The National Youth Choir of Scotland not only has a growing international reputation as a choral group but also stands at the apex of a group of choirs and educational entities that have a strong influence on Scottish musical life. The choir also commissions and publishes educational materials. Much younger than other youth choirs in the British Isles, the National Youth Choir of Scotland was founded in 1996 by Christopher Bell, who remains its conductor. The choir made its first international tour, to Sweden, in 2001, and it has subsequently toured Germany (in 2010), Central Europe (2013), and the U.S. (2016), as well as performing in 2019 at the Philharmonie de Paris. The National Youth Choir of Scotland has performed at leading Scottish venues and events, including the Edinburgh International Festival in 2013 and 2014; the group began a residency at that festival in 2018. Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the choir's influence is that it has spawned a large infrastructure of related choirs and institutions that have enrolled large numbers of Scottish young people (membership is generally open to anyone living in Scotland) in musical performance. Collectively, these groups are known as NYCOS. The first of them was the NYCOS Training Choir, established in 1997. It was followed by the Edinburgh Regional Choir and West Lothian Regional Choir in 1998; these were followed by regional choirs in Falkirk, Dumfries, Dundee, and Stirling (2000), the NYCOS National Boys Choir in 2002, and the NYCOS Renfrewshire Choir in 2003; an NYCOS National Girls Choir and regional NYCOS Midlothian and Isle of Lewis Choirs followed in 2007, and regional NYCOS Perth and East Dunbartonshire Boys Choirs completed the group of ensembles in 2011. The organization has also commissioned various educational materials, including Singing Games and Rhymes for Early Years (1999), Go for Bronze (for teachers, 2004), and later, Go for Gold. The main National Youth Choir of Scotland has performed at such major venues as the opening of the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and with increasingly prestigious international ensembles, including the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique in 2017. In 2020, the National Youth Choir of Scotland released the album Cantos Sagrados, featuring music by James MacMillan and other contemporary composers. ~ James Manheim