rehearsals scheduled to take place in March will not be going ahead.

It is essential that NCO follows the guidance of the UK Government and Public Health England in order to support and protect the health and wellbeing of all participants and staff. Following recent Government announcements detailing enhanced measures, the NCO Board has agreed that our planned spring activity over the coming weeks is no longer feasible.

If you have booked tickets for the Main Orchestra performance at the Lighthouse in Poole on Sunday 12 April or for the Under 13 Orchestra at The Anvil on Saturday 18 April, please visit their websites for information about any potential refunds.

Please note that there are currently no plans to cancel the summer courses and we hope that our remaining regional rehearsals and performances will go ahead as planned during May and June. We will, however, need to continue to monitor the situation closely.

We understand that this will be disappointing but perhaps not surprising news to you all given the current context.  However, we want you to know that we tried very hard to carry on and do not take this decision lightly.  We simply have no choice.

From this point, we intend to explore the possibility of rescheduling some of our activity to later in the year and to assess the significant financial implications for NCO posed by these cancellations. We will be back in touch with you by email as soon as we can with more details about potential rescheduling plans and fee refunds.

We have also taken the decision to introduce home working for our administrative staff with immediate effect and until Government advice changes in order to safeguard our permanent staff from any unnecessary additional risk. In the meantime, the team will work remotely and will be able to communicate by email only until we can establish a phone system.

There is much work to do and so we ask for your continued patience whilst we explore options.  We are committed to protecting the experience for all our young participants during 2020 as much as possible and to ensuring that our communications with you are transparent, clear and consistent.

Yours sincerely,

Sophie Lewis
Managing Director
National Children’s Orchestras of Great Britain