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Victory
An update from NYCNI
Keeley M.
started this petition to
The Arts Council
Firstly, thank you so much for all the support regarding NYCNI. From I the bottom of my heart I am so incredibly grateful to every person who signed the petition, shared it, talked about the issue. You have no idea of your impact. I am incredibly grateful.
I would like to share an update from NYCNI themselves, and I would very much appreciate if you could give it a read. Many Thanks - Keeley :)
A note from the new Board of Directors of NYCNI:
Thank you for supporting the future of the National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland (NYCNI) by signing the petition.
We are the only organisation of our kind — a unique, national pathway for young singers aged 8–25 to develop exceptional musical skills, grow in confidence and experience the transformative power of singing together.
In 2025, as you know we suffered a devastating blow. Our core funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland was withdrawn, leaving a £60,000 shortfall.
NYCNI was on the brink of disappearing. But we refused to let that happen.
A new board came together with determination and belief. We secured emergency funding to keep the organisation alive in the short term. Now, we are turning to our community to help secure its future. Please support our Crowdfund: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/nycni before the end of March 2026. Please email admin@nycni.org for further details.
We are seeking to raise £30,000 to secure the future of NYCNI and ensure young voices continue to flourish across Northern Ireland:
£10,000 — Bursaries for young singers
This will establish the beginnings of a dedicated bursary fund, so no young person is excluded from NYCNI opportunities due to financial circumstances. Every donation helps make music accessible to all.
£10,000 — Schools outreach and programme costs
This will support our schools workshops across Northern Ireland, as well as the music, rehearsal and running costs associated with our Easter and Summer courses. Your support ensures that over 750 young people already engaged this year — and many more in the months ahead — can continue to benefit from inspiring, skill-building experiences.
£10,000 — Resilience and core organisational costs
This will strengthen NYCNI’s foundations, covering essential core costs and creating a small resilience fund. It allows us to plan confidently, maintain key leadership, invest in fundraising capacity, and safeguard our organisation against future funding challenges. In short, it ensures that NYCNI can continue to thrive — now and in the years to come.
With your support, we can protect opportunity, safeguard excellence and ensure young voices continue to rise across Northern Ireland. Thank you. Please support our Crowdfund: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/nycni before the end of March 2026. Please email admin@nycni.org for further details.
I would like to share an update from NYCNI themselves, and I would very much appreciate if you could give it a read. Many Thanks - Keeley :)
A note from the new Board of Directors of NYCNI:
Thank you for supporting the future of the National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland (NYCNI) by signing the petition.
We are the only organisation of our kind — a unique, national pathway for young singers aged 8–25 to develop exceptional musical skills, grow in confidence and experience the transformative power of singing together.
In 2025, as you know we suffered a devastating blow. Our core funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland was withdrawn, leaving a £60,000 shortfall.
NYCNI was on the brink of disappearing. But we refused to let that happen.
A new board came together with determination and belief. We secured emergency funding to keep the organisation alive in the short term. Now, we are turning to our community to help secure its future. Please support our Crowdfund: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/nycni before the end of March 2026. Please email admin@nycni.org for further details.
We are seeking to raise £30,000 to secure the future of NYCNI and ensure young voices continue to flourish across Northern Ireland:
£10,000 — Bursaries for young singers
This will establish the beginnings of a dedicated bursary fund, so no young person is excluded from NYCNI opportunities due to financial circumstances. Every donation helps make music accessible to all.
£10,000 — Schools outreach and programme costs
This will support our schools workshops across Northern Ireland, as well as the music, rehearsal and running costs associated with our Easter and Summer courses. Your support ensures that over 750 young people already engaged this year — and many more in the months ahead — can continue to benefit from inspiring, skill-building experiences.
£10,000 — Resilience and core organisational costs
This will strengthen NYCNI’s foundations, covering essential core costs and creating a small resilience fund. It allows us to plan confidently, maintain key leadership, invest in fundraising capacity, and safeguard our organisation against future funding challenges. In short, it ensures that NYCNI can continue to thrive — now and in the years to come.
With your support, we can protect opportunity, safeguard excellence and ensure young voices continue to rise across Northern Ireland. Thank you. Please support our Crowdfund: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/nycni before the end of March 2026. Please email admin@nycni.org for further details.
*THIS IS A STUDENT LED PETITION*
Organised by Keeley Magill (Training choir member) with the support and on behalf of other students of NYCNI.
This petition has been started by members of NYCNI to express dismay and disbelief at the decision to remove Arts Council funding from the National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland (NYCNI). I can say with certainty that this decision threatens the very existence of one of Northern Ireland’s most valuable cultural institutions.
To withdraw support from this cross-community charity — which for over 25 years has provided thousands of young people with access to world-class choral training — is not only short-sighted, it is an act of cultural vandalism. NYCNI is a beacon of musical excellence, inclusion, and aspiration. Its loss would not simply mark the end of a choir, but the deliberate dismantling of a vital pathway for young people in Northern Ireland to engage in transformative artistic experiences.
The choir’s alumni are a testament to its impact, many having gone on to represent Northern Ireland on the world stage, raising the profile of our region’s cultural excellence. To defund such an organisation is to deny current and future generations the chance to realise their potential, and to rob us of the immense value that the arts bring.
We as members of NYCNI urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to intervene and ensure that this decision is reversed. NYCNI is not an expendable luxury — it is a cornerstone of Northern Irish cultural life, and its survival depends on the actions you take now.
We, as members of NYCNI hope to gain as many signatures as possible to support our efforts in reversing this cultural vandalism.
Please do not be complicit in the silencing of this vital voice in our national life.
Organised by Keeley Magill (Training choir member) with the support and on behalf of other students of NYCNI.
This petition has been started by members of NYCNI to express dismay and disbelief at the decision to remove Arts Council funding from the National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland (NYCNI). I can say with certainty that this decision threatens the very existence of one of Northern Ireland’s most valuable cultural institutions.
To withdraw support from this cross-community charity — which for over 25 years has provided thousands of young people with access to world-class choral training — is not only short-sighted, it is an act of cultural vandalism. NYCNI is a beacon of musical excellence, inclusion, and aspiration. Its loss would not simply mark the end of a choir, but the deliberate dismantling of a vital pathway for young people in Northern Ireland to engage in transformative artistic experiences.
The choir’s alumni are a testament to its impact, many having gone on to represent Northern Ireland on the world stage, raising the profile of our region’s cultural excellence. To defund such an organisation is to deny current and future generations the chance to realise their potential, and to rob us of the immense value that the arts bring.
We as members of NYCNI urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to intervene and ensure that this decision is reversed. NYCNI is not an expendable luxury — it is a cornerstone of Northern Irish cultural life, and its survival depends on the actions you take now.
We, as members of NYCNI hope to gain as many signatures as possible to support our efforts in reversing this cultural vandalism.
Please do not be complicit in the silencing of this vital voice in our national life.
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