NFM Orchestra Academy

Dear All,

The 12th edition of the NFM Orchestra Academy is coming soon! We are delighted to invite you to submit your applications – this year’s workshop programme is once again open to final-year music high school students, undergraduates, and graduates of universities of music who play string instruments (violin, viola, cello, double bass), woodwind instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon), brass instruments (trumpet, French horn, trombone), and timpani. Applications are open until Wednesday, September 30, 2026, and the first sessions will take place on October 17 and 18.

The list of candidates invited to participate in the programme and the reserve list will be announced by October 3 on the NFM Orchestra Academy website and Facebook page. Each qualified candidate will also receive an individual notification via email.

Join us for the project!

The NFM Orchestra Academy Team

ABOUT THE PROJECT
The NFM Orchestra Academy is a project of the Witold Lutosławski National Forum of Music, whose aim is to professionally prepare young musicians for work in orchestras. Through monthly classes led by concertmasters and leaders of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, as well as invited guests, participants have an opportunity to receive practical and comprehensive training that will help them meet the high demands placed on orchestra musicians.

Young instrumentalists will be selected to participate in the NFM Orchestra Academy based on submitted recordings. During the classes, which run from October 2026 to May 2027, they will become familiar with the general principles of orchestral work, master specific styles and principles of performance, and acquire the ability to listen to one another and create a shared tone, phrasing, and interpretation.

Instrumental classes will be conducted in four areas:

  • Sectional – dedicated to specific instrument sections (violins, violas, cellos, double basses, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, trumpets, French horns, trombones, and timpani) – during these classes, participants will have the opportunity to master collaborative articulation, dynamics, tempo, and intonation;
  • Orchestral – an opportunity to explore a wide range of orchestral repertoire and to put into practice the knowledge gained during individual and sectional classes – they also provide an opportunity to collaborate with top-class musicians;
  • Individual – focused on the individual predispositions of each participant – during these classes, concertmasters and leaders provide personalised guidance, help overcome specific challenges, and prepare for future orchestral auditions (by helping the attendants master the core repertoire of the programme and teaching them ways to manage stress).
  • Internships with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic – thanks to active participation in rehearsals and concerts of selected symphony orchestra projects, participants will have an opportunity to have a close look at the work of professionals, sitting alongside experienced artists.

The upcoming season of the NFM Orchestra Academy will culminate in a final concert, which will take place on Wednesday, May 5, 2027, in the ORLEN Main Hall.

In parallel to the instrumental classes, sessions on musicians’ health will be held throughout the project, led by Isia Śmieszchalska, a teacher of physical and mental preparation for musicians and a graduate of the French Institut Médecine des Arts (whose diploma received the Special Jury Prize, awarded for the first time in the Institute’s nearly thirty-year history). Mathieu Spencer, a chiropractor specialising in musicians’ health, will also participate in the project.

Contact
Tomasz Kwieciński
Coordinator of NFM Orchestra Academy
Polish National Youth Choir
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