About us
The CBSO Youth Orchestra is the successor to the Midland Youth Orchestra, which, after a remarkable 48-year history, gave its final concert on Sunday 11 July 2004.
For 48 years, the Midland Youth Orchestra (MYO) was the leading independent symphony orchestra for young players in the Midlands. Founded in 1956 by the then CBSO General Manager Blyth Major and conducted successively by James Langley, Stephen Williams and Anthony Bradbury, it provided challenging and rewarding orchestral experience for generations of young instrumentalists in the Midlands. MYO alumni include the composer 
Brian Ferneyhough, the early music pioneer David Munrow, Howard Davis of the Alberni Quartet, and numerous members of the CBSO and other professional orchestras, both in the UK and overseas. 32 MYO members formed the core of the new CBSO Youth Orchestra in October 2004.
The Midland Youth Orchestra website is being maintained as a record of the MYO's many achievements.
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has had a long and illustrious history, from its first concert in 1920, conducted by Sir Edward Elgar, to its current worldwide reputation under the baton of Andris Nelsons. Visit the CBSO history page of the CBSO website to find out more.