Industry Colleagues

Charlotte Bartissol

Director, ProQuartet 

YCAT is probably best described by its beneficiaries! But seen from France, and from the perspective of ProQuartet, which shares YCAT's concern for the integration of young musicians, YCAT is a model of its kind.
Over the past 40 years, the support given to the most promising musicians and ensembles has enabled the emergence of formidable talents who continue to perpetuate this companionship. A relay that is passed on and opens up new horizons. More than advice, feedback and concerts, YCAT offers young artists their time. Time to think about an artistic project, time to progress, time to grow.

I'm delighted to share with YCAT some of the young artists who will be the greats of tomorrow's artistic scene.
I'm happy to see our projects complement and reinforce each other. I'm happy to be able to develop new projects together for these and future artists thanks to the great talent of the YCAT team, led by the tireless Alasdair Tait.

Lord Black of Brentwood

Chairman of the Royal College of Music (© House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris)

Huge congratulations to all at YCAT on your 40th anniversary. What an outstanding achievement. Over four decades now you've done an absolutely amazing job in nurturing young talent and helping safeguard the future of music itself. You play such a vital role in the whole music education sector, and with so many challenges ahead for music and musicians, and for young musicians in particular, your job now is going to be more important than ever. Thank you for all you've done. Thank you for all you continue to do. Your work is so important.

Levon Chilingirian OBE

Violinist & Founder, Chilingirian String Quartet 

I would like to congratulate YCAT for the wonderful work in its discerning choice of outstanding young talents and wisely promoting and developing their early careers. The critical time between graduation and being taken up by commercial management is brilliantly filled by the expert nurturing given by YCAT. 
Here is to 40 more years of wonderful success.
Bravo to you all!!

Andrew Comben

CEO, Britten Pears Arts (Photo © Carlotta Luke)

It is impossible to overstate the importance of YCAT, to artists, the wider music industry and to audiences. To see it thriving and growing as it enters its 40th Anniversary season is something truly to celebrate. The careers that have been nurtured and wisely guided over its 40-year history are legion, with so many of those artists continuing to enrich the international music world today. In a time when we are even more conscious of the importance, but also the precarious nature of the music industry, I am enormously grateful for the work YCAT does and to know that the young artists of the future will be in such safe hands.

Dame Imogen Cooper DBE

Pianist (Photo © Sim Canetty-Clarke)

As YCAT enters its 40th year, we can only rejoice at its vision and at what it has achieved. Both are unparalleled. A young musician’s greatest challenge is to be seen and heard, at the vital stage that is the beginning of their career. Musicians spend a lot of time in isolation, learning how to master their instrument and to build a body of repertoire. A link is needed, so as to connect them with the active music business and guide them as to how to function therein. Skills are required of young performers that have nothing to do with making music, and there is a need to become savvy, which often goes against the grain for young people absorbed in developing the expression of their inner world through the rich sphere of music.

This is where YCAT can step in. Their range of skills, contacts, advice and ideas is second to none, and can provide a magic bridge between conservatoires and management firms, providing performing opportunities and thereby income, as well as invaluable advice on career development, tailor made for each young musician. On their excellent website alone, there is a wealth of information, priceless for those starting out on the demanding road from studies through competitions, to the stage and an international career.

If I were starting my playing life again, how grateful I would be to know that YCAT exists! Congratulations to them on their 40th birthday, and long may they thrive, and our future stars with them!

Roz De Vile

CEO, Music Masters

On behalf of all at Music Masters, I’d like to congratulate YCAT for an incredible 40 years of supporting, guiding and championing young artists. YCAT has made a significant difference to the lives and opportunities of so many of today’s most celebrated artists, and the team’s continued dedication to identifying and developing talented young musicians and ensembles with real care and understanding reassures us of the future of classical music for years to come.

At Music Masters, we have benefitted greatly from our strong partnership with YCAT and in particular through our shared Robey Artist role, which has enabled hundreds of children with limited access to music to engage with and be inspired by some of today’s most exciting and socially driven performers, including Randall Goosby, Jordan Bak and Sterling Elliott. Long may the amazing and much-needed work of this wonderful charity continue.

Peter Donohoe CBE

Pianist (Photo © Sim Canetty-Clarke)

The period of a solo musician’s life immediately following their student years, and during which they are attempting to establish themselves with promoters and the public, is almost always the most difficult. With very few exceptions, almost all artists have been through this initial struggle, and in the modern music world that struggle becomes ever more intense.

