JM World Orchestra / Our story
About the JM World Orchestra
Young musicians meet across borders. The music begins with listening to one another.
An international youth orchestraA program of JMI
1949The year it began
3,000+Musicians have taken part
63Countries represented
Why this orchestra mattersMore than
More than
a seat in an orchestra.
JM World Orchestra brings young musicians into the same room to make music across cultures.
Its story lives not only in performance, but in the work of rehearsing, listening and collaborating together.
01 / THE PEOPLE
A global ensemble.
More than 3,000 musicians from 63 countries have been part of the orchestra since its founding.
02 / THE PRACTICE
Music made together.
Intercultural collaboration is at the heart of bringing musicians together for a session.
03 / THE RECORD
A story you can trace.
Published sessions preserve the places, people and music of the orchestra’s archive.
Evidence in the archiveThe story has
The story has
many chapters.
Explore published sessions from the archive: a record of gatherings, places and people.
Open the record
Browse the full archive Selected sessions
Our story
Straight from the stage.
The complete history and background published by JM World Orchestra, including its connection to Jeunesses Musicales International.
The JM World Orchestra is a program of Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) founded in 1949.
It was first international youth orchestra of its kind, providing young musicians with professional musical opportunities at the highest artistic level, touring twice annually as ambassadors for world peace and intercultural understanding.
Since its foundation, it has brought together over 3,000 musicians from some 63 countries, played all over the world and inspired the creation of many other similar orchestras.
It has been conducted by maestros the likes of Zubin Mehta, Leonard Bernstein, MIcheal Tilson-Thomas, Serge Baudo, Lawrence Foster, Walter Weller, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Eduardo Mata, Jeffrey Tate, Vernon Handley, Charles Dutoit, Michel Tabachnik, Antonio Pappano, En Shao, Bobby McFerrin. Daniel Harding, Yuri Temirkanov, Kent Nagano, Yakov Kreizberg, MIcheal Tilkin, Kurt Masur and Franz-Paul Decker.
JMI is a global network of NGOs that provides opportunities for young people and children to develop through music across all boundaries. Open to all styles of music, we work for and with youth, harnessing the power of music to bridge social, geographical and cultural divides, creating an international platform for intercultural dialogue and acceptance. JMI was founded in Brussels, Belgium in 1945 by a group of compassionate musicians and organisers who saw music as a means of bringing young people together to overcome the divides created by the two World Wars. Today JMI is present in over 100 countries worldwide and continues to enable young people to develop through music across all boundaries.
www.jmi.net — http://www.jmi.net/
Part of a global movement
A program of Jeunesses Musicales International.
JM World Orchestra is a JMI program bringing young musicians together across borders through music.
The next conversationThere is a place