The formation of Young Classical Artists Trust in 1984 - inspired by some of the most prominent and powerful management figures and artists - was the beginning of a wonderful project to specifically place young artists in the minds of those most able - and sometimes very eager - to help them establish a foot in the door of the professional music world, to advise them and to look after some of the unexpected twists and turns of an early career.

I was very proud and honoured to have been part of the early stages of YCAT’s fantastic contribution to the lives of our young musicians. A quick look through the list of artists who have been represented by YCAT since its early days demonstrates how successful the organisation has been on their behalf. 

I offer my sincerest congratulations on this - the 40th year - of YCAT’s existence. May it continue to play such an increasingly important role for many years to come.

Afa S. Dworkin

President & Artistic Director, Sphinx Organization (Photo © Shawn Lee)

Congratulations to YCAT on their extraordinary work and worldwide impact. As you look forward to your joyous 40th season, we all wish you much success and support. Your mission is singularly important as we look to the next 40 years of empowering the careers of the most talented and promising artists and ensembles, who will lead the way for the future of classical music!

Dame Anne Evans DBE

Soprano

I send you my warmest congratulations on your 40th anniversary. These last few years have been extremely difficult for the British musical world and it is a wonderful achievement for YCAT to have emerged as strong as ever in discovering and helping talented young musicians on the threshold of their careers.

Jonathan Freeman-Attwood CBE

Principal of the Royal Academy of Music (Photo © Neil Emmerson)

Any of us lucky enough to be involved in nurturing talent and helping to bring fresh artistic life to the UK and beyond will know, the key ingredient is ecology: how we all link and relate to one another in giving young people the best possible chance of success as confident and distinctive musicians. YCAT has met these challenges assiduously and creatively over nearly 40 years. You only have to see the roll call of fine artists who have been given expert help and life-changing opportunities, just at the point when they can make their talent count towards a sustainable career.

As a trustee at YCAT for nearly a decade, I was always inspired to see how the team worked to find the right paths for each of their musicians and ensembles. And, of course, these musicians are amongst those who become both leaders and role models, not only setting the highest standards but also offering a strong identity for classical music when it needs it most. It’s also encouraging to see YCAT, under Alasdair Tait’s guidance, evolve in ways which can shape the way we think about the profession – and it’s exciting to observe from its expanding collaborative brief what more it can achieve.

The Royal Academy of Music is just one of many institutions that is grateful for all the wonderful opportunities it has offered to our students over the years, and I relish our connection as YCAT moves towards in half-century – and we all try to do the best job we can for young musicians whose impact on society will incalculable.

Happy Anniversary, YCAT!!

Ed Gardner

Conductor (Photo © Benjamin Ealovega)

For 40 years, YCAT has been supporting the very best young talent, at that tricky stage at the beginning of a career. The care given to nurture and promote is second to none, and now it’s become the ultimate seal of approval- if YCAT believe in a performer, it means they have what it takes to shine at the highest levels, always backed and developed by this unique trust! 

Adam Gatehouse

Artistic Director, Leeds International Piano Competition (Photo © Simon Jay Price)

I have followed the meteoric progress of YCAT for most of its existence - what a remarkable organisation! Just to think of the countless artists, many now household names, who have taken their first steps on distinguished careers through their auspices, of the fantastic grounding that they have received to help them navigate those careers, and the impact that these artists and this organisation have had on the cultural fabric of our country, is to stand in awe and wonder. Thank you YCAT!

Leila Getz

Founder and Artistic Director, Vancouver Recital Society (Photo © Waldy Martens)

We, at the Vancouver Recital Society, in a city on the far west coast of Canada, have a common purpose with Young Classical Artists Trust in London. Our focus is the cultivation and presentation of the next generation of great musicians. We have been thrilled to present artists from the YCAT roster over the years. They find the most remarkable young talents and nurture and guide them in the pursuit of their careers on the concert stages of the world.

Working with Alasdair Tait, the Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director, and his wonderful small team is a dream. They are organized, thoughtful, receptive, understanding and forward looking. Long may they continue the great work on behalf of the next generation of musicians, and the artform itself.

John Gilhooly CBE

Artistic & Executive Director, Wigmore Hall (Photo © Kaupo Kikkas)

YCAT has become the international industry benchmark for emerging young talent. Over its 40 year history it has nurtured a truly remarkable roster of artists, when they need that support most. The YCAT annual final fills the Hall with excitement and joy. Everybody here enjoys being part of it. Congratulations on this important birthday and every possible good wish for the decades ahead. 

Jess Gillam

Saxophonist, Broadcaster & BBC Young Musician Finalist, 2016

YCAT is a unique and brilliant organisation and I am so grateful to them for the thoughtful and considered management care they provided me with after the final of BBC Young Musician. The organisation is made up of incredibly passionate individuals which is part of what makes it so special. YCAT develop and support the careers of the artists of the future - its vital and important work. Their guidance is invaluable and I wish them a very happy 40th Anniversary! 

Professor Dame Jane Glover DBE

Conductor

Many, many congratulations to YCAT on their 40th anniversary! Having been around at the start of it, I have continued to watch the organization over the ensuing decades, with admiration, respect and immense gratitude. The gentle but firm guidance and direction that its young artists receive at the start of their professional journey is second to none. Just a glance at the list of musicians who have benefited from this guidance is a true indicator of the quality of the selection of musicians and of the confidence they have accrued through their association with YCAT. Along with many others, I wish YCAT very success for the next 40 years, and reiterate my profound gratitude for the work they do.

Jonathan Groves

Managing Director, Groves Artists

I was very proud, as a young artist manager, to be asked to join the founding board of YCAT forty years ago and I have been thrilled in the intervening years to see the project more than fulfil its original mission. We can never underestimate the bravery and faith of those young people who set out on the rocky path towards a professional career, and how the odds are heavily stacked against them achieving any degree of success. YCAT plays a vitally important role in first of all finding the most gifted crop of each generation and then providing the support in those first difficult years when otherwise they might have fallen by the wayside. This support for young artists is unique and invaluable, so anything you can do to help YCAT continue to thrive for the next forty years will be an investment in the whole ecology of live music making which means so much to us all.

Tony Hall, Baron Hall of Birkenhead CBE

Former Director-General of the BBC & Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House

Could there be anything more important for the future of classical music, than supporting the next generation of young artists find their feet and fly. That’s what YCAT has done brilliantly for forty years. The help they give managing these artists is so important - because it’s about the whole life of being a musician. I can’t praise their work - and the need for it - enough.

Rob Hilberink

Executive Director, International Conducting Competition Rotterdam 

YCAT truly understands (and caters to) the needs of young professional musicians. I have had the pleasure to cooperate with YCAT on a number of occasions, when we were both providing guidance to the same budding artists. What sets them apart from other talent development schemes, is the level of commitment and flexibility to provide a custom tailored programme for each of the fellows. I applaud the fact that they do not aim for a quick rise to fame, but rather try to develop professional skills and personal abilities that will help these musicians to maintain a sustainable career in the future.

Sir Stephen Hough

Pianist, Composer, Writer (Photo © Sim Canetty-Clarke)

40 years is a wonderful milestone for YCAT. This is a unique organisation that looks at the roots as well as the treetops of our best young artists. It has consistently given awards to some of our best musicians but then, usually unseen by the public, it nurtures that talent from first fragility through to full career maturity. Here's to the next 40 years and beyond. 

Alina Ibragimova MBE

Violinist (Photo © Joss McKinley)

YCAT is one of the most important and successful foundations available to young outstanding solo and chamber artists of today. It is a programme focused on nurturing, guiding and supporting musicians through what is an important and delicate career-building stage, as well as giving them new opportunities, introductions and experiences. I think we in the classical music world are exceptionally lucky to have YCAT bring light to the new generation of wonderful artists today. 

Kadiatu & Stuart Kanneh-Mason 

Parents of Sheku Kanneh-Mason, former BBC Young Musician Winner, & Trustees, Music Masters. 

Sheku Kanneh-Mason won BBC Young Musician in 2016. For a seventeen-year old, this is a suddenly intense and bewildering situation to find yourself in. The number of concert requests, the dizzying landscape of choices and the media spotlight, present a wealth of opportunities and also a deluge of pitfalls and confusion.

Sheku was extremely lucky, and is ever grateful to have had YCAT by his side, helping to navigate this new territory of forging a brand new career and balancing progression with well-being and authenticity. YCAT offered a very personal and caring friendship, with clear advice, humour and sharp decision- making- an essential requirement for any fledgling musician- and so welcome it felt like a luxury. The world of classical music is exciting and full of possibilities, but without the close guidance and support of YCAT, it could have been perilous and overwhelming.

Professor Vanessa Latarche 

Pianist & Head of Keyboard at the Royal College of Music

I have observed YCAT develop the careers of some of our most important musicians for numerous years. Having worked with closely with the YCAT team in supporting some of our former students who have been chosen for the scheme, I have seen the care and attention they give to developing the artists, enabling them to achieve their potential in a supportive environment. The artists who have been nurtured by the YCAT programme are of the highest quality and are many of the world’s finest and most significant performers on the concert platform.

Julian Lloyd Webber OBE

Cellist, conductor & broadcaster (Photo © Thousand Word Media)

Throughout its forty years YCAT has a marvellous track record of selecting, discovering and supporting the very best young musical talents from all over the world. YCAT plays a crucial part in guiding and nurturing the finest young artists of the future at the time they most need it. During its forty years YCAT has become the go-to organisation for anyone looking to discover the finest young musicians.

Dame Kathryn McDowell DBE DL

Managing Director, London Symphony Orchestra

Many congratulations to YCAT on its 40th anniversary. During that time, YCAT has been enabling young artists to flourish and providing that vital stepping stone into a constantly changing profession. So many of our established artists today have benefited from the guidance, encouragement, and opportunities that YCAT offers. I look forward to meeting the next generation as they emerge in the decade ahead and hope that YCAT continues to flourish. 

Professor Linda Merrick CBE

Clarinettist & Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music (Photo © Robin Clewley)

It gives me great pleasure to endorse the important work YCAT does for young artists in this, the organisation's landmark 40th anniversary, year. As one of the world's leading and most progressive conservatoires, the RNCM is proud of the unparalleled breadth of skills its graduates possess, equipping them for successful and fulfilling careers across the global music industry. YCAT provides a unique professional development pathway for those with the potential for international careers as soloists and chamber musicians, honing not only their high-level performance skills, but also the wider portfolio of skills they will require to develop and sustain their future careers. To this end, if fulfils a distinct role in supporting the transition from conservatoire study into the profession, ensuring that talented young musicians are able to fulfil their potential.

Johannes Meissl

Violinist & Artistic Director, European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA) (Photo © Sabine Hauswirth)

It is my great pleasure to state that I am deeply impressed and immensely happy about the successful work YCAT – Young Classical Artists Trust has been doing over decades! The support YCAT creates for the carefully selected musicians and ensembles plays a crucial role in the development of their sustainable professional careers. I rate it as especially important that YCAT has a strong focus on careful guidance in the musicians’ personal and artistic development, far beyond just getting them performance possibilities.  

Knowing well what it means to take responsibility for young artists, I want to say thanks to YCAT for this valuable and persistent work! For the benefit of the classical music world I wish YCAT a soaring future!

James Murphy

Chief Executive, Royal Philharmonic Society (Photo © Mark Allan)

YCAT is a watchword for pure music brilliance in a new generation of classical musicians. Look no further for unforgettable artists who possess huge musical talent, and who know how to communicate it with charisma, originality and style. With such individual care, YCAT sets the highest benchmark in helping young musicians to drill into their potential, find their element, captivate audiences, and make a dazzling impression on the world stage.

Pedja Mužijević

Pianist, Artistic Advisor at Tippet Rise Art Center & Artistic Administrator at Baryshnikov Arts

YCAT helps young artists lead us into the future of concerts. 
But why do we need to support it?
Because world needs enlightenment and arts have always lead the way to it. 
It’s not about Mozart or Britten. 
It’s about a better world. 

Professor Ronan O'Hora

Head of Keyboard Studies and Advanced Performance Studies, Guildhall School of Music and Drama

It is wonderful that YCAT, an organisation which has done so much to nurture and help talented young performers, is celebrating its 40th anniversary. In those 40 years it has done so much to provide vital opportunity, guidance and assistance to so many young musicians and it is not surprising that its alumni populate the highest levels of the music profession. I have no doubt the next 40 years of YCAT will be even more successful and it will go from strength to strength in its invaluable work.

Sir Antonio Pappano

Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and former Music Director of the Royal Opera House (Photo © Musacchio & Ianniello licensed to EMI Classics)

Many congratulations to YCAT on 40 years of reaching out, nurturing and supporting outstanding young soloists and ensembles. This level of engagement is invaluable and cannot be underestimated in today’s fiercely competitive world. I wish YCAT continued success in this precious endeavour and extend my personal gratitude.

Professor Wolfgang Redik

Violinist & Conductor (Photo © Antonina Kochneva)

I was lucky to get known to YCAT through work as a member of juries selecting the next generation of young artists, and my congratulations are, of course, mainly towards YCAT and its incredible work supporting young musicians in the beginning of their careers, but also to congratulate all the young musicians who are or were able to go through all the incredible, great opportunities YCAT offers in many directions at the beginning of a career, which are important... I think it is quite unique and and I am still impressed by the outcome of YCAT's artists and the kind of opportunities they get in order to start a career... So from my heart, all the best for YCAT and for many, many generations to come of young artists through this scheme and through this support.

Dame Janet Ritterman DBE

Former Director, Royal College of Music

It’s hard to believe that YCAT has been in existence for forty years. During this time, through the meticulously planned professional support that it has provided for talented young artists - for ensemble as well as individual performers – YCAT has become a vital element in the nurturing and launching of the careers of some of the world’s most gifted young musicians, as its list of alumni powerfully demonstrates. While it is true that in the same period, both conservatoires and professional bodies of all kinds have given increasing attention to their roles in developing and supporting musicians’ careers, YCAT’s contribution is both distinctive and uniquely important. At a key point in their professional development, YCAT offers to every musician accepted onto the scheme, the guidance, the encouragement, the openings, and the challenge to enable them to spread their wings and fly. Happy birthday, YCAT. Here’s to the next forty years. The music profession needs you.

Simon Rowland-Jones

Violist, Composer, Teacher & Editor (Photo © Kevin Laitak)

Today’s global musical world may be more massive than ever, but ironically, for young artists, finding their niche can seem truly daunting. Even for those individuals or chamber groups who have been successful in major international competitions, the beneficial effects are often short lived, and artists can for many other reasons soon become lost and directionless. YCAT uniquely and effectively fills that gap, not just with concert opportunities but also with essential guidance on what to realistically expect, what to do next, what to play, and by helping each artist to find and express their true musical being. I interact with YCAT in two different ways. Firstly, as a professor at the Royal College of Music where I work with individual viola students and chamber groups, I often suggest YCAT as a next logical step and friendly challenge, from which something helpful will undoubtedly come. Secondly, as a concert promoter (North Norfolk Music Festival and Kirker Holidays,) working with the whole YCAT team has over many years been a joy of cooperation and communication. Long live YCAT and enjoy a great 40th Anniversary!

Sir András Schiff

Pianist & Conductor (Photo © Nadja Sjöström)

Talented young musicians need help. Instead of senseless competitions they must find opportunities to perform in public, not just once but on repeated occasions. YCAT is one of the few organisations that fulfill this function on the very highest level. Happy 40th anniversary and please carry on for many more years!

Oliver Schnyder 

Pianist & Artistic Director, Orpheum Stiftung (Photo © Marco Borggreve)

It was a wonderful experience to hear these great young talents at YCAT and to sense that the members of the jury seemed to have listened with shared artistic ideals and open hearts, in the meticulous search of personalities who let the music speak while telling their own story through sound. YCAT lends them an ear that can help them decisively.

Sonia Simmenauer

Director, Impresariat Simmenauer (Photo © Lennart Rühle)

From my sight as an agent, YCAT is not only great luck for young artists but also agents, willing to bring invest work in young stars. An artist coming from YCAT is a “ready musician”, who has learnt everything about the life of a touring artist, having won a consciousness of the whole system and what communication is and how important it is. This is years of coaching, of which an agency will take great advantage from too.

In this sense, YCAT is no competition for any agency but an incredibly valuable partner. All what it provides can’t be taught at any conservatory, it needs the realities that arise in concert life. This experience of real life of an artist, with many concerts with all their (un)practical sides, protected and guided for a long period is priceless.

The whole set up is a dream, only possible at that range, because it receives financial funding. No management could afford something like this at this level. In the many years of its acting, YCAT has not only prepared and helped many young artists, but also built a big family of musicians, interconnected and therefore not alone, a great human achievement! Thank you YCAT and very happy birthday.

Arnold Simmenauer

Managing Director, Impresariat Simmenauer

Aside from experience of listening to such a variety of young talents, I truly believe that the work you do is of the greatest importance, more important even that many competitions young artists have at their disposal. As we experienced first hand, some know how to develop on their own, others need more guidance and still others can we thrown in the shark tank too soon, resulting in a full stop of artistic development. 
You are the gatekeepers for these talents and I am proud to be asked for advice!

The Lord Stirrup KG GCB AFC

Former Senior Royal Air Force Commander & Chief of the Defence Staff

Music is very important to so many people: it can excite, calm, inspire, intrigue, amuse – the responses to it are almost endless. In every case, though, music enriches our lives to a greater extent than perhaps any other art form, and its absence would impoverish us spiritually. But music requires professional musicians, and to thrive in the long term it needs a constant flow of young people entering the profession. We have first-class musical education in this country, but the transition from student to performer can be a very difficult one: this is where the Young Classical Artists Trust comes in.

For 40 years it has helped to introduce and foster the careers of young musicians, thus ensuring that the profession continues to receive the inflow of talented young people so necessary to its long-term viability. YCAT’s work has been invaluable over the past four decades, and will be needed just as much, if not more, in the years ahead. We should all be grateful for its existence and do all we can to secure its future.

Kathryn Stott

Pianist

Gaining a place on the YCAT programme isn’t like winning a competition, this is about becoming part of a family with support and guidance from the outset. For 40 years, YCAT have been giving talented young musicians the very best possible start, not only with those marvellous concert opportunities, but with the development of all the skills necessary to be a musician in the 21st century. YCAT's partnerships have been carefully crafted to enable their goals, and I can’t think of a better way to help young musicians at one of the most critical points in their development.

Atholl Swainston-Harries

Chief Executive, IAMA

YCAT has been a long-standing member of BACA/IAMA and from its inception and with the encouragement of Sir Ian Hunter, the then Chairman of BACA/IAMA, the purpose was always to give chosen young artists that important space to develop and establish their identity before being represented by a commercial management. This DNA of YCAT is a special legacy and therefore unique. One has to only look at those who have been nurtured and promoted over the years that we can say that we are proud to be associated with a company of integrity. 

Happy Anniversary YCAT and may the next 40 be as significant too.

Sir John Tusa

Journalist & Former MD, Barbican Centre

Over an amazing 40 years YCAT has become an essential part of the musical world. What a record of spotting new talent, then developing it, nurturing it, promoting it. What quiet, deep and essential skills YCAT’s leaders have demonstrated. Think of the talent foregone or wasted had YCAT not existed. But it did , it achieved what it set out to do and the world of music is nourished by it. 40 years on, YCAT remains as essential as ever. Happy Birthday. 

Donald and Vivian Weilerstein

Violinist, Pianist, Educators

We feel so inspired by the support that YCAT gives to wonderful young artists developing their careers in creative ways. The collaboration between YCAT and CAG furthers the transatlantic bond between musicians around the globe. As mentors of many amazing young musicians, we are grateful for all the support you are providing them. 

Sir Roger Wright

Chief Executive, Rothschild Foundation & Former CEO, Britten Pears Arts

Over forty years, YCAT has supported young performers and helped them grow and develop their careers.
The “alumni” list is an extraordinary testament to YCAT’s work and the quality of the musicians it identified at crucial stages of their development.

I salute and applaud YCAT and send 40th birthday greetings and every good wish for the next decades of its increasingly important work.

Sir Brian McMaster CBE

Former YCAT Chairman & Former Director, Edinburgh International Festival

Ten years ago when I was Chairman of YCAT I was very much aware of how important an institution it was, mentoring and supporting some of the most interesting young artists at a crucial time in their life enabling them to make a career that otherwise they might not have had. Now the importance of YCAT is very much greater. With classical music being totally sidelined and the threat of a generation growing up without access to it and even the knowledge of what it is and with so few opportunities for musicians to perform the responsibility of YCAT and the pressure it is under has increased out of all proportion. Obviously the management services YCAT offers become ever more important but there is now the need for artists to create their own opportunities to perform. YCAT needs to create some of these opportunities itself and to enable and support it's artists in doing so. It was always an important part of the classical music ecology but as the ecology changes its importance grows.

Hugh Richards

Former YCAT Chairman

Members of my family have been amateur musicians all our lives and it was therefore a particular privilege to be appointed chair of YCAT. The organisation had fulfilled a critical role in the lives of so many of the most able young musicians - but my sense at the time was that it could be more ambitious in its reach. So to see it now helping people across the width of Europe is very exciting and particularly so when other factors stand in the way of this thinking. I have no doubt that it will continue to flourish and to play such an important role in the years ahead.

Angela Dixon

YCAT Trustee & Chief Executive, Saffron Hall

For 40 years YCAT has provided vital support to young artists at the most crucial stage of their career. Young artists have been studying their instruments intensively, for many years, and face a myriad of hurdles as they embark on their professional careers. YCAT offers artistic and practical support in a nurturing environment, their expertise is unparallelled and the impact they have had, and continue to have, on the musical life of this country cannot be underestimated.

Mike Horridge

YCAT Trustee & Head of Risk Advisory, Amius Limited

Building a career as a classical musician is a challenging proposition, especially in the current funding climate in the Arts. YCAT has built a brilliant reputation over the past 40 years as a leading music charity with the expertise and guidance to help those promising young artists fulfil their potential. It's been a privilege to be involved in that work as a Trustee and help continue the fabulous work we do.

Akhil Shah KC

YCAT Trustee

YCAT is a unique and phenomenal charity that looks to nurture professional musicians in the early phase of their careers. Life as a self employed professional can be daunting and isolating at the start of any career. The guidance and opportunities provided by YCAT provides essential support that helps musicians develop their careers. In a world with so many challenges the promotion of music by helping talented musicians at the start of their professional journey is vitally important, so thank you YCAT.

Alastair Storey OBE

YCAT Trustee, Chairman & Chief Executive, Westbury Street Holdings

Irrespective of their talent and dedication, the prospects of earning a decent living for a young musician are poor. YCAT helps them achieve just that and works with them to ensure that the music that that feeds our soul continues to flourish.

Rachel van Walsum

YCAT Trustee, Co-founder and Director, Maestro Arts

As an Artist Manager I am always relieved to meet an artist who has been nurtured by YCAT. The exceptional team partners young artists in a unique way, helping them to understand, navigate and engage with a complicated ‘business’ holistically. It’s a tough environment to take a step into and the grounding YCAT provides encourages ambition in a confident yet realistic way. Thank you YCAT!

Professor Jonathan Vaughan

Principal, Guildhall School of Music and Drama & Trustee, YCAT

In commemorating our Anniversary Season, I commend Alasdair Tait and his wonderful team for their remarkable achievements with the Young Classical Artists Trust. It's a privilege to support and witness the extraordinary talent and dedication of our musicians, who continue to inspire and transform the world of classical music. Here's to YCAT's next 40 years of fostering brilliance and creativity."

Julie Webb

YCAT Trustee, Client Director, Howden Insurance

Nothing gives me greater pleasure than bringing new people to a lunchtime concert at Wigmore Hall to experience the talent of a YCAT artist. It’s a wonderful feeling...and many become great supporters - it’s like a little community meeting up. It’s just like the experience I first had when I came through the YCAT doors. It has been great for me to introduce YCAT to other organisations so their clients can see and hear the talent. The Final Auditions are always fascinating as it’s not a competition. It’s about finding the right individuals who can benefit most from the YCAT world (Management, Performance, Exposure, Branding, Digital, Media) and even when they leave that world, they continue to get advice, and help, forever. 40 years is phenomenal and here’s to the next 40.

Sir Christopher Hum KCMG

Former UK Ambassador & Former YCAT Trustee

I have followed the work of YCAT for half its life, as a Trustee and now as an enthusiastic supporter. I have seen how it has touched the lives of hundreds of wonderful young musicians, giving them support and encouragement at a vital early stage in their careers. I have seen many of these go on to become successful and celebrated artists, enriching our cultural lives. With the musical profession facing unprecedented strains and pressures, the role YCAT can play is more crucial than ever. It needs support from all of us.

Dr Jill Pellew

Former YCAT Trustee

My husband and I have long been keen supporters of the mission, programmes and effective functioning of YCAT. Pleasures include learning about the challenges young performers face when trying to manage a musical career: relations with agents, balancing a busy travel schedule with requirements of practice, rest and assessing suitable work opportunities. The YCAT team at Somerset House offer a huge support to their musician scholars from all over Europe: a sympathetic 'open door' welcome at the office for those wanting to discuss issues; interactive round-table panel discussions, to which supporters are regularly invited, where they get the opportunity to meet each other and chat with the scholars - not to mention invitations to all their Wigmore Hall lunchtime performances. It has become a most enjoyable element in a London life for two retirees and former amateur musicians